MIAMI, Florida – The 2024 Miami Grand Prix started something special for McLaren.
The team brought a big upgrade package for the MCL38, and it paid immediate dividends as Lando Norris secured his first Grand Prix victory on that Sunday last May. The win kicked McLaren’s Championship season into high gear, and as the team returns to Miami for this year’s installment of the Miami Grand Prix not only are they atop the Constructors’ Championship standings, but also one of their drivers leads the way in the Drivers’ Championship race.
Oscar Piastri.
While Norris began the year as the odds-on favorite for the Drivers’ Championship, and secured a win in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, it is Piastri who leads the way right now. With three wins already under his belt, Piastri has emerged as the new favorite in the title race, and arrives in Miami as the driver everyone is chasing.
Speaking with the media on Thursday, Piastri talked about this year’s car, his strong start to the season, and what he is most proud of at the moment.
“I think the car is an evolution from what we had last year, there’s some things that are different, but there’s a lot of things that still do the same thing as last season,” said Piastri early in his media session when asked about this year’s challenger, and some of the complaints Norris has raised about how difficult the MCL39 is to drive.
“I think from my side, you know, I feel like I have taken a step forward across the board.
There’s not been one specific thing that I tried to work on from last year, I’ve just been trying to find those last hundreds of seconds wherever you can, and I think at the moment that’s been making the difference,” continued Piastri.
“I’ve still lost out on a few pole [positions] by a few hundredths of seconds, so I’ve still got some more digging to do, but I think that’s been the big difference for me so far.
“There are still some things we’re trying to iron out as a team with the car we’ve got. It’s clearly very quick, but it’s not always the easiest to get the pace out of, but I think, yeah, that was the case sometimes last year.”
Piastri then talked at length about the difference at McLaren from Miami 2024, and Miami 2025. The driver outlined how this year there is “quite a different atmosphere” at McLaren than there was a year ago.
“I mean, it’s much different than it was last year,” began Piastri.
“The position we’re in is definitely very different from when we came into Miami last year. This was kind of the turning point for the team in a good way, and this season we’re already on a roll so far. So it’s quite a different atmosphere, quite a different position that we’re in,” continued the McLaren driver. “But I’ve been enjoying it a lot. You know, every time you can go into a weekend knowing you’ve got a very good chance of winning the race, and if you do a good enough job, then you will win the race, that’s always, always a nice position to be in.
“So, I’ve been enjoying it. It’s always fun when you’re competing at the front and winning races and I’ve just been trying to enjoy it as much as I can.”
Pressed on how it feels to be leading in the Drivers’ Championship, Piastri chose to focus on what has put him at the top of the standings, and not simply his thoughts on being at the top of the standings.
“Winning the races is what is exciting at the moment. I think being the championship leader is nice, but I think I said after Saudi Arabia I’m much more proud and satisfied of the work and the reasons behind why I’m leading the championship than actually the fact that I am leading the championship,” started Piastri.
“I think especially given that Melbourne didn’t go very well from a points point of view, considering I started with a bit of a deficit and I brought it back, I think that’s kind of the part that I’m enjoying the most is the reasons why we’re leading the championship.”
Still, as the only driver with three Grand Prix wins under their belt this year, Piastri has put himself atop the standings with emphasis. In his view, however, what stands out is how different each of those three wins has been, and what that might mean for his and the team’s chances this season.
“The three wins I’ve had so far have all looked slightly different,” said Piastri. ”I think Bahrain was a very, very strong weekend.
“China was a similar weekend, whereas I think Saudi [Arabia], I think the competition was closer. I think I didn’t have it all my own way that weekend, and I won in Saudi [Arabia] because of being very strong in other areas I think,” continued Piastri. “And for me, I’d rather not have to rely on that every week, but I think I’m proud of the fact that I kind of have different tools at my disposal to try and win races.”
The 2024 Miami Grand Prix launched McLaren’s Constructors’ Championship campaign.
Can the 2025 installment continue Piastri’s Drivers’ Championship push?
We’ll find out more later today when F1 Sprint qualifying gets underway.
SB Nation will be on the ground for the entire Miami Grand Prix, so check our story stream all week long for full coverage!
