05/05/2024
NEWS STORY
Before we go any further we would like to nail our colours very firmly to the mast.
What we want to see today - and on the race weekends that follow - is more of the sort of stuff that we saw from Kevin Magnussen yesterday, not less.
It was this elbows out, argy-bargy that led us to fall in love with the sport, back in the days when drivers had nicknames like 'The Bear' and 'Black Jack', as opposed to the male models we see on social media in the build up to today's event.
Magnussen was helping out his ("suck my balls!") teammate, which has always been the name of the game, and he only broke the rules because the sport has become so goddam sanitised over the years.
No, we don't want to see unnecessary risks, far less recklessness, but we do want to see drivers fighting - after all, we are constantly told that there are the twenty best drivers in the world, so surely they should be able to manage that.
In answer to a question from your editor, the legend that was Niki Lauda replied that while "watching the race on Sunday afternoon with granny, nobody wants to see anyone injured or worse".
Neither do we, but we do want to see the fighting spirit for which Lauda and his ilk were famous for, as opposed to today's version who demand the steward's intervention for the slightest misdemeanour by a rival and seemingly feel entitled to be given track position without the need for fighting for it.
Moan over, the good news is that we will not be subjected to the cringe-worthy driver introductions we had to endure last year, though God alone knows what Liberty has up its sleeve.
Based on the evidence thus far this could be an entertaining race. While the circuit remains bland, the unpredictability of the tyres from corner to corner will definitely provide some thrills, as will the fact that a number of drivers are out of position.
It is unlikely that the Weather Gods are going to intervene, but the nature of the track should ensure some decent overtakes, though there is also the threat of DRS trains.
On the other hand this will be a one-stopper, therefore strategy is going to be vital, not only in terms of when to make that all-important stop but what tyre to start with and which compound to switch to.
While the drivers have found the softs harder to read over a flying lap, in the Sprint it was demonstrated that the red-banded rubber cannot be ruled out today. The hard will definitely be the outright favourite, but all combinations of it with the C3 and C4 are viable on paper.
With an eye on Magnussen's antics, it will be interesting to see how Ferrari plays things out today, with Leclerc and Sainz surely under orders to help one another. Then again, with Perez in the mix, he will be needed to assist his teammate as much as possible... though being Spanish he will have to 'tread' more carefully... according to Fernando.
Also, let's not forget about McLaren. Personally we feel that a Sprint weekend is the wrong time to introduce an upgrade package, especially one so detailed, but that's the Woking outfit's call.
Sadly, Norris was caught up in the first corner melee yesterday, however he and his teammate should be very much in the mix this afternoon.
Of course, this is assuming - and that's a big assumption - that we get through Turn 1 without any incidents, and we have a niggly feeling that this is not going to be the case today.
As for Mercedes, like the Pirelli tyres - especially the softs - they appear to act differently lap by lap, corner by corner and we cannot help but feel that Toto, while staring into his monitor, will have his fingers tightly crossed.
A great performance in the Sprint was followed by disaster in the Sprint, but Ricciardo will still be up for it, and once again it is the midfield where we will find the real entertainment... especially with that man Magnussen starting just ahead of the Australian who has a three-place grid penalty from Shanghai.
Hulkenberg will be keen to continue his point-winning streak, while Stroll and the improving Alpines will surely want to have a say.
And talking of elbows out drivers, let's see what Fernando can do.
The Miami event represents much of what we dislike about F1 2.0, but it would appear we are stuck with it.
On the other hand, the nature of the track, combined with the unpredictability of the tyres, some of the cars and a few of the drivers, almost guarantees that we will be entertained.
The pitlane opens and Verstappen leads the way, followed by Ricciardo, Perez, Norris and Piastri.
Tsunoda warns of understeer at high speed, while Magnussen's Haas is also "understeery".
Norris complains of understeer and "nervousness into Turn 4", while Russell had a vibration under braking.
Ahead of the formation lap the air temperature is 29 degrees C, while the track temperature is 47 degrees. It is quite windy.
All are starting on mediums bar Hamilton, Alonso, Magnussen and Ricciardo who are on hards, and Bottas who is on softs. All are on fresh rubber bar Russell and Alonso.
They head off on the formation lap, all getting away cleanly.
The grid forms.
They're away! Verstappen gets away well, as does Sainz while Leclerc is slow getting off the grid allowing Perez to come up on his right.
Verstappen leads into Turn 1, while Leclerc has Sainz just ahead and to his left, and Perez just ahead and to his right.
However the Mexican carries far too much speed and locks-up, heading straight across the track, almost clipping the rear of his teammate's car and causing Sainz to hesitate just enough to allow Leclerc back in front.
Perez rejoins in front of Norris, while Piastri passes Sainz in Turn 2
"What the **** was that," says Sainz of Perez.
At the end of Lap 1, it's: Verstappen, Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz, Perez, Norris, Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Tsunoda and Russell. The Alpine pair are battling hard, going through Turns 13, 14 and 15 side-by-side.
Getting the better of his teammate, Gasly passes Alonso for 12th.
While Hulkenberg is up two places, Russell is down three.
The stewards decide that no further investigation is required of the Perez incident at the start.
Down two places, Bottas in not benefitting from his softs.
Piastri nails Leclerc in Turn 17 to claim second, the Monegasque appearing to struggle for grip. Indeed, he is now under pressure from Sainz.
Perez has been noted for a false start.
"I feel like I have pace here," says Sainz, the Spaniard clearly wanting to ne let loose to harry Piastri.
"Nearly has a big crash there," says Hamilton as he nails Hulkenberg, despite the German's best impression of his Haas teammate. Indeed, the German subsequently retakes the position after Hamilton locks-up.
No further investigation of that alleged false start.
After 8 laps, Verstappen leads by 2.7s, with Leclerc just 0.5s down on Piastri.
Hamilton out-brakes Hulkenberg into Turn 11, and this time keeps it all under control. However, as the Haas driver lines up another attack, he finds his mirrors full of the other Mercedes.
Albon pits at the end of Lap 10, as Hulkenberg complains about being spoken to whilst he is racing. "Some awareness would be good," he says.
At the end of Lap 11, Stroll, Sargeant and Bottas all pit.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Miami here.
In a repeat of his teammate's move, Russell passes Hulkenberg for eighth.
Hulkenberg and Gasly both pit at the end of Lap 12, rejoining in 15th and 16th.
On fresh rubber Albon makes short work of Stroll, however the Canadian fights back and in his effort to pass the Thai driver runs wide, moves ahead, but subsequently hands the position back.
Leclerc is told to do the opposite of McLaren in terms of stopping, while Sainz continues to urge Ferrari to allow him to pass his teammate.
Lap 15 sees Leclerc post a new fastest lap (32.689).
Norris is hard on the heels of Perez who has slipped 4.3s behind Sainz.
At the end of Lap 17 Perez pits, the Mexican rejoining in 10th, 1.4s ahead of Alonso.
On his fresh rubber, Perez goes purple in S3 as he seeks to close the 0.6s gap to Ocon.
"Sainz is the car ahead, we should go after him rather than protect against Perez," Norris is advised. "I agree," he replies.
Leclerc pits at the end of Lap 19, rejoining in 6th as Norris posts a new fastest lap (32.476).
Perez passes Ocon for ninth as Verstappen posts a PB (32.530).
Another fastest lap for Norris (32.421) as he closes to within 4.2s of Sainz.
Leclerc makes a great move on Hamilton to claim 5th.
"I hit that cone (bollard) in Turn 15," warns Verstappen, "check the front wing."
Over a lap later the VSSC is deployed to remove that bollard. Ocon, Alonso and Magnussen are the first to stop.
Moments later the VSC is withdrawn again, leaving the likes of McLaren no time in which to take advantage.
Nonetheless, Verstappen pits at the end of Lap 23, the world champion rejoining in 4th.
Alonso passes Gasly for 14th, posting a purple in S3 in the process.
Piastri now leads by 2.7 as Leclerc is told that he has to push more and Norris posts another fastest lap (31.982).
Russell pits at the end of Lap 24, the Briton rejoining in 12th.
In quick succession, Ocon and then Alonso pass Hulkenberg.
"I think we are in pretty good shape right now," says Zak Brown, "drivers are comfortable, seems we have pretty good race pace so we'll see how this one plays out. Lando looks quick so I think he'll catch Carlos somewhat soon and should be able to get by."
Hamilton pits at the end of Lap 26, rejoining in ninth.
Piastri pits at the end of Lap 27, as does Sainz. They rejoin in fourth (Piastri) and fifth.
Norris now leads Verstappen by 11.4s but has yet to stop.
"It's really low grip, I locked-up there again," reports Verstappen.
Out come the yellows as there has been an incident involving Magnussen and Sargeant.
The Safety Car is deployed.
Perez and Tsunoda are the first to pit, followed by Zhou, Ricciardo and Hulkenberg. Norris has to complete a whole lap before he can pit.
Replay shows Sargeant and Magnussen clash as they battled for position, though it is not clear who was at fault.
Norris pits at the end of Lap 29, as does Magnussen, while Sargeant's race is over.
So, Norris leads - under the Safety Car - ahead of Verstappen, Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz, Perez, Tsunoda, Hamilton, Russell and Ocon.
The Magnussen/Sargeant incident is under investigation.
Oh dear, Magnussen is given a 10s penalty for causing a collision.
Piastri is warned that Sainz behind is on hards of the same vintage while Perez is on mediums.
Magnussen pits to serve his penalty as Race Control reveals that the Safety Car is about to be withdrawn.
The race resumes... Verstappen is all over Norris, while Perez almost nails Sainz. A subsequent mistake by Verstappen allows Leclerc to close.
Zhou is on softs, while Ricciardo is under pressure from Hulkenberg, the German eventually passing the RB for 15th.
As he tried to pass Piastri at the chicane, the Spaniard runs wide. "He pushed me off," he complains.
As Verstappen fends off Leclerc, Norris builds a 1.5s advantage.
Hamilton and Tsunoda also having a great scrap for seventh.
"Tell him to give me the position and he doesn't get a penalty," demands Sainz. But why?
"Tell McLaren to be telling him," adds the Spaniard who is clearly very frustrated.
The stewards decide that no further investigation of the Sainz/Piastri incident is warranted. Quite right too.
Out front, Norris posts a new fastest lap (31.074) as he builds a 2.4s lead.
Hamilton is closing on Perez, the Mercedes showing great pace.
Sainz asks to be left alone.
"I can't get the car to turn, it's a disaster," declares Verstappen.
Sainz makes a move on Piastri at Turn 17 and almost runs wide and loses the position. The Australian fights back in Turn 1 but overdoes it and allows the Spaniard much-needed breathing space.
Piastri is passed by Hamilton and Perez, as the McLaren driver is advised that he has front wing damage and needs to pit. He does indeed stop, rejoining in last position.
Replay shows he damaged his front wing as he sought to retake the position from Sainz.
"Something is wrong with the car," reports Sainz.
"Guys, if you've got any more power, give it to me," demands Hamilton.
Magnussen is under investigation for failing to serve his penalty correctly.
Out front, Norris leads by 3.6s.
Hamilton is just 0.6s down on Perez, with Tsunoda 2.7s behind.
Ocon is ninth with Alonso hard on his heels.
Down in 19th, Piastri posts a new fastest lap (30.634).
Albon (13th) leads Zhou, Ricciardo and Stroll in a DRS train. Stroll passing Ricciardo in a nice move.
You won't believe this but Magnussen is under investigation for entering the pitlane under Safety Car conditions.
That second incident involving Piastri and Sainz is now under investigation.
Alonso almost passes Ocon for ninth, but the Alpine driver is having none of it... and, sensing his first points of the year, why should he?
However, that wily old fox doesn't give up and continues to harry his French rival. Finally his persistence pays off and he's through in Turn 11.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Miami here.
After 50 laps (of 57), it's: Norris, Verstappen (+ 5.6s), Leclerc (+ 2s), Sainz (+ 3.4s), Perez (+ 2.7s), Hamilton (+ 0.6s), Tsunoda (+ 6.1s), Russell (+ 4.2s), Alonso (+ 5.8s) and Ocon (+ 1.3s)
Battling his countryman hard for 16th, Piastri locks-up, overshoots and loses ground.
He is subsequently warned that with his teammate leading his team doesn't want to see the Safety Car deployed.
Albon is passed by Stroll and then Zhou, who is on 23 lap old softs. However, the Canadian appeared to have all four wheels over the white line when he made his move.
Piastri is up to 16th and closing on Zhou as Albon locks-up, runs wide and does well not to go into the barriers.
"All Safety Car windows are closed," Norris is told.
Stroll is under investigation for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Norris takes the flag, ahead of Verstappen, Leclerc, Sainz, Perez, Hamilton, Tsunoda, Russell, Alonso and Ocon.
Hulkenberg is eleventh, ahead of Gasly, Piastri, Zhou, Ricciardo, Bottas, Stroll, Magnussen and Albon.
Well, we asked to be entertained and so we were.
No disrespect, but not only is it good to see someone other than Max win, we actually have a 'virgin winner'.
As good as it was for Lando and McLaren however, one has to feel bad for Oscar... and as for Carlos, what were we saying earlier about drivers complaining about their rivals.
Lots of argy-bargy and elbows out, but for the most part the drivers got on with it, though it remains to be seen if the stewards will get into the spirit of things.
"I didn't have a great start," admits Leclerc, "I had wheelspin, Checo on the right locked up and I thought we would crash but fortunately we all got out with no damage.
"Unfortunately we missed a little bit of pace," he adds. "We managed everything quite well, and P3 was the best we could do.
"I'm really happy for Lando, he deserves it. We were expecting them to be strong, maybe not as strong as they showed today, Now it is up to us to bring the upgrades and catch up."
"You win, you lose," adds Verstappen, "we are all used to that in racing. Today was just tricky, even on the mediums we weren't pulling away. Once they switched onto the hard tyre, they were flying. If a bad day is P2, I take it.
"I'm happy for Lando, it's been a long time coming and it's not going to be his last one. He deserves it today. McLaren came with an upgrade, for sure it looks like it works right?! We'll analyse and try to come back stronger."
"About time huh!... f***, sorry," grins Norris. "What a race. It's been a long time coming, at last I've been able to do it for my team and deliver for them.
"It was a long race, the whole weekend has been good with some little set-backs along the way. I knew on Friday we had the pace. Today we managed to put it together. We had the perfect strategy.
"What do I say to McLaren? I've made a lot of mistakes along the way but today we put it all together and it's for them. We've stuck together and I believe in them."
Not a great race by any means, but like we said entertaining, and definitely not as processional as some of them, especially for a one-stopper.
Time and time again, first with Ross Brawn, now with Domenicali, the sport's powers that be seize upon a factor - usually a combination of (un)natural circumstances - in order to push their own agenda.
What made this weekend stand out - even the bloody Sprint - was the elbows out approach, the need for drivers to pass and their determination to do so.
Sadly, over the next couple of hours the stewards will get to work and by tomorrow the order will be somewhat different.
What will have people talking tomorrow - other than something different winning - is the racing we witnessed today... after all, other than crashes and near misses - isn't that how the broadcaster sell the sport.
Let F1 be less like male models and more like 'The Bear', 'Black Jack' and Niki... Christ alone knows how today's stewards would have reacted to Gilles and Rene.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Miami here.