01
The Miami Grand Prix in 75 words*
Max Verstappen drove to his third consecutive Miami Grand Prix victory, which he had every chance of doing going into the weekend. However, following winning the sprint race and qualifying, the defending champion from Oracle Red Bull Racing finished “only” second due to a poorly timed safety car period and a lack of tire grip. McLaren’s Lando Norris took his first career victory. The Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc, was able to take the third place on the podium, while Sergio Pérez, who started from the fourth grid, was waved off in fourth place.
* 2024 is the 75th season of F1 history
02
The Miami Grand Prix in six photos
Verstappen held his own as the field attacked him in the first corner
Max fans cheered on their favorite in Miami
Pérez finished fourth in Miami
Verstappen took his sixth pole in a row in 2024
Both Ricciardo and Cunoda might celebrate following the sprint
Verstappen took his second consecutive sprint win on Saturday
03
The safety car and the lack of traction hurt Verstappen
You can’t always win, but you can smile following second place
After Verstappen secured the pole for Saturday’s sprint race, which he converted into a first place, the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver also finished first in the qualifying session of the grand prix, so everything was given for the defending Dutchman to take his third victory in Miami. However, a rare mistake saw Verstappen finish second.
On the 22nd lap, Max crashed into an advertising sign at the chicane of turn 15, and due to the debris on the track, the marshals ordered a virtual safety car period to clean it up. The Dutchman took advantage of the VSC period and switched to hard compound tires for the remainder of the race, which as it turned out – on lap 29 Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and Logan Sargeant (Williams) collided in turn 3 and there was a safety car period – there was no good idea.
The first place was inherited by Lando Norris and he dictated a great pace once morest Verstappen, who was already struggling with the grip in the restarted race, so he finally saw the checkered flag more than seven seconds behind the McLaren driver.
Meanwhile, Pérez almost shaped the race in a way he did not want. Checo tried to react to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who was starting slowly in front of him, and made a big maneuver in the first corner to avoid colliding with both Ferraris and his team-mate Verstappen.
His race in Mexico was all regarding regaining the position he lost at the start, but things never went the way he wanted. He pitted a second time in the safety car phase to fit medium tires and use an alternative strategy to overtake Sainz, but ended up fifth, 14.650 seconds behind the winner Norris. Checo was later promoted to fourth following Sainz was handed a five-second penalty for a collision with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
Pérez completed Saturday’s sprint race in third place, behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
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Cunoda finished seventh
Cunoda started from 10th place and rose to seventh place
Visa Cash App RB Japanese driver Juki Cunoda had a great weekend, scoring double points in Miami. The Japanese finished seventh in Sunday’s grand prix following finishing eighth in the sprint race 24 hours earlier.
Cunoda – like Norris – was able to improve his position during the 57-lap race by stopping under the safety car, and with a calm driving, ahead of the Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, he jumped to 10th place in the world championship overall.
Cunoda took eighth and a world championship point in Saturday’s sprint following Hamilton was penalized for speeding in the pit lane following the race.
For his teammate Daniel Ricciardo, the Miami weekend was a mixed bag. The Australian excelled in the sprint and started from fourth place to finish fourth, scoring his first points of the season, but due to a lack of grip he might only manage 18th place in qualifying and had to wait for the race from last place following the previous Chinese Grand Prix he was forced to serve his sentence.
From there, it would have taken a miracle for the Australian to score a point, eventually crossing the finish line in 15th place.
The Visa Cash App RB team raced in Miami with a really striking ‘chameleon’ livery: in addition to the usual blue and silver engine cover and red and white wings, the VCARB01 was decorated in pink, orange and yellow.
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The number to remember
6: Verstappen took his sixth consecutive pole position of the season in Miami, making him the first driver to take six poles in the first six race weekends since Alain Prost. The Williams driver did the same in 1993.
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We heard it at the grid
Today was a bit interesting – we pulled away, but not like we should have. If we have a bad day, I’ll take second place. It was definitely not our strongest weekend and congratulations to Lando who definitely deserved the win.
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The numbers that matter
Standings of the Drivers’ Championship – Top 5
Standings of the Constructors’ Championship – Top 5
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The next station
Race 7 (Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Imola), May 17-19.
Track name: Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola
Track length / number of laps: 4,909 km / 63 laps
Number of Grands Prix / debut: 3 / 2020 (Imola hosted the San Marino Grand Prix between 1981 and 2006, and the Italian Grand Prix in 1980)
Most successful driver (Emilia Romagna Grand Prix): Max Verstappen (two wins)
Most successful team (Emilia Romagna Grand Prix): Oracle Red Bull Racing (two wins)
2022 podium finishers and report (no race in 2023): 1. Max Verstappen (Oracle Red Bull Racing), 2. Sergio Pérez (Oracle Red Bull Racing), 3. Lando Norris (McLaren)
