Miami Grand Prix 2025, Winners & Losers - Formula 1

Alright, no it's not a novel idea, yes other blogs and websites do it, but this race in particular provided quite a bit of each, and figured I'd put my own list together. So let's go!

Winners:

Lewis Hamilton. What? Really? Everyone else is lumping him in with the 'losers' category? Yes, really, Lewis was a winner this weekend. Don't believe me? Hear me out.

What has been tortuous 6 races for Lewis, and really Charles too, reached it's boiling point this past weekend. Although civil in words, Lewis laid in the hammertime over the radio messages and showed his frustration. After a 3rd place finish in the sprint race the day before, and finding a bit of albeit fleeting comfort and pace in free practice 1 on Friday, Sunday was a let down once again.

But here's the thing, it wasn't necessarily entirely because of the car and it's lack of pace. While yes, it is still a world apart seemingly to McLaren, Mercedes, and sorta kinda Red Bull, he actually had a terriffic middle stint on Sunday. Starting 12th on hard tires while most everyone began the race on mediums, the hards quickly came into their own after about mid race, and Lewis made the most of them. Knocking his way thru the pack to inside the top 10 with plenty of laps to go, he took advantage of a safety car, slapped on mediums, and was quickly behind Charles in 8th place. Charles was on an opposite race strategy, and went from the softer mediums, to the slower hard tires for the remainder of the race.

Now here is where the downfall began, and why Ferrari will be listed in the 'Losers' category below. All they needed to do, was tell Charles to let him past as soon as he was within DRS range. I mean what were they waiting for? There was nothing on the line, the points difference between the two positions is absolutely negligible at that point, so why not let the faster car speed on thru, and see if he can catch Kimi Antonelli ahead in 6th and quite possibly get more points? Lewis had pace, the car was working well enough to give it a shot, yet Ferrari in their infinite wisdom, and I say that with tongue in cheek, let Lewis down. Come on Fred, give this 7 time world champion a chance to feel good!

So although Lewis finished in 8th, despite almost being taken out on the last lap by Carlos Sainz, it was a win for him overall. He vented. He raced. He had moments of that sparkle in an otherwise lackluster car. He got 3rd place in the sprint. He is on the cusp of getting an understanding of the car, and with that hopefully will come better performance. Ferrari just needs to listen. Just needs to let him shine, and if they do, both he and Charles will be in the winners category.

Williams Racing. Albon 5th, Sainz 9th, both putting points on the board, and the car looking great! I mean I did call it before the season even started, but Williams definitely is showing they got it figured out this season, and the results are coming. The car was quick and flirting all race long with being the 4th fastest, if not the 3rd. Of any team other than ones starting with an M, Williams seem to be the most put together this year. While they are still quite a bit behind Ferrari in the standings, they are well on their way to a podium finish at some point this season. It's on the horizon and I'm betting they reach it.

Kimi Antonelli. Absolutely the rookie of the season already after only 6 races. Pole position for the Sprint, and P3 for the Grand Prix. He definitely learned his lesson after a poor start in the sprint the day before, and only ran into a bit of bad luck during the grand prix dropping him back to a 6th place finish. This kid is the real deal, and his first podium finish will come soon. He's also putting the heat on George Russell, but to Russell's credit, he has stepped up and matured quite a bit for this season. It's a benefit to both to have the car and themselves performing so well. More good things are to come for Merc!

Oscar Piastri. Winner, Winner, Winner. Consistency, luck, speed, and a cool calm mature demeanor are leading the way to Oscar taking the past three Grand Prix wins. While Lando struggles to find himself (although this was a better weekend), Oscar charges forward. McLaren is still playing the two man #1 driver game, and so far it's working fine as they are well ahead in the Constructors, and now Oscar has a nice cushion in the Driver's Championship. I still wish they would back one or the other, and at the moment they might as well push forward with giving Oscar the focus. We shall see what happens, but all is sunny for the Australian.

Losers. I'll go over the losers in the next post, and there is a bunch!