MIAMI GARDENS, Fla., May 4 (UPI) -- Oscar Piastria baited Max Verstappen into corner No. 1, slid behind his rear wing and overtook him on lap No. 14 for a lead he would never lose Sunday en route to a dominant Miami Grand Prix victory.
Piastri and McLaren Mercedes teammate Lando Norris muscled their cars around the 19-turn track for respective first and second-place finishes. They cruised ahead of the field relatively unscathed for the majority of the 57-lap race at the Miami International Autodrome, which was soaked with rain just before the event.
"It's just incredible, the hard work that's gone in," Piastri said of McLaren's success. "Two years ago in Miami, we were genuinely the slowest team. I think we got lapped twice.
"Now, to win the Grand Prix by over 35 seconds [in front of] third is an unbelievable result."
With his third-consecutive victory, Piastri pushed his lead over Norris to 16 points and remained atop the driver standings.
Mercedes' George Russell placed third. Verstappen, who became a father to a baby girl earlier this week before winning the pole, placed fourth.
Piastri stalked Verstappen with his grippy tires early on. He finally passed the four-time Formula 1 champion when he led him toward an inside line on corner No. 1. Verstappen steered to wide with the maneuver, which cleared space for Piastri to cut behind his car. Piastri then surged by his side and built a massive lead on the 20-car field.
"I was aware enough to avoid Max coming through on turn No. 1," Piastri said. "From that point, I had a good pace advantage.
"Clearly the car was unbelievable today."
Norris, who started second, exchanged the lead with Verstappen several times on lap Nos. 17 and 18, but eventually pulled ahead for good. Piastri and Norris later extended their gap on the field by more than 30 seconds and were never again seriously threatened.
Russell slid in front of Verstappen when he hit pit lane on lap No. 30.
Piastri, who won for the fourth time in five races, will look for another victory in two weeks at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. That race will be held at 9 a.m. EDT May 18 in Imola, Italy.
