Charles Leclerc finished the Miami Grand Prix out of the podium after a chaotic final lap that saw his Ferrari spin into the Turn 3 wall, sustain front‑left damage and struggle to steer. The spin forced the Ferrari to limp through the final sector, raising concerns about the car’s rear‑end reliability. Oscar Piastri inherited the podium as Leclerc struggled.

The FIA concluded that Leclerc’s off‑track excursions granted a lasting advantage, converting an initial drive‑through sanction into a 20-second penalty applied post‑race. The ruling also revived debate on penalty consistency, a sore spot since the season began. Stewards examined a brief contact with George Russell at the hairpin but deemed it a minor incident, leaving no further sanction for the Ferrari‑Mercedes clash.

The time addition dropped Leclerc to eighth place, behind teammate Lewis Hamilton and Alpine rookie Franco Colapinto, who recorded his best‑ever Grand Prix finish. Mercedes, meanwhile, capitalised on the reshuffle, with Russell vaulted to fourth, narrowing his championship gap as Verstappen held the lead.