MIAMI GARDENS, Fla., May 2 (UPI) -- A year ago at this time, Lando Norris cruised to his first career Grand Prix title in Miami. Now, the 25-year-old aims to keep his engine hot in hopes of replacing McLaren Mercedes teammate Oscar Piastri atop the Formula 1 driver standings.
"It's good memories, stuff I dreamed of as a kid, winning and standing on the top step and I managed to do it here, which was a cool place to do it," Norris said at media day in Miami Gardens, Fla. "Good memories, good times, thinking back to the race and checkered flag. ... The plan is to try to do it again."
Norris led the driver standings through the first four races of the season. He has since slipped 10 points behind Piastri (99), who won three of the last four events, including the last two races.
Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT's Max Verstappen, who won the Miami Grand Prix in 2022 and 2023, earned 87 points through his first five races of 2025. The four-time Formula 1 World Drivers' Champion sits behind the aforementioned co-favorites in betting odds to win the 2025 Miami Grand Prix.
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The fourth edition of the first U.S.-based race on the F1 calendar will be held at 4 p.m. EDT Sunday at the Miami International Autodrome, a street course built around the Miami Dolphins' Hard Rock Stadium. The event will air on ABC. Pre-race coverage will be available at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Norris, who finished second behind Verstappen last in the 2024 driver standings, can retain his spot atop the 2025 standings with a win and if Piastri fails to reach the podium. He also could earn the top spots through several other scenarios.
The two will be tied in the standings if Norris wins and Piastri places third. Verstappen, who welcomed his first child this week, also looms as a threat to move up the standings.
"We feel good," Norris said. "We feel confidence we are the best, but the others are certainly not far behind and consistently putting pressure on us. So, one little mistake and we are behind and not where we want to be."
Drivers didn't mention many changes that were needed for the 3.3-mile street course, but called the 19-turn circuit "quirky," cited the potential role of South Florida heat and are excited to race around the NFL stadium.
They will cruise to speeds of eclipsing 200 mph as they grip the track in the 57-lap competition. A slight chance of rain in the forecast for Sunday's race also could impact the event.
"It's very unique," Piastri said of the Miami Grand Prix. "Racing around a stadium is pretty different and you don't have that anywhere else in the world. Also, the location in the world, Miami is obviously a renowned city."
A major change for the event is the lengthening of one of the track's three DRS -- drag reduction system -- zones. That could pave the way for more overtaking scenarios after drivers press the steering wheel button that triggers a flag to open on their cars' rear wings. The lengthened DRS zone is on the curved straight into turn No. 11. The activation point is 30 meters after turn No. 9.
Formula 1 and South Florida Motorsports announced Friday that they agreed to a 10-year extension for the race to be held through 2041.
