Australian F1 star Oscar Piastri copped a stern warning from his McLaren team despite struggling at the back of the field at the Miami Grand Prix.
Piastri was in 16th place when he engaged in an intriguing battle with fellow Aussie Daniel Ricciardo with the two coming close to making contact.
With Piastri’s McLaren teammate Lando Norris five seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at the front, Piastri was reminded to drive safely and avoid another safety car that would bring the field back together.
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“Oscar, reminder Lando is leading the race here, we do not want a safety car here,” McLaren engineers told Piastri over team radio.
It capped a nightmare race for Piastri, who was in second place for the opening half of the race before pit strategies and then front wing damage saw him tumble out of contention and out of the top 10.
Piastri ended up finishing 13th, while Ricciardo was two places behind in 15th.
Norris benefited from a stunning restart after a collision between Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen before defending well against Verstappen and holding on for his first career F1 win.
“About time,” a delighted Norris said. “What a race. It’s been a long time coming, at last I’ve been able to do it for my team and deliver for them.”
Verstappen had to settle for an unusual second place, while Charles Leclerc of Ferrari completed the podium in third.
“You win, you lose, we are all used to that in racing. Today was just tricky,” Verstappen said.
“I’m happy for Lando, it’s been a long time coming and it’s not going to be his last one. He deserves it today.”
It was McLaren’s first win since Monza 2021, when Ricciardo hit the top step.
“I knew on Friday we had the pace,” Norris said.
“Today we managed to put it together. We had the perfect strategy.
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes along the way but today we put it all together.”
Verstappen had a perfect start from pole position, but lost his lead after he pitted for new tyres.
The Dutchman had made his way to second behind Norris, who was yet to stop, when the safety car was deployed after Sargeant had his race ended following a crash with the Haas of Magnussen.
Norris wasn’t able to get to the pits before the safety car was called and went around for another lap, pitting under safety car and retaining his lead.
The English driver then had a fantastic restart to break clear from Verstappen.
He kept stretching his advantage over the Red Bull man, who failed to find an answer.
Verstappen had won four of the previous five races and tops the drivers’ standings as he chases a fourth consecutive title.
He will try to restore the status quo at the Emilia Romagna GP in Italy on May 19.
MIAMI GRAND PRIX RESULTS
1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
6. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
7. Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
8. George Russell (Mercedes)
9. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
10. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
– With AAP
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