Sure, the timing of the Safety Car prompted by Magnussen (not his weekend at all) helped, but that win heralded not only Norris as a great F1 driver, but has brought fresh hope for a tighten front grid battle. Once in P1, he managed to hold Verstappen behind him in the critical first corners. After that was successfully made, he picked up such pace that not even Max could match. In the end, Lando was up 7.8 seconds to the Red Bull in second place.
McLaren had brought in a major upgrade for this weekend, with Lando Norris getting the full upgrade package, whereas Oscar Piastri got "half" of it. The team likely wants to have one car with some old specs on it to better gauge the specific consequences the upgrade has and get measurable data on it. McLaren were bullish coming into the weekend, with Team Principal Andrea Stella stating ahead of it that they were in a good position versus Red Bull. Lando also said to his team on Sunday that he felt the day looked positive and "full of possibilities". Promises that matched reality. Was it the Miami GP circuit conditions and Verstappen struggling with the hard tyres on the second stint that saw McLaren so competitive or is the upgrade the promise of a much needed and sought after closer battle for the front positions? Verstappen is showing he is one of the sport's greats, but the last two years have been almost boring to watch in terms of who's going to win. It's much too soon to put McLaren upside by side with Red Bull, and they likely aren't quiet there when it comes to all tracks, but it is nevertheless encouraging and we're all looking forward to tight, exciting and close driving at the front.
Charles LecLerc finished on the podium, taking home third place, with Carlos Sainz fourth. The Ferrari held its own against a lagging Sergio Perez, but was unable to take the fight to the McLarens; With first Piastri holding the Ferraris behind him and then Norris. Ferrari are scheduled to introduce their major upgrade package at Imola, for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. That package is said to include such a major change, that it's more a revolution than an evolution. This will be Ferrari's response to Red Bull's upgrade to the Japanese GP and now McLaren's to Miami. Ferrari's goal is always clear; The Championship. With Imola coming up next, can there be three teams fighting for wins?