Oscar Piastri voices surprise at latest Red Bull development

Oscar Piastri has admitted he was surprised by Red Bull's resurgence at the Miami Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen dragged the upgraded RB22 back into the fight with Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren. Following a sluggish start to the season, the Milton Keynes team's comprehensive upgrades in Florida allowed Verstappen to challenge for the front row, leaving Piastri and the McLaren camp caught off guard.

Why it matters:

Red Bull's sudden step forward reshapes the competitive order just as the field seemed to settle. With Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren all bringing significant updates to Miami, the relative performance swing shows how fragile any team's advantage can be—and how crucial upgrade effectiveness is in determining the championship trajectory.

The details:

• Piastri, a nine-time grand prix winner, conceded he didn't expect Verstappen to be so competitive after Red Bull's early-season struggles.
• "I would say yes," he told media, including RacingNews365. "It wasn't a big surprise to see Mercedes and Ferraris—and especially Charles [Leclerc]—be competitive. I think to see Max up there was a bit of a surprise."
• Piastri noted the randomness of current form: "Things are very random, depending on who gets it right, who gets it wrong."
• While McLaren locked out the sprint podium with a 1-2 (Norris leading Piastri), the Australian dropped to a distant third in the race, while Norris fought for the win and finished second behind Verstappen.
• Piastri acknowledged his team "got it wrong" on race day, adding: "When you get it wrong, it's not the difference of a tenth or two, it's sometimes half a second."

What's next:

As the F1 circus heads to the next round, the upgrade race intensifies. Red Bull's Miami package proved effective, but consistency remains elusive. For Piastri and McLaren, understanding why they lost performance from sprint to race will be critical—especially with Ferrari and Mercedes also closing in. The competitive window is tighter than ever, and any misstep can cost half a second or more.