McLaren don show say dem still get muscle for 2026 Formula 1 season as Lando Norris win Miami Grand Prix sprint race for Saturday. Na first win for Norris for di season and e come with teammate Oscar Piastri wey finish second, give McLaren one-two finish wey sweet dem well well.
Charles Leclerc finish third for Ferrari, but di real drama come for di back of di top four. Kimi Antonelli wey drive for Mercedes originally finish fourth for di sprint, but stewards give am five-second time penalty for too many track limits violation. Dat one drop am to sixth position, and e mean say di Italian lose two places and points wey e don collect.
George Russell, wey be Antonelli teammate, move up to fourth position. Max Verstappen for Red Bull take fifth, while Lewis Hamilton finish seventh for di other Ferrari. Pierre Gasly collect di last point for eighth position for Alpine.
Di penalty don affect di drivers’ championship standings. Antonelli still lead di table with 75 points, ahead of Russell wey get 68 points. But di gap don reduce from nine points to seven points. Charles Leclerc dey third with 55 points, and Hamilton fourth with 43 points.
After di race, Norris talk say e dey happy to win again. E say: “Na good race, nice to dey back on top step, even if na sprint. Massive job to di team for bringing di upgrades. E feel like everybody dey talk di same thing, but our upgrades really help dis weekend.” Norris add say e dey push but e dey relaxed to avoid mistakes, and e say di team go adjust small things for qualifying.
Piastri also talk say e dey satisfied with second place. E say: “E take small time to stay with Lando, but overall na good day. We go see wetin we fit do for qualifying.” Leclerc praise Ferrari upgrades but e no dey satisfied with third. E say: “Di upgrades work well, so tank to di team for dia massive work. I no dey satisfied with P3. But McLaren don take big step forward.”
Russell, wey finish fourth, no too happy. E say: “I no dey much happier. I struggle on dis track, e get low grip. Di car dey slide. Di improvements from Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull dey daunting.” Antonelli, wey get penalty, explain say: “We don dey work for di break and for my side, for once, I do everything right with di procedures, so we need check wetin happen. Di grip low, probably lower dan we expect. After dat I dey frustrated, I no even drive well, I make plenty mistakes, I get track limits, wey be something wey I need avoid.”
Di sprint race for Miami show say di order dey change. McLaren upgrade don make dem look comfortable and dem dey outpace Mercedes, wey don dominate early season. Damon Hill, 1996 world champion, talk for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra say: “We dey wonder now weda dis na change for order because McLaren dey look very comfortable and dem dey outpace Mercedes. We tink say Mercedes get so much for hand for start of di season.”
Di race see some small battles for middle of pack. Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman get small intra-team scrap for Haas, but Ocon win. Alex Albon come into pits to change front wing for Williams and drop to back. Isack Hadjar manage to pass Franco Colapinto for ninth but no collect points.
Di paddock still dey remember di death of Alex Zanardi, wey affect mood small. But overall, di weekend continue with qualifying later.
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