Miami Gardens, Fla. - McLaren driver Lando Norris won the Formula 1 race in Miami on Saturday after a rain-soaked race caused a crash and ended under a "safety car" when the marshal collected debris from the track.

Norris started in third place, finished second in the first corner, and then surpassed McLaren driver Oscar Piastri in the final series of racing.

"Lovely job. Good job," a gentle Norris said on the team radio.

Norris' victory is encouraging after struggling and losing to Piastri's title lead in recent games. Still, Piastri leads the drivers’ standings, losing only to Norris in Saturday’s sprint.

"It's not like I lack confidence or anything. I'm still happy," Norris told reporters during a post-match press conference. "I still know my pace is there, and the speed is there. But, of course, it's an improvement."

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton finished the podium in his first year with the Italian team.

“I’m very happy with it,” said Hamilton, the seven-time world champion after the Sprint game. “It’s been a tough year so far.”

It was a tragic sprint for Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli, who played a sensational pole position on Friday, becoming the youngest pole position ever in any format of competition. But he lost his first corner position in the battle with Piastri, whose car hits in Red Bull champion Max Verstappen in Pit Lane.

Antonelli accused Piastri of unfairly pushing him away from the first corner, but officials did nothing to think his manipulation was effective. He was ranked seventh and scored 2 points.

Verstappen, who finished third for most of the game, was fined 10 seconds for his "unsafe release" at his pit stop, a mistake for his team. That brought him to 17th place.

The shortened race was postponed by heavy rains, including multiple crashes. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc slid on his legs against the wall and couldn't start. Williams driver Carlos Sainz failed to complete after piercing the tire.

On the final lap, Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso crashed after the collision, and officials later blamed the Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson. The crash brought Alonso's car into the wall, which triggered the deployment of safety vehicles.

The sun was out and the track was dry up late Saturday afternoon in the Grand Prix qualifiers, and it was Verstappen who took the pole position. His partner, Kelly Piquet, gave birth to a daughter, and he is about to start for the first time on the Miami grid.

Norris is next, one-tenth behind him, leading third in Antonelli, while Piastri is fourth.

Later in the day, Hamilton's outstanding performance in the sprint will not be repeated as he scored a disappointing 12th position to continue the climax and lows.

The Miami Grand Prix is ​​scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m. local time and more rainfall is forecast.