Lando Norris voiced his frustrations after a first-lap incident with Max Verstappen in the 2025 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri claimed the first back-to-back-to-back victory for McLaren since Aryton Senna back in 1988, from fourth on the grid.
Norris, however, made a clean getaway at the start as the Dutchman locked up heading into the first corner.
With the momentum, the British driver attempted to make a pass around the outside.
Verstappen defended hard as Norris went wide, but the stewards determined that Norris wasn’t far enough alongside to be warranted any racing room, as he returned to the track in sixth place.
Fighting his way back through the field, Norris made his way back to third as Piastri applied the pressure to Verstappen.
The Aussie made his move on Lap 14 into Turn 1, and just four laps later, Norris followed through to secure a McLaren one-two — the pair crossing the line over 30 seconds clear of George Russell in third.
However, the 25-year-old wasn’t best pleased when he was asked for his thoughts on the Lap 1 incident with Verstappen.
“What can I say? If I don’t go for it, people complain,” he said.
“If I go for it, people complain, so you can’t win.
“But it’s the way it is with Max — it’s crash or don’t pass.
“Unless you get it really right and you put him in the perfect position, then you can just about get there.
“I paid the price for not doing a good enough job today, but I’m still happy with second.”
Norris: ‘I paid the price’ for fight with Verstappen
With his fourth victory of the season, Piastri extends his championship lead over Norris to 16 points after the opening six rounds, a quarter of the way through the 2025 campaign.
Norris also holds a 16-point lead over Verstappen, but he was less than happy with the way that his fight with the Red Bull driver, ultimately, cost him the race victory.
He added: “Yeah, I mean it’s never the best feeling, but the team have done an amazing job, so I can’t fault them at all.
“Good pit stops, great pace. We were up the road, so it was a good feeling, but Oscar drove well.
“Max put up a good fight as always and I paid the price, but it’s the way it is.
It took several attempts for Norris to find his way past Verstappen as the pair met on track after the Lap 1 shenanigans.
The reigning World Champion defended with all his might, but he succumbed to the pace of the McLaren eventually.
By that time, Piastri had already built up a lead of over eight seconds.
This time around, the 24-year-old’s luck changed as a Virtual Safety Car benefited both McLaren drivers, unlike Saturday’s Sprint and the 2024 Grand Prix.
Norris chased down the gap, bringing it down to just under four seconds, but Piastri held on for the victory as F1 heads to Imola next on the calendar.
READ MORE — Why Lando Norris doesn’t envisage Japan repeat with Max Verstappen in Miami
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