The global Formula 1 circus arrives in Miami this weekend for the series’ first U.S.-based race of the season. This is the fourth year that Miami has hosted an F1 race on the streets and parking lots surrounding the Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium, and just as the first practice session started today, F1 announced an extension had been signed with the promoter, South Florida Motorsports, that guarantees a race in the Magic City through 2041.What’s Happened This Season and Who Leads the StandingsMiami is the seventh race on the 2025 F1 schedule, which kicked off in Melbourne, Australia, in mid-March. There have been three different race winners so far this season from two teams, while five different drivers have stood on the podium.Sam Bagnall|Getty ImagesAustralian Oscar Piastri has won three out of six races to start the season. McLaren looks like the team to beat, with the British team collecting five wins and sitting atop the Constructors’ Championship with a 77-point lead over second-place Mercedes. Oscar Piastri, now in his third season in F1, has notched three victories to his teammate Lando Norris’s one win. Both McLaren drivers have each only finished outside the top three once so far this season.The other Grand Prix win went to Max Verstappen, with the Red Bull driver also earning two second places to put himself third overall. Mercedes-AMG driver George Russell has shown consistency, with three podiums and a pair of fifth places, while his 18-year-old rookie teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli has impressed with regular points finishes. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari is the other podium finisher in 2025, with a third at the most recent race in Saudi Arabia. Lewis Hamilton, who left Mercedes after 12 years for Ferrari, has struggled to adapt to his new car, with a highest finish of fifth, although the seven-time champion did win the Sprint Race in China.Top Ten Standings
- Oscar Piastri, McLaren: 99 points
- Lando Norris, McLaren: 89 points
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull: 87 points
- George Russell, Mercedes-AMG: 73 points
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari: 47 points
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes-AMG: 38 points
- Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari: 31 points
- Alexander Albon, Williams: 20 points
- Esteban Ocon, Haas: 14 points
- Lance Stroll, Aston Martin: 10 points
Who Can Contend for the WinZak Mauger|Getty ImagesWhile McLaren looks to be the fastest team, four-time champion Max Verstappen is always a threat to win.McLaren are the obvious favorites, and Piastri’s improved qualifying performances this year combined with strong race pace puts him atop the list. Norris won last year’s race and is certainly in contention. While Red Bull hasn’t quite had the pace it has enjoyed over the past few seasons, you can never really count out four-time champion Max Verstappen, who won the race in 2022 and 2023 and has already sat on pole position twice this year. The Mercedes and Ferrari drivers all have an outside shot at a win but will likely need the McLarens and Verstappen to suffer some sort of misfortune—a mechanical issue or a race-ending driver error—to have a shot. Yuki Tsunoda, the other Red Bull driver, could be competitive but hasn’t been able to match Verstappen’s pace after being called up to Red Bull in the third round of this season to replace Liam Lawson.While it can be difficult to make predictions based on practice times, Piastri led the way in first practice on Friday, followed by Leclerc and Verstappen. The two Williams cars, driven by Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon, rounded out the top five.How to Watch and When the Race StartsThe race will be broadcast on ESPN, as will Saturday’s qualifying session. Qualifying for the main Grand Prix runs from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, while the Grand Prix starts at 4:00 p.m. the following day.Pauline Ballet – Formula 1|Getty ImagesMiami is also a Sprint Race weekend, meaning there will be a second, shorter race session on Saturday, with the grid for that session set by a qualifying session on Friday evening. The Sprint Race is 19 laps ,and drivers will not be required to make a pit stop, unlike the full Grand Prix on Sunday. Points for the sprint race are given to the top eight finishers, while the top 10 in the Grand Prix will receive points. The Sprint Qualifying session will be broadcast on ESPNNews, as well as ESPN+ and Disney+. The Sprint Race will be shown on ESPN.Session Times
- Sprint Qualifying: Friday, May 2, 4:30 p.m. (ESPNNews, ESPN+, Disney+)
- Sprint Race: Saturday, May 3, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN)
- Qualifying: Saturday, May 3, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN)
- Race: Sunday, May 4 4:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Get Your F1 FixCaleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.
Source: caranddriver.com
