Christian Horner: "Firstly, congratulations to McLaren and Lando. They ran a great race and it's a well-deserved victory. Max was a little unfortunate to sustain floor damage when he hit the bollard around the 21st lap, he did well to maintain his position, but it was difficult for him to recover from there. Checo was also struggling with his tyres, he came back a little to the end but it was hard to find a rhythm. We were also a little unfortunate with the safety car today but that's racing, we still scored the most points in the Drivers' Championship and in the Constructors' so can take that with us back to Europe and the fact that it's still been a strong weekend."
Lewis Hamilton finished P6 with George Russell P8 in Sunday's Miami Grand Prix. George lined up P7 on a used Medium tyre whilst Lewis started P8 on a new set of the Hard compound.
George was unfortunate to get boxed in on the outside at the start and dropped to P10, whilst Lewis ended the opening laps in P8. Both drivers were able to make progress from there in the early stages, pitting from a net P7 and P8 at the time.
A Safety Car period just a few laps later helped the VCARB of Tsunoda jump our two drivers. Lewis, who showed strong pace in his now Medium shod car, dispatched him quickly and then the McLaren of Piastri. He pressured Perez throughout the final stint but couldn't quite pass the Red Bull and had to settle for P6. George meanwhile was less happy on the Hard tyre and had to settle for P8.
The team also sends its congratulations to Lando Norris and McLaren; Lando took his maiden victory in F1 whilst McLaren take to the top step with Mercedes power for the first time since Monza 2021.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO: Firstly, well done to McLaren and Lando. He has long been overdue his first win and today he drove a very strong race. McLaren have been on a big upward trajectory since last year and that is good for us to see; it shows what is possible. Congratulations too to everyone involved in designing, manufacturing, and operating the Mercedes Power Unit at High Performance Powertrains in Brixworth.
The good news in our race today was that, like-for-like on the Medium tyre, we showed that we had good speed. Lewis was faster than Perez in the Red Bull ahead on the same compound but wasn't quite able to make the overtake. George struggled a little more on the Hard tyre but overall it was encouraging to see the improvements we made from Friday and that we had solid pace compared to others.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director: Firstly, well done to Lando and McLaren. It was a very impressive performance from the team and driver today. They have done a great job and are fully deserving of victory. We know we've got work to do to catch them, but it offers encouragement to see how much of an improvement they have delivered in the space of 12 months.
Our race today was relatively straightforward. We knew it was going to be hard to move forward; the car hasn't been handling well around this track and we've struggled in the slower corners particularly. Lewis had a tough stint on the Hard but after the restart was much happier with the car on the Medium compound. Unfortunately we didn't quite have the straight-line speed to get past Perez, but it was good to be able to race him at the end. It was a frustrating afternoon for George meanwhile. He was sliding around and struggling to get the tyres to bite. We'll look into that over the next few days.
Our focus is of course on making the car faster. We have some good developments in the pipeline and will push hard to get them to the car as soon as we can.
Scuderia Ferrari HP did not have long to wait to get back on the podium after not doing so a fortnight ago in China, thanks to a third place finish in the Miami Grand Prix for Charles Leclerc. With both cars on the podium in Australia, it means the teams has six podium finishes from the six races so far. Today, as was the case in Shanghai, it brought home the second highest number of points over the two races this weekend, thus consolidating its second place in the championship.
Charles' third podium of the season was partly down to a well executed strategy that saw him pit on lap 19, undercutting Oscar Piastri who had overtaken him on lap 5. The Monegasque might even have finished where he started in second place behind Max Verstappen, but for the Safety Car that came out following the collision between Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant on lap 28. Lando Norris was the big winner of this incident, as he had not yet pitted and thus found himself in the lead, going on to take his maiden Formula 1 win. Carlos was unfortunately unable to get any benefit from the Safety Car as he had pitted one lap earlier, rejoining fifth behind Piastri. The Spaniard also had some bad luck at the start. He got off the line really well but was forced to run wide to make room for Sergio Perez who completely missed his braking point at the first corner. When the race resumed, Carlos and Piastri enjoyed a spectacular duel, the Spaniard getting past on lap 40 at turn 17 to take fourth place. There were no more surprises in the final third of the race and so Scuderia Ferrari HP leaves Miami with 38 points in the bag (27 from today and 11 from yesterday's Sprint Race). It now has 189 points, 48 off the championship leader.
The World Championship is back in action in a fortnight's time with the first European round of the season, the Gran Premio del Made in Italy e dell'Emilia-Romagna at Imola, back on the calendar after it had been cancelled last year because of devastating floods in the area over the race week.
Fred Vasseur, Team Principal Scuderia Ferrari HP: First of all I want to congratulate Lando and McLaren because it's a first win for a driver who is very popular in the paddock and we are happy for him. It was also a good result for Formula 1 as a whole. From our side we had a strong race and we were able to stay with Max (Verstappen) all race long. We were a bit unlucky with the Safety Car with Carlos but it is what it is and we have to stick with the positives, especially the fact that the pace was there all weekend.
Charles had a pretty straightforward race. However, for Carlos the start was not ideal because of Perez's mistake at turn 1. Today track position was very important, as it was very difficult to overtake and he lost two places through the first two corners. However he had very good pace and was able to come back at the end.
The next Grand Prix is in Imola, which has been the scene of some really exciting racing in recent years. Before then everyone in Maranello will be working hard to ensure we get a better result than we did today.
Andrea Stella: "Victory today in Miami is meaningful for many reasons. First of all, for Lando and his first F1 win. I am happy from the bottom of our hearts for him. We've often said as soon as we give him winning material, he's going to win. He did it in style.
"Beyond that, it's a very important day for the team. We've been on a journey for some time, after an incredible turnaround last year. We've kept momentum, and today is another very important step and hopefully the starting point for greater success. So, I'm very happy for all the people at McLaren, I hope they enjoy this moment because I know how much work has gone into delivering these upgrades. It's not just design or just manufacturing, it's an effort across every department at the factory and from the trackside team. This goes beyond just the people at McLaren: it goes to our power unit partners at HPP and our technical and commercial partners who are vital to this success. It's teamwork in the widest possible sense.
"The car was very good this weekend - and it's worth noting Oscar was in a very strong position to be on the podium as well, as he drove a very good race.
"Lastly, my final word is for Gil de Ferran, to whom this victory is dedicated to by the whole team. Gil, this is for you."
Mike Krack, Team Principal: "Two hard-earned points from a race that was dominated by track position and traffic. Our starting positions hurt us today. Fernando's race was a straightforward one-stopper and the timing of the Virtual Safety Car proved helpful as he was suffering with some flat spots on his Hard tyres. He eventually was able to progress to P9. With Lance, we maybe pitted a bit on the early side, trying to undercut Tsunoda, and we never really recovered from the track position we lost. We will learn the lessons ahead of the start of the European season."
Bruno Famin, Team Principal: "It's our first point of the season today, so from a sporting perspective, that is satisfying for us. We had a clear plan where one car would try to pit early and undercut the cars around us while the other car would take a gamble by running a longer first stint in hope of a VSC, SC or red flag scenario. On this occasion this is how it unfolded and it was Esteban who scored the point in tenth place. It was a faultless race from everyone in the team - strategy, race management, pit-stops - and we did enough to put ourselves in a position for the team to benefit. It's been a much more positive weekend here in Miami and we must keep striving for more if we are to keep fighting for higher positions. The hard work will continue as we eye up returning to Europe next time out."
Sven Smeets, Sporting Director: It's been a really tough Sunday for everybody. We started the race well with both cars close to each other. We stopped both cars early to be on the aggressive side as we knew it was going to be a very close fight. In one of those fights Logan was taken out by [Kevin] Magnussen, while very frustrating we are happy Logan was completely fine and discharged. The accident caused a safety car that came at the completely wrong moment for Alex's race. Alex did a great job trying to defend on older tyres, but it was impossible to keep position as in his fight he picked up floor damage. This caused his off a few laps before the end of the race. A day to quickly forget but we are looking ahead to Imola where we should bring some performance to the car.
Guillaume Dezoteux (Head Of Vehicle Perfomance): "Yuki drove a brilliant race and added six points to the bag for a total of 12 here in Miami! This is an amazing result, which rewards the huge amount of work the entire team put together since the start of the season. We arrived here with a good update for the car and we have been able to make the most of the opportunities which appeared in the course of the weekend, in the Sprint with Daniel and the race with Yuki.
"We went long with Yuki in the first stint and decided to not react to Hulkenberg, who pitted on Lap 12. When the Safety Car came out, we were in the ideal position to take it and attack the second part of the race with a new set of hard tyres. A couple of laps after the Safety Car restart Yuki lost position to Hamilton, but he was able to keep Russell behind and create a comfortable gap to finish seventh. For the entire race, he was able to match Mercedes' pace, which is encouraging and shows the progress the car is making. Daniel's race was difficult as he spent most of it in traffic. Starting from the back would never be easy and despite being able to pit during the Safety Car period, he remained in a DRS train for the entire second stint. This is frustrating after the fantastic Sprint race he did yesterday and again, it shows how difficult things become when you end up in traffic and fights with many cars around. We will enjoy this fantastic result with our colleagues back at base and push hard to confirm our progress in our home race in two weeks' time in Imola. Forza VCARB!"
Laurent Mekies (Team Principal): "In its third year, the Miami Grand Prix has established itself as a great event and the popularity of our sport continues to grow at an amazing rate in the USA. Here, alongside exciting track action, the fans are treated to a whole range of shows, concerts and events. We enjoyed contributing to the scene with our one-off livery, which was well-received by the fans.
"We came here with a few updates and they lived up to our expectations; our drivers played a huge part, in extracting the car's performance with a P4 for Daniel and P8 with Yuki at the end of the Sprint race yesterday. It was a great result for the team. I want to thank everyone once again in Faenza and Bicester for their continuous effort, striving for performance. It was particularly gratifying to see Daniel back in great form, demonstrating the skills and determination we know have always been there. Unfortunately, he started on the back foot today from P20. In the second stint, he got stuck in traffic and could not move up the order and had to settle for P15. As for Yuki, his fourth Q3 appearance out of six races this season underlines how consistently he is performing and today, he underlined his maturity with an intelligent, yet aggressive and super quick drive from tenth on the grid to seventh at the flag. Excellent work!
"Next up is our home race in Imola, a 20 km drive from our Faenza headquarters. Having the support of a home crowd, not to mention all our factory-based staff, does give the team an additional boost. We are very much looking forward to it, especially as last year's Emilia-Romagna GP was cancelled, and we hope to keep the momentum and to keep scoring more points."
Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber fought hard in the 57 laps of the Miami Grand Prix but, despite making up ground, couldn't claim a spot in the top ten as Zhou Guanyu finished 14th, two positions ahead of Valtteri Bottas in 16th.
The team returns home now after an intense first quarter of the season; next up, the start of the European leg of the Championship, in Imola in two weeks.
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative: "Today, the team tried everything to get a result: you could see it in the tyre compound selection, in the different strategies that we chose to allow Valtteri and Zhou to find the extra bit of performance we missed throughout the weekend. We were able to make progress and fight in the mix but, unfortunately, we didn't have that extra edge needed to be in the top ten. It's been a tough weekend for the team: now we need to reset as we enter the European season in Imola. We will have upgrades coming from Hinwil to help us on our quest for points: even though the first quarter of the season hasn't brought us any point, nobody is losing motivation. We saw today that all can happen: we just need to work hard to place ourselves in a position to make the most of every opportunity."
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team finished with Nico Hulkenberg 11th, and Kevin Magnussen 18th, at the Miami Grand Prix, Round 6 of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, held Sunday at the Miami International Autodrome.
Hulkenberg started from ninth place on Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires, and gained positions through the opening lap to hold seventh. Hulkenberg retained his spot for several laps, battling with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, before dropping behind Hamilton, as well as the other Mercedes of George Russell. Hulkenberg stopped on lap 12 for White hard tires, filtering back into the pack, and scrapped gamely in the midfield before stopping once more under the safety car on lap 28 for mediums. Hulkenberg came out in 14th place before rising to 11th, missing out on a points-paying position by just one second.
Magnussen lined up from 18th position on hard tires and ran a lengthy first stint prior to pitting on lap 23 for medium tires under a virtual safety car period caused by a loose bollard on track. Shortly after the restart Magnussen collided with Williams' Logan Sargeant into Turn 3, for which the Dane was deemed culpable, and was issued a 10-second time penalty. Magnussen pitted for a front wing change, and medium tires, in the aftermath of the collision, and classified in 18th at the checkered.
Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: "Bit of a tough day today but ultimately, especially the first half of the race when the car was heavy, we didn't quite have the pace, especially on the hard tire. That hurt us, but after the Safety Car, we put on the medium tire trying to get back into the points and we got close - Nico finished P11 so that's positive. It's disappointing today but overall, we've scored points at four out of six events, and that's the positive we need to take away. For Imola, we have more things coming so we'll see what we can do there."
Lando Norris secured his maiden Formula 1 win in today's third edition of the Miami Grand Prix. In Shanghai a fortnight ago, the McLaren driver secured his 15th podium finish without a win, which was an outright record and today that jinx came to an end. Norris thus becomes the 114th driver to have won at least one Grand Prix and for McLaren it was win number 184, the first since Monza 2021, when Daniel Ricciardo led home team-mate Norris to make it a one-two finish.
Also on the podium were Max Verstappen second for Red Bull and Charles Leclerc third for Ferrari, while for the first time this season an Alpine finished in the points, courtesy of a tenth place finish for Esteban Ocon. It's worth noting that, in all three editions of this race, the driver who started from pole took the chequered flag in second place: in 2022 it was Leclerc, last year Perez and this time Verstappen.
As easily predicted, the one stop strategy was the only plausible one, but first the Virtual Safety Car on lap 22 and then the real one on lap 28 obviously upset the plans, giving those who had not yet pitted the chance to do so while losing significantly less time than those who had already changed tyres. This reshuffled the pack and then the order remained relatively static in the early stages after the restart, at least among the leaders.
On the starting grid, the most popular compound was the C3 with 15 drivers going for what, on paper was the quickest strategy, namely a first stint on the Medium and a second on the Hard. Hamilton, Alonso, Ricciardo and Magnussen opted for the C2, hoping to run as long a first stint as possible, while Bottas gambled on the C4.
A total of 1110 laps were completed with only Sargeant (Williams) failing to finish the race. The C3 did the most work (562 laps, 50.6%) with a slightly higher mileage than the C2 (504 laps, 45.4%). The C4 was only used by the two Sauber drivers, by Bottas for the first 11 laps and by Zhou from his pit stop to the chequered flag and it proved to be up to the task both in terms of degradation and performance.
Apart from the sight of a brand new Formula 1 race winner on the podium in the shape of Lando Norris, there was also a novelty when it came to the Podium Cap which Pirelli provides to the top three finishers in the Grand Prix, as well as the representative of the winning team, who today was McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella. For the Miami event, Formula 1's Global Tyre Partner prepared a special cap in turquoise, a colour suggesting the waters in front of the city's beaches, along with stylised palm trees on the peak, an emblematic element of Miami, alongside the flag of the United States of America.
Mario Isola: "First of all, I want to congratulate Lando Norris on his first Formula 1 win. I am sure he will never forget the emotions he felt in the final kilometres and then on the podium!
Strangely, despite the surprises thrown up by the Safety Cars, first the virtual and then the real one, it was a very linear race in terms of tyre behaviour: just the one stop and tyres that, whatever the colour of their band, degraded relatively little, partly due to the absence of graining and there was also very little in the way of a performance difference between the cars.
That said, we saw that the two compounds most used, the C2 and C3, allowed the drivers to push flat out for almost the entire race, as can be seen from studying the chronology of the lap times, which made for a very interesting race, even if on paper it seemed to be constrained by strategy. Obviously, the VSC and SC ruined the plans on several pit walls, while others were luckier or cleverer, but that's all part of racing.
As always, it will be important to analyse carefully all the data acquired over the three days of this Grand Prix, because they will produce indications that could be useful for us in terms of compound selection and when it comes to understanding the interaction between the tyres and the various types of track surface. In fact, that's why Formula 1 is a fascinating sport because every day you can learn something that can lead to progress."
