Miami GP Race Report

I wonder how many people tuned in for the race only to have found that they had missed it.  The race start was brought forwards because of storms that were heading for that part of the world.  There were still concerns about rain during the race though.  If there was a lightning strike within eight miles of the track that would be an automatic red flag.  Would any driver give us a performance that puts us in that kind of awe.

There were further tributes to Zanardi during the F1 programming; which really put into perspective what an outstanding sportsperson he was as we watched the race in comfy clothing, eating chocolates whilst he was winning hand-cycle races at the same old age as us.

The question at the start was not whether Antonelli would have a poor start but how many places would he fall back from pole position.  Hadjar was starting at the back after being disqualifed from Qualifying because his bargeboard was a tiny bit too small.  Leclerc made an amazing start in between Antonelli and Verstappen and was into the lead.  Somehow Verstappen went wide and then into a full 360 degree spin in the middle of the opening corners, amongst all the cars, he lost a lot of places through it.  Both Williams went forward dramatically, by several laps.

Colapinto and Hamilton were investigated for a first lap incident at turn 11.  It came to nothing but Hamilton's car was badly injured and radioed in that he couldn't race like this.  On the replay we saw that it was clearly a racing incident.

On lap four, Antonelli got past Leclerc for the lead.  On the next lap it was reversed.  Norris had been told to hold back and let them battle.  Norris was then past Antonelli.  We were waiting for a Safety Car to be called as Hadjar had just crashed, running into the wall twice.  Afterwards he told the press that he was just too eager.   Gasly confirmed that it would need to just be the full works, as he was tilted up against the barrier.  Hadjar stayed in his car for a long time thumping the wheel in frustration.

They took a while to show Gasly's incident, which hadn't looked too bad from the position, however Gasly had overtaken Lawson who had locked up whilst defending the place and gone into his side flipping him completely over and back again as he rolled over his halo (definitely doing a good job there).  No wonder he had been so quick to let everyone know he was okay over the radio.

At lap seven, it would be a very early cheat pit stop.  The only driver to take it was Verstappen who came out in 16th and he would have to get through the pack all over again.  He had been criticised by his former team mate Sainz about his attitude to taking "just because he's in the midfield.".  Lawson was forced to retire after coming together with Verstappen earlier in the race and running over Gasly's debris later.  Hulkenberg was brought into the pits too to have his car fixed and he sat in the car but ultimately was out.

The teams took advantage of the slower pace to let their drivers know that rain was expected in fifteen laps' time.  Leclerc backed them right up at the restart but went well before the start line and seemed to get away well.  Russell had a good go at Piastri.  I was wondering if we would see the battling racing after the restart we normally see at the start with the change in regulations.  Norris was able to get past Leclerc for the lead soon after.  Russell however was berating his team for being in the wrong strat mode.  Antonelli was able to get past Leclerc soon after but Leclerc was able to hold it, then back again.  This was what Norris was told to just spectate earlier only now he was in front of it.

By lap sixteen, Verstappen had made up ten places and was in the points (just the one) and behind both Williams.  Driving the Williams' cars were two disgruntled former team mates of his.  Leclerc and Antonelli were still going back and forth in second and third to Norris's great advantage in the lead.  

A few laps before the rain was due Russell and Leclerc both came in for fresh tyres; this was a great risk.  Ferrari's pit stop was slow and allowed Russell to get in front of him.

On lap 25, as predicted, some spots of rain began to fall.  Verstappen was up to fifth and behind Hamilton and past him.  Antonelli pitted from second place and came out behind Verstappen, who did not need to pit again on the one hand but on old tyres on the other.  It triggered stops from several other drivers.  

There were minor battles throughout the pack for a while.  By lap 46 of 57, Verstappen was in third, Norris second and Antonelli in the lead.  Black and white flags were beginning to be handed out for track limit violations.  Antontelli received one.  It must have been tricky to stay in the lines because veteran Alonso got one too.

With a few laps to go it looked like the top two were set but the battle was on between Verstappen and Russell behind him.  Russell tapped Verstappen's tyre with his front wing and damaged it.  Leclerc was up against Piastri, who overtook him on the final lap and wasn't able to grab the place back in the straight after a slide.  To compound the error, he span, hit the wall, recovered and had damage, which cemented his fourth place until he was overtaken by Russell and Verstappen in the last corner.  He would be investigated for leaving the track and gaining an advantage and also whether he was driving in a car in an unsafe condition.  Would be strange if that stood up in court.

Norris gave the team a pep talk on the cool down lap.  He was sure McLaren could get back to their winning ways; he was sure he could have won that race.  The top three were interviewed by Button and then put on a huge truck (it could have held a pool and I think the drivers would have appreciated it) around to the podium.  The top ten was Antontelli, Norris, Piastri, Russell, Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton, Colapinto, Sainz and Albon.  It was great to see the Williams scoring points again and a double points finish at that.  It didn't look as though this was something they were going to be able to do for a long time, if at all this season as the sounds coming from the team were quite negative (in a can-do attitude way).

Is Antonelli going to become annoying the way Vettel and Verstappen did?  At the moment he seems happy-go-lucky and everyone is enjoying his wins.  It seems like tension may grow between team mates in Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes because it seems everyone has the skill and opportunity to challenge Antonelli but  no one is.

There are three weeks until Canada and I wonder what they can work on between then.

Miami GP Qualifying Report

Before we could find out what order the drivers would start for the race, we learnt that thunder storms were on their way to Miami meaning the whole of idea of racing could change.  

As the first session got under way, it was Verstappen who set the quickest time initially.  Hulkenberg, who needed a new engine in his Audi, was out at the start of the session but his colleague Bortoleto was having work done and he didn't.  A lot of fixing was done and he did get out eventually; it was pointless because he was last and then his brakes caught on fire.  Piastri could only just make 16th, which is the last slot before you are out of Qualifying.  Linblad, Alonso, Stroll, Bottas, Perez and Bortoleto went out; no surprises here.

All Norris could do in the second session was seventh.  It seemed that there was going to be a huge sea change since the morning.  Hulkenberg, Lawson, Bearman, Sainz, Ocon and Albon went out.  Verstappen was still the fastest followed by Antontelli.

After the first round of laps in the final session, several drivers were in contention for pole including Verstappen and LeClerc but Antonelli was quickest.  Antonelli continued to maintain that position but it looked like Verstappen would take it from him on the final lap set of the session.  The top ten were Antonelli, Verstappen, LeClerc, Norris, Russell, Hamilton, Piastri, Colapinto, Hadjar and Gasly.  The disparity between the two Mercedes drivers is going, with the young arrival starting to outshine his old team mate.  The McLarens lost any advantage they had during the Sprint to the wind or possibly something else.  Verstappen suddenly seemed strong out of nowhere.  Colapinto seems to really have the measure on his more experienced and highly rated team mate at Alpine, Gasly.

Journalists are not going to stop asking Antonelli whether or not he can make a good start, starting with Brundle in his immediate interview.  Verstappen however was very happy with how things had gone.  The race start could be moved or who knows what else if the rain, thunder and lightning come.  Will Antonelli be lightning off the start though?  Who will be thunderous in their disappointment with their team's performance (I predict Sainz)?  We will find out if the change in regulations mean better races or will they remain only fun for the first few laps and then a train of cars?

Miami GP Sprint Report

Sprint Day dawned in Miami and Linblad had to start from the pit-lane because Racing Bulls did not cover up his car overnight then Hulkenberg's engine blew up on the way to the grid.  It was a poor start for McNish as the new Audi boss.

Having had a full month to practice their starts a lot was expected from the drivers off the grid.  Antonelli, who had solemnly promised he wold work on nothing but his starts, had a stinker, dropping back to fourth.  It was wheel to wheel in the first few corners.  Racing Bulls have a new livery for the event and are now yellow all over the front.  An added benefit is that it makes them mush easier to distinguish from the Red Bulls.  Antonelli made a couple of moves on LeClerc who then radioed in to say he was driving dangerously.

Hamilton will have been pleased get passed old rival Verstappen on lap three.  Meanwhile the McLarens were clear away at the front, staying in the order they started.  At the back of the pack, Stroll overtook Alondso; why weren't we shown that?

Linblad went out but I don't know where, when or why.

Russell got past Antonelli for fourth place but  it was reversed later in the lap.  Verstappen and Hamtilton were contining to battle, coming to a head when Versappen pushed Hamilton off the track to overtake.  Red Bull told him to give the place back.  Ultimately Verstappen would win between the pair.

Just after halfway, Bearman lost a large piece of his car that was smashed up by his team mate, splintering it into little parts.  With six laps to go Albon came in for a new nose for his Williams.  It seemed a bit pointless unless they were going to be investigated for having wobbly parts on board.  He came back out at the back.  

The beginning of the race was interesting but then it became quite boring.  Bearman did his best and overtook his team mate with only a couple of corners to go and Alonso waited to then get past Stroll and Perez.

Despite having been warned with a flag, Antonelli went outside of track limits again on the last lap and was awarded a five second time penalty.  That dropped him from fourth to sixth.

David Coulthard hosted the not-podium interview and also got to hand out some plaques as not-trophies to the top three.  LeClerc looked absolutely bewildered to have been given it.  Norris praised the upgrades.  He got his special plaque from someone who was on Artemis II.  Coulthard added some appropriate words about the recent death of Alex Zanardi at the end: "remembering him as a racing community", which was unusually apposite of him.

The drivers were very sweaty after the Sprint so the actual race should be a challenge.

Miami GP Sprint Qualifying Report

There was much more to discuss in the build-up to the Miami event than usual because of the long gap between races.  Firstly, there are changes to the fancy electrics; these were explained but I don't think even if I was interested I wouldn't really understand them.  After that there are personnel changes: Verstappen's long time engineer will be leaving Red Bull for McLaren in...2028.  Leading however, is Allan McNish at Audi.

Failing to make adjustments for the changes was Stroll, who beached himself at the side of the track and a Yellow Flag was brought out for quite a considerable period.  Norris led the first session with Lawson, Ocon, Perez, Bottas, Alonso and Stroll going out.

The second session was uneventful with LeClerc leading this time and Bortoleto, Hulkenberg, Bearman, Albon, Sainz and Lindblad going out.  Sainz was very unhappy on the radio with how little progress Williams had made over the month hiatus.

It looked like it could be a McLaren front row for the Sprint but Antonelli split them in the end.   The top ten were Norris, Antonelli, Piastri, LeClerc, Verstappen, Russell, Hamilton, Colapino, Hadjar and Gasly.  It's a fairly predictable top ten, even if the order isn't.  

I don't feel I can many predictions for the Sprint because we just don't know how the regulation changes are going to effect the racing.  What I will predict for Race Qualifying is that it will be unpredictable; some teams will learn a lot from this and improve.  There is lots to find out this weekend.

Miami GP Race Report

The most exciting drivers' lap ever took place in Miami, full size, two-seater, fully-drivable Lego cars were given to each team.  The drivers seemed to be having the time of their lives and forgot that they were supposed to be waving to the crowds.  A giant Lego minifig (Megafig?) was circulating on the grid too.

The Florida weather was haunting this part of the weekend too.  There was a 40% chance of rain but more importantly if there were lightning strikes in the region there was an alarming protocol of evacuation and Red Flags to follow.

The grid walk was back with Brundle but he struggled to find anyone who could string a sentence together, there was a number of celebrities wheeled out who had no idea where they were.  He found some drivers, who obviously spoke well, and Jack Whitehall.

Initially it looked like a clean start but Norris made yet another mistake and ran wide and off the track, coming back in sixth.  Annoyingly the classification wasn't showing, the FIA really need to sort that out.  Norris was on the radio saying that Max was up to his old tricks.  Meanwhile, at the back, Doohan and Lawson had come together.  Eventually the Alpine came to a stop at the side of the track and a Virtual Safety Car slowed the cars until it could be cleared.

After 14 laps and an intense battle, with excellent defence by Verstappen, Piastri was passed him and into the lead.  The Red Bull driver complained about his brakes, as Norris lined up to take his turn to get passed.  He did and after a lap, Verstappen took the place back, letting Piastri get a strong 8 second lead.    Norris got back to second and we wondered how long it would last.

It was reported that Albon had a water leak (or something) on his Williams, which everyone waited to see what would become of that.  With rain forecast by different teams at different times, Russell made an early call that it was precipitating, although that they have been inside-helmet rain, as no one else saw it.  They can't have had much of a hope of it actually arriving because the pit stops went ahead half way through the race.

Bearman's Haas broke down and he slowed then pulled to the side of the track.  A Virtual Safety Car was called again and several top runners got a cheap pit stop: both McLarens, Hamilton, Russell.  Russell was able to get past Verstappen through it.

A couple of laps later, Sainz was passed LeClerc and Albon was past Antonelli; the Williams were flying.  Tsunoda was given a penalty for speeding in the pit lane. 

Bortoleto was the next driver to retire with engine problems; it seemed like he would be able to get back to the pits but pulled off well out of the way.  A Virtual Safety Car was called for the third time anyway.  Sainz was sleeping when it ended as LeClerc caught him napping and got past and Hamilton took him too.  He asked the team to get LeClerc to move over, they were on different tyres.  It took a while but they did swap positions.  

At the back of the grid, Lawson was also out, the fourth rookie to retire.  To add to the confusion, Ferrari asked the two drivers to swap positions back again.

In the end, it was an easy win for Piastri but it was a one-two for McLaren.  They were over thirty seconds ahead of Russell.  It will be very tricky for Toto if Verstappen does want to drive for Mercedes, to choose which driver to dump.

Verstappen was fourth ahead of an excellent points haul for Albon in fifth, then Antonelli, LeClerc, Hamilton, Sainz and Tsunoda in the points.  Hadjar just missed out on a point as Tsunoda managed to keep five seconds ahead of him to mitigate his penalty.  The two Aston Martins finished last, Alonso ahead of Stroll obviously.

Will McLaren be found to have dodgy parts on their cars before the season is out?  Who knows but their dominance continues and the disappointment in Norris compared to Piastri is becoming more and more apparent.

Miami GP Qualifying Report

Everyone was still recovering from the Sprint and too tired to Qualify.  Silly mistakes were made straight away, the first session had barely started when Albon was noted for a pit lane infringement.  

There were scrappy laps from some top drivers, Russell and Hamilton struggling.  Despite going second fastest, Norris hit the wall.  Verstappen had learnt something from the Sprint event and finished first. The McLarens were a strong second and third. Some drivers, including Russell and Hamilton used more new sets of tyres than they would want to.  Out went Hulkenberg, Alonso, Gasly, Stroll and Bearman.  This was disappointing from the Haas rookie.  The disparity between the Aston Martins and other teams is showing more and more.  Where others were able to learn and improve from the other competitive sessions at Miami, they went backwards.

In the second session, some drivers did well and others made mistakes, locking up on fresh sets of tyres, Hamilton was one of these.  Out went Hadjar, Hamilton, Bortoleto, Doohan and Lawson after an eventless few minutes.

It was close in the last session, with three thousandths of a second between Verstappen and Norris at the front.  LeClerc and Russell had scrappy first laps and had time in hand to improve.  The Williams were looking strong again too.  McLaren were not able to get ahead of the Red Bull.  The Mercedes found a little time at the end.  Unlike earlier, there were no penalties handed out.  They finished: Verstappen on pole, Norris, Antonelli, Piastri, Russell, Sainz, Albon, LeClerc, Ocon and Tsunoda.

The question going into the race would be whether Verstappen has found it in himself to keep it clean and maintain the lead after the first lap without the stewards needing to intervene.

Miami GP Sprint Report

What a difference twenty-fours hours makes!  All pundits' eyes were on Antonelli, any other driver that was previously the big story ("Just look at young Piastri!") is now too old and too slow.  The Mercedes driver came to the track on the Saturday as the centre of everyone's attention.  Also, the Floridian sunshine had disappeared and was replaced by rain.  The track wet was a complete unknown.

It was a bit wet, drizzly and drivers went out on Intermediate wet tyres to get round to the starting grid.  The rain suddenly got much, much heavier and LeClerc, who was going round (far too fast for the conditions I feel, he should have tip-toed round) hit the wall in a largish smash.  He tried to bring the car back around to the pits but stopped at the end of the pit lane.  Both Ferrari drivers were complaining.  I was surprised that they were not stopped from going out with the car at the side of the track.  Bearman was going at much more appropriate speed and went off but was able to bring the car gently around and back on track.  LeClerc was out of the race.  Hamilton has been facing a lot of negative discussion about his performance compared to LeClerc but in this instance he did a better job in the conditions.  He was pulled up for driving unsafely by the stewards.

The formation lap would be behind the Safety Car and all drivers were on the Intermediate tyres apart from Sainz who chose the Full Wet.  They did a few laps.  Verstappen spun off, lots of drivers complained/fed back and the race was Red Flagged and stopped.

Following a delay for the marshals to sweep water off the track.  They did a couple of laps behind the Safety Car and the drivers radioed in to tell us what the conditions were like.  From all this, the Race Director decided to go for a standing not a rolling start.  With three laps completed of the 18, it would be a short sprint.

Antonelli made a poor start and Piastri came in quick, he fought and he was off and coming back onto the track in 4th.  Despite large rooster tails of water, the drivers were right behind each other tightly.  Lawson and Stroll made up 5 places each.

The race was like watching highlights, everything that would normally happen in a race did, but much closer together.  Albon was desperately trying to get past Hamilton, there was overtaking, pit stops were made.  Tsunoda, running in last place, was the first person to go onto slick, dry weather tyres.  He was followed by Hamilton, which was a bigger gamble as it dropped him into 15th place ahead of Bortoleto, Stroll and Sainz.

Next, Verstappen and Antonelli came in from the front, the Red Bull car was released into the Mercedes, meaning Antonelli couldn't even get into his pit box and had to keep going.  He was awarded a 10 second penalty.  Whilst this was happening there were Yellow Flags then Green again, something had happened on track.  We quickly found out that Sainz had had a big smash with lots of debris on track that drivers were trying to avoid.  We weren't sure whether there would be a Safety Car.  Piastri took a risk and came in early, not waiting to see; then Norri kept radioing in to say how much debris there was on track in the hope that a Safety Car would be called.  Sainz managed to get back to the pits somehow.

It looked like Norris was going to have to pit for dry tyres anyway, especially as Hamilton was powering through the line up and was in third.  As he was in the pits, there were more Yellow Flags, initially this seemed because of the debris but we cut to an Aston Martin in pieces across the track.  Obviously, the world assumed it was Stroll but, no, two times world champion Alonso.  It wasn't his fault, Lawson went into him; in a race where he veered from hero to zero and back again at an alarming pace.

There were three laps left and the pole-sitter, Antonelli, was in 11th.  A replay of Sainz made me think Albon was out from 5th too but luckily not.  With the Safety Car leading the cars to the finish, everyone was very close.  This meant that Verstappen's 10 second penalty took him back to 16th place, ahead of only Doohan.  Somehow, just by keeping his head down Norris won ahead of Piastri, Hamilton, Albon, Russell, Stroll, Lawson and Bearman.  It was a good chance to earn points for those last 4 drivers.  For once the promise of Williams looking strong came true, normally as soon as anyone suggests it there will be an inevitable no points finish.

There were several more investigations announced as well, so the finishing order did not look definite at all.  In the end only Bearman was given a 5 second penalty, which put Tsunoda in the points, which is amazing for him as he started at the back.  Then Albon and Lawson were also given 5 seconds off their race times for not staying above the minimum times set under the Safety Car and bumping into Alonso respectively.  

Hamilton was full of praise for his team's strategic decision to bring him in early.  He was overjoyed for once.

Williams might rue their saviour Sainz, he has made one mistake after another so far this season.  Three cars needed fixing before the imminent Qualifying session, his, LeClerc's and Alonso's.  It would be touch and go.  It was a thrilling Sprint, which made me worry that Qualifying and the Race would be dreary.

Miami GP Sprint Qualifying Report

Formula 1 arrived in Miami for some glitz and glamour.  Lando Norris went for a disco ball helmet design, which was a big hit with my 7 year old.  Now we've been coming to the track for a few years, less is made of how much it is a party.

In the first session, it was very busy on the track at the end.  Tsunoda didn't manage to cross the line in time to put in a final lap and was out.  This must have been disappointing for Red Bull. Norris got held up by his bestie, Verstappen, who seemed to hold up his team mate too, who in turn made some disparaging remarks in the press pen.  Fatherhood must be distracting the driver.  Out went Stroll, Doohan, Tsunoda, Bortoleto and Bearman.  The Mercedes were the two top drivers, then Albon, Norris, Sainz and Piastri.  The Mercedes engine was going great guns at this track.  Doohan was very angry on team radio about his release from the garage during the session, it could have been unsafe and he felt that it disadvantaged him.  Briatore won't like him having been so public in his criticism.  It won't do him any favours.

Unfortunately Sainz made a mistake and had a huge lock-up, going right off track, which meant Williams couldn't keep up the form in the second session.  There were a few bumps to the wall on the back straight, mostly notably by Gasly.  Other than Sainz, who didn't end up setting a time at all, there were no surprises amongst the drivers going out: Hulkenberg, Ocon, Gasly and Lawson.  Norris and Verstappen were quickest.

In the final session, Russell only put in one flying lap and sat on pole as everyone else went out.  It was nip and tuck.  Verstappen took pole from the Mercedes, then Antonelli took it.  We waited for the McLarens to put in quicker times but they couldn't.  It finished: Antonelli, Piastri (looking ever stronger than his team mate, again, even the 7 year old has switched allegiance), Norris, Verstappen, Russell, LeClerc, Hamilton, Albon, Hadjar and Alonso.  Toto Wolff had a huge grin as his choice of replacement for Hamilton came good.  Russell was quick to get to parc ferme to congratulate him.  It was the fastest lap time ever set at Miami.

Verstappen was confident that he could make up some places in the Sprint but both Ferrari drivers were despondent that they could do anything in the Sprint or the main event.

Miami GP Race Report

There was nothing exciting in the build-up to the race.  The celebrity who got the most screen time was Adrian Newey, prowling about with his notebook.

Verstappen made a storming start off the line, with the Ferraris behind but Piastri came straight through to third place.  Perez cocked it up, going wide, a straight across and then a little off the track and back on and across, holding up Norris but letting everyone else get away ahead of them.  Verstappen was out of DRS range of LeClerc by the third lap.

Piastri continued to have a great start to the race, overtaking LeClerc for second place on the fifth lap.

Nothing much happened for many laps, including some pit stops until Verstappen ran wide and knocked down a bollard, depositing it in the middle of the track.  Did he do it deliberately to try and get an easier pit stop behind a Safety Car?  A Virtual Safety Car was called very briefly for the debris to be cleared away and only a few cars could benefit, none of the leaders.

Verstappen, Piastri and a few others took their stops and then Sargeant does what any second Williams driver does best and brought out a Safety Car in a crash with Magnussen.  It may have been Magnussen's fault but it was a close call.  Norris, who was in the lead, got the quick pit stop and maintained the lead.

Norris didn't handle the restart well and Verstappen was right on his tail, with LeClerc more than a second behind him to trouble the Red Bull.  Ultimately he did keep the lead and pulled out far enough ahead before DRS was enabled.  Verstappen started to complain about the steering.

Behind them LeClerc carried on by himself and Piastri and Sainz battled corner after corner.  Going off the track, the incident was investigated with no further action.  Then Sainz had the final go and got past but with Piastri sustaining damage to his front wing, meaning he needed to box to have it replaced.  Sainz then began to feel problems with his car.  The stewards duly investigated.

Magnussen was awarded a penalty for his role in the earlier incident and then a further penalty for failing to serve the penalty correctly, then another penalty for, well, who knew by now.

It was another awful race for Williams, with Sargeant out and Albon locking up a few laps before the end and running far off the track and back on to take a comfortable last place.

The Russian bots had clearly got to the vote for Driver of the Day, when Hamilton briefly came in third with 6% of the vote and then Bottas with a hefty share of the vote later.  Norris clinched it though.

Norris took a comfortable win in the end with Verstappen and Sainz both pulling along side him on the cool down lap to congratulate him.  He radioed in some lovely messages, stopping just short of saying he manifested it.

Alpine scored first points of the season but the feel-good race was all about Norris.

Miami GP Qualifying Report

Obviously, there was no news going into Qualifying as we had only just had the Sprint.

In the first sessions, the drivers complained bitterly over the radio, grassing each other in for impeding their laps.  Ricciardo was carrying a three place grid penalty for overtaking a Haas under the Safety Car at the last race.  His great Sprint meant nothing later in the day, as he was out in 18th, with Bottas and Sargeant ahead of him and Magnussen and Zhou behind him.

The second session really saw drivers struggling with their tyres.  Both Alpines, both Aston Martins and Albon's Williams were out.  Stroll out-qualified Alonso again.

The third session was thoroughly boring with Verstappen taking pole, followed by both Ferraris (LeClerc, then Sainz, with normal order resumed).  Next was Perez, who cannot match his team mate.  After that was both McLarens and both Mercedes (Norris ahead of Piastri but Russell ahead of Hamilton), Hulkenberg and Tsunoda.

It really seems like the race is going to be very obvious.  We need Stroll to really Stroll things up and Alonso to go aggressive.  Ideally a Red Bull engineer will completely forget how to get the tyres working.  Maybe we'll be treated to Hamilton battling a Haas again?

Miami GP Sprint Report

All over social media and television coverage, Ferrari's special livery blue shirts were looking good.  Very occasionally there's merch I'm tempted to buy.

Leaving the pits, Ocon drove straight into LeClerc, having been told by his engineers to stop, breaking his own front wing and was duly awarded a ten second penalty, a significant chunk of a shorter sprint race.

Williams elected to start Albon from the pit lane.

Verstappen was punchy at the start, diving across at LeClerc.  His team mate Perez completely missed the corner behind him and lost a number of places to cars behind him, with Ricciardo ending up third.

In the first corner, Norris was out and the Safety Car came out.  The two Aston Martins came together, Stroll crossing in front of Alonso, with Hamilton going for what he felt was a gap, coming in to the Aston Martins.  The pair went into Norris.  Stroll then came into the pits to retire and Ocon, cheekily took his 10 second penalty early.  Unfairly, the stewards decided no further action was needed as it was a first corner incident.

On Lap 5, when DRS was enabled Perez was past Ricciardo, if he couldn't overtake the weaker sister team, questions would be asked.  The Australian was then vulnerable to Sainz but still had DRS from Perez, less than a second ahead.

Then there was more bad news for Norris, who was to be investigated for crossing the track to get back to the pits.

Everyone enjoyed watching Hamilton struggling to pass the Haas for one point.  His team mate, Russell, meanwhile was in 14th.  The battle raged on with Magnussen cutting a chicane, getting a ridiculous ten second penalty.  As this was announced, the stewards also announced that Hamilton was being investigated for speeding in the pit lane.

Further up the race, Sainz could not get past Ricciardo for 4th.

Hamilton and Magnussen kept going at each other, with Tsunoda sneaking up behind them.  As Hamilton  went for it again, Magnussen put up a strong defence and both cars went off the track.  With potentially both cars carrying a time penalty, Yuki stood to get points at the end.  But he wasn't content with this and, in one swift move, he was past both cars.  In the aftermath, Hamilton finally got past Magnussen (the Dane getting another 10 second penalty, giving places to lots of drivers, but no points, as the pack was so close).

There were plenty of opportunities on the last lap for overtakes to take place.  Hamilton overtook Tsunoda, so the drivers finished thus: Verstappen, LeClerc (both running a boring race), Perez, Ricciardo (a much needed and hard fought for 4th), Sainz (challenging to the very end), Piastri, Hulkenberg, Hamilton, Tsunoda, Magnussen, Gasly (6 places ahead of his team mate), Sargeant (3 places ahead of his team mate in a very rare placing), Zhou, Russell (the Mercedes having both an abysmal qualifying and race car for this event), Albon, Bottas, Ocon and Alonso (we guess carrying some damage from his first corner collision).  After the 25 second time penalties were applied, Magnussen was moved to the back of the table but points were not affected.  Hamilton was then given a 20 second penalty for speeding in the pits, which put him out of the points and Tsunoda in, meaning the Torro Rossos had both cars in the points. Ricciardo commented: "I prefer it up the front." and the team were delighted with the result.

LeClerc commented that he played it somewhat safe at the start so as not to get any damage that might hurt Qualifying later.  This is a good point and makes you wonder why his team mate Sainz went for a last minute, unsuccessful dive up alongside Ricciardo in the last couple of corners.  Some people (Fitzpatrick for one) feel you can take chances because there are fewer points places to chase and it's just the Sprint but that isn't true.  If you get damage, you damage your Qualifying session in a couple of hours thus damaging your race.

Magnussen said that all his penalties were deserved and that he played the game well, creating a gap to protect his team mate Hulkenberg from Hamilton.  It was not the way he liked to go racing but fully took credit for those points for his team.

Mercedes admitted that they couldn't get the tyres working; had they got enough information to make them work in the race?

Adrian Newey enjoyed periodical coverage as the cameras checked in on him.  I don't know whether the director thought he might switch cap or shirt as a sneak peek for which team he will move to.

 

Miami GP Spring Qualifying Report

Since the last race, more news has rocked the paddock: Adrian Newey is leaving Red Bull.  Would he even be at the race?  Would he be giving interviews if he was?  He was and he spoke to Brundle; letting the world know that he would be off spending time with the family and travelling, like a disgraced politician.

There were lots of new liveries to get to grips with as well.

It's a shorter format for the Spring Qualifying and not much of a chance to redeem a poor lap.  In the first session, Williams were out in the bottom with Albon's lap being deleted as he careered off the track and went outside track limits, which meant that his team mate and home track hero, Sargeant, was not plum last.  Both Saubers and Gasly also went out.  The McLarens took the first two top spots in the timings.

Several drivers hit the wall; Alonso nearly did, Ricciardo did but with no ill-effects and Hamilton too, putting him out of Qualifying.  Russell was 11th, then Hamilton, Ocon, Magnussen and Tsunoda.

Red Bull appeared to have turned up the engines for their final run in the third session and dominated in the end.  Verstappen took pole, then LeClerc, Perez and a stunning 4th from Ricciardo.  Next came Sainz, Piastri (who had been second all the way to his team mate), Stroll out-qualified Alonso, Norris (who had first spot until the last push) and Hulkenberg (who had briefly held pole!).

Verstappen felt that he put in a poor shift and someone else should have shown up and taken it.  He took the Etch-a-Sketch trophy and we were left to look forward to the Sprint.

Miami GP Race Report

Storms were predicted for the race but came overnight, leaving gusty winds behind them, which the drivers managed well.  Nothing could have been greyer than the driver presentation by LL Cool J...Sargeant came out first and waved well.  De Vries could not have been more awkward.  We couldn't hear the crowd cheering on the TV coverage, presuming they were, which also made it even more bizarre.  The rapper's introductions were very Netflix but assuming no one has ever heard of any racer before.  LL Cool J appeared to have been given every failure to read out loud: "contending the championship in 2021".  The omissions shouted loudly.  Everyone looked embarrassed from the drivers to the classical musicians.

Pretty much all the cars got away cleanly at the start.  De Vries hit Norris so they went to the back of the grid with Piastri actually doing well.  Alonso made a mediocre start but the top three held their places with Gasly and Russell moving forwards.  Sargeant pitted on Lap 3 for a new nose; we never found out why.

As Magnussen and LeClerc battled each other, Verstappen overtook them both on the straight.  By Lap 10, he was in 4th place, just outside the podium.  Four laps later, he was past Sainz in 3rd and on the back of Alonso and was past him on the next lap.  Magnussen made an early stop who triggered Gasly and then a number of others, whilst Alonso and Perez were wondering whether they could eek the tyres out longer.

Sainz pitted to undercut Alonso and came out charging.  His pace completely overshadowed his team mate.  However, it was then revealed that he had speeded in the pit lane and was given a 5 second penalty.  Halfway through, Hamilton was asked to let Russell by...another sign he's heading for retirement.  Very little was made of Russell's pass on Sainz for 4th.  Although Hamilton overtaking LeClerc was noted.

Verstappen made his only pit stop with ten laps to go and was out right behind his team mate.  The battle for the lead of the race started at last.  With DRS it was an easy pass on the second attempt.  They looked mindful of taking each other out.  Perez needed to keep with him to get a DRS pass himself but was unable to do so.  Verstappen drove the race of a champion calling it "simply f**king lovely".  Magnussen was able to keep his Haas in the top ten for one point.  

Alonso was surprised that he didn't have to fight for his third place.  There was a fair bit of overtaking, despite worries about the shortened DRS zones.  And no Red Flags, Safety Cars or even Virtual Safety Cars.

I'm not sure how they printed up the winner's NFL jerseys so quickly but they were waiting in the stadium for them.  Verstappen has now won all the Miami Grand Prix and can probably keep go for many years to come.  Alonso grinning through the pain as Perez asked Verstappen: "What lap you got him?"

Miami GP Qualifying Report

Everyone seemed pleased to have arrived in Miami and not to have a sprint weekend.  Although, what they lacked in extra racing time, they made up for in PR events.

Going into the first Qualifying session, no one was expecting any big surprises.  The traffic on track was busy and the track improved, meaning drivers had to keep putting in the laps.  Out went Norris, Tsunoda, Stroll, Piastri and home town hero Sargeant, last.  Stroll in the Aston Martin was the big surprise as the Mercedes put in quick laps at the last second.

As we went into the second session, the track continued to get better and better.  The Mercedes of Hamilton could not stick with the pace and was out along with Albon in 11th, Hulkenberg, Zhou and De Vries (who did well to get to the session and needs an improvement in pace as the non-rookie rookie).  There were several unsafe releases in the pit lane as teams tried to get their drivers through to the third session but the stewards didn't feel these warranted any penalties.

Drivers were really struggling to put together the perfect lap.  Throughout the afternoon, they radioed in to ask engineers to check their car as they touched the walls.  With a minute and a half to go, Le Clerc made a dramatic spin across a vast run off area.  As there wouldn't be enough time for an out lap and fast lap, Qualifying was over and it looked like a great grid: new championship contender Perez in pole, Alonso, Sainz, Magnussen (fantastic placing), Gasly (needing some luck), Russell, the stricken LeClerc, Ocon, Verstappen (who messed up his first flying lap) and Bottas.  With predictions of rained (poopooed by local boy Sargeant), an interesting race lay ahead with only the shortened DRS zones to ruin it.

The biggest cheer of the whole session was undoubtedly for the brief shot of Ricciardo in the Red Bull garage.   Let's see who we're cheering tomorrow.

Miami GP Qualifying & Race Report

Despite the hype, neither Qualifying not the Race were great shakes.  It was noticable that neither Ricciardo not Vettel could make the final Qually session, despite their younger team mates managing it.  Anyway, enough about the track action back to the hype.

There were marshals placed at strategic position in trees around the track to stop 4kg iguanas falling onto the track. The pundits were keen to make sure we all knew about other perils around: concrete walls = guaranteed safety cars, Florida = spontaneous heavy rain, poor quality track = high levels of tire degradation, low level running prior to race = unknown pit strategies, high level of celebrity presence = Paris Hilton.

The first mistake of the race came from Aston Martin, who played it too cool and chilled their petrol to illegally low levels and lost the advantage of good qualifying positions to start from the pit lane.

Not much interest at the start, Zhou retired.  The straight line advantage of the Red Bull showed when Verstappen overtook pole-sitter LeClerc on Lap 9 with a wee bit of DRS assistance.  The irony here is that it let the Dutchman take off into the distance, eliminating any future overtaking.

Alonso and Gasly seemed to be the headline makers of the race.  Alonso showed the field how to have a poor pit stop, which several others tried out too.  Notably Sainz but it the long term it did him no damage.

Perez had an interesting argument with his engineers.  They told him he definitely was not losing power.  Definitely.  Told him to try "Fail 50" and later concede he was right.

Then , at last, some of the promised action, it was Lap 41 of 57 and Norris tags Gasly, spinning multiple times.  The Virtual Safety Car came out, giving Russell the opportunity he wanted, having earlier decided he would leave his choice of tire up to a time such as this arising or not.  Gasly appeared to be struggling with a mechanical problem.

The stewards announced that Alonso was going to be given a 5 second penalty for an earlier knock with Gasly.  And the race restarted....with nothing much changing.  Bottas was running high in 5th, ahead of both Mercedes.  Hamilton had to decide whether to pit under the Safety Car and try some soft tires and lose a position or not to pit and lost position to his team mate because he had old tires.  Next thing we know both Mercedes have overtaken Bottas.  He keeps trying for Schadenfreude and it never seems to work out.  There were no team orders in the German outfit as Russell and Hamilton kept battling it out for 5th and 6th place.

Mick Schumacher was set to score the first points of his career in 9th when his mentor, Vettel crashed in to him putting them both back quite a few places.  There is always a silver lining though as Albon was up to 10th, gaining another point for the beleaguered Williams.

The stewards noted an incident involving Magnussen and Vettel, who were nowhere near each other on track.  A few laps later a correction came up, which I haven't seen before, it was Schumacher and Ricciardo.  Proving it was a dull race and the stewards had dozed off too.

In the end, once he had got past LeClerc, Verstappen held the race lead and never looked like he was going to lose it.  I had thought he would make an error but none came, a sign of a driver maturing...or a driver not really put under pressure.