Ferrari's radio show not its biggest issue - Miami GP takeaways

The 2025 Miami Grand Prix delivered a weekend packed with on-track drama and a clear statement of intent from McLaren, as Oscar Piastri took his fourth win of the season to consolidate his championship lead.

Here are the key takeaways from a Miami Grand Prix.

Piastri is learning how to race Verstappen better than Norris

His close fight with Verstappen at the start of the Sunday race ended up costing Lando Norris the chance to challenge for victory despite having qualified two places ahead of team-mate Piastri. It was a repeat of a scenario that the McLaren driver has endured a few times over the past year.

Norris blamed Verstappen and said the Red Bull driver had ruined his own race with his Turn 2 move, which might be a fair point from the Briton. With some caveats, at least.

Seeing the pace of the McLarens in the race, it’s clear that Verstappen had no chance to fight them, so the incident between the Dutchman and Norris cost the McLaren driver more than his rival, even if the world champion might have finished third instead of fourth.

You can’t fault Norris for trying to overtake Verstappen when he had the chance at the start, but the damage was also somehow self-inflicted, as the Red Bull was ahead when they reached Turn 2 and Norris still kept pushing around the outside.

Even team boss Andrea Stella thought Norris should have waited for a better chance to attack Verstappen.

“The first lap, with hindsight, it would have potentially been wiser for Lando to lift and accept he would have gained the lead later on in the race because the car was fast enough but that’s with the benefit of hindsight,” he told Sky.

Piastri, on the other hand, looked more calm and collected when it was his turn to fight Verstappen for the lead. He took his time, fully aware of his pace advantage, and eventually pulled a pretty straightforward pass that secured him victory.

“I knew to expect that. I could tell we had a lot of pace,” Piastri explained after the race. “Like I said, it was a matter of just biding my time, waiting for a moment, or forcing him into a moment. That’s what I was able to do.

“Once I got past, I knew I had to try and build a gap while Lando was behind him. That got me the win.”

Verstappen alone can’t sustain a championship challenge

Miami GP qualifying was another display of mastery from Verstappen, as he completed another mighty lap to secure his third pole in four races. But again, it was a case of the driver over-qualifying and flattering his car.

In the race, however, Red Bull came back to Earth, with Verstappen unable to stay close to the McLarens and also losing out to the Mercedes of George Russell.

Red Bull’s mistake during his pitstop in the sprint race added to the pain, meaning Verstappen left Miami 32 points behind Piastri in the standings.

More worryingly for Red Bull will be the almost 40-second gap Verstappen had to Piastri at the chequered flag.

The four-time world champion continued to perform pretty much error-free during the weekend, but the lack of performance from his car meant there was nothing he could do.

There are only so many races that Red Bull can label as damage limitation, and while the thermal degradation in Miami enhanced the issues the team has with the overheating of its rear tyres, it will have to find some solutions quickly to give its star driver a fighting chance against the might of the McLarens.

Ferrari’s radio is the least of its problems

Miami delivered yet another entertaining episode of Ferrari’s radio show, as both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc took turns to effectively call out their own team over their strategy choices.

Hamilton offered several remarkable sound bites during the race, including some sassy comments when told about the gap to Carlos Sainz behind him. “You want me to let him past as well?”, the Briton said after having been asked to let team-mate Leclerc through.

Prior to that, Hamilton had said “This is not good teamwork” when Ferrari delayed the decision to ask Leclerc to let him pass as he appeared to have more pace.

Drivers will always claim that the things they say on the radio are usually the result of the heat of the moment, but in Ferrari’s situation, days like the Miami GP will only increase the pressure the team is feeling.

As entertaining as the radio comments were, Ferrari’s main issue was its lack of performance as it worryingly dropped behind Williams in the pecking order, finishing a minute behind the race winner.

Speaking after the race, Leclerc offered a less-than-hopeful verdict about Ferrari’s situation: “We need to do better. I think it’s very clear why we are struggling. I don’t know though if we have the solutions just yet.”

Williams might have made the right decision

Is Williams now the fourth-fastest team in the 2025 field? Probably, but then again that’s also unlikely to last.

The Grove team enjoyed a very strong weekend in Miami, with Alexander Albon in particular showing great pace in the race to leave the United States with 10 points added to his championship tally.

Williams could have scored a few more points had it handled Sainz’s strategy slightly better, but it still consolidated its position in the championship as it clearly outscored its main rivals.

But while Williams outperformed Ferrari in Miami, that is very unlikely to be its fight for the remainder of the year, as the frontrunning teams will continue to push for updates as the season progresses.

Williams has been the first team to publicly state that it will shift focus to 2026, a decision which, given the current pace advantage over its real rivals, might just pay off.

Doohan’s future may be sealed

Speculation about the future of Jack Doohan is nothing new, the Australian’s seat at Alpine having been in doubt even before the season kicked off when the team signed Franco Colapinto from Williams.

Alpine sits ninth in the standings and Doohan is yet to score a point, with another mistake in Miami forcing him to retire, the Australian hitting the back of Liam Lawson‘s car at the start.