McLaren Dedicates Miami F1 Sprint Win to Alex Zanardi With Emotional Tribute
Alex Zanardi died in Bologna on May 1, 2026, at 59 years old the night before Formula 1 rolled out at the Miami International Autodrome. By the time the Sprint chequered flag fell on Saturday, the race result had become secondary to the tribute that sat either side of it. F1 held a minute’s silence on the grid in Zanardi’s memory ahead of the Sprint race, and the paddock’s response was beautiful as they celebrated the life of the late racing driver.
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown called Zanardi “an amazing driver, a fierce competitor and a personal inspiration,” and Andrea Stella followed with his own tribute. Lando Norris Wins It, Andrea Stella Dedicates It Lando Norris cruised to victory in the Miami Grand Prix Sprint, comfortably controlling the field to underline McLaren’s step forward in performance . He crossed the line ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri and Ferrari ‘s Charles Leclerc , after another difficult start for Mercedes ‘ Kimi Antonelli who finished sixth after a 5-second penalty for track limits, demoting him to sixth.
McLaren principal Andrea Stella, speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, made sure the conversation didn’t start with a recap of the sprint. “Yeah, I want to, before we talk about [the race], allow me to remember and pay tribute to Alex Zanardi. A very special man, a driver, athlete, a real symbol, an example of what it means to love life.
Love life and inspiration for everyone, so this victory is for him. ” He then turned to the performance of his team: the upgrades had confirmed their promise not just over a single lap in qualifying, but across race distance in the Florida heat, conditions nobody had yet evaluated the new package in. “It’s good to start races.
It’s good to start sprints. It’s good to bring up grades so that we can become more and more competitive. It was important to confirm.