Introduction
McLaren driver Lando Norris added his title to the checklist of Formula 1 race winners with a sensational breakthrough victory on the 2024 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix. He overhauled Red Bull rival Max Verstappen to take the chequered flag.
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Norris ran sixth within the early phases of the race, with fast-starting teammate Oscar Piastri, the McLaren man who initially regarded more than likely to trigger an upset. However, a Safety Car on the halfway level performed completely into the Briton’s palms after he prolonged his opening stint.
Norris emerged from the pits within the lead, with Verstappen demoted to second after stopping below regular racing situations. Despite an preliminary assault from the latter on the restart, the Briton managed to keep up the place after which edged clear.
A cool, calm and picked up efficiency thereafter, and steadiness issues for Verstappen, meant there was no stopping Norris from banishing the demons of his near-miss on the 2021 Russian Grand Prix and turning into a race winner on the one hundred and tenth time of asking.
Verstappen settled for second amid his relative struggles behind the wheel, whereas Charles Leclerc accomplished the rostrum forward of Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz, who clashed with Piastri late on in an incident that despatched the Australian again into the pits for a brand new entrance wing.
Sergio Perez wound up fifth within the second of the Red Bulls, having accomplished one other cease below the Safety Car, as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell salvaged some stable factors on a difficult weekend for Mercedes in sixth and eighth respectively.
Yuki Tsunoda gave RB one other reward within the seventh, whereas Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso crossed the road within the ninth. Esteban Ocon capitalised on Piastri’s issues to complete tenth and rating the Alpine group’s morale-boosting first level of the season.
Haas had been on track for an additional top-10 outcome within the opening exchanges, however Nico Hulkenberg slipped down the order because the race developed, leaving him eleventh on the flag from Pierre Gasly’s different Alpine machine.
Piastri battled his means again as much as thirteenth after that aforementioned entrance wing change, albeit being warned by McLaren to not spark one other incident and Safety Car interval as Norris led, clearing Zhou Guanyu’s Kick Sauber simply earlier than the end.
After starring within the Sprint, Daniel Ricciardo might do not more than fifteenth on Grand Prix day, adopted by Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), whose fierce battle with Williams rival Alex Albon noticed him earn a 10-second time penalty for leaving the observe and gaining a bonus.
Albon was the ultimate finisher in nineteenth, behind the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, who served a 10-second sanction of his personal for a collision with Williams driver Logan Sargeant that put the house favorite out of the race.
As the drivers headed again to the pits, Norris’s feelings got here out over the radio as he, his race engineer, and group boss Zak Brown revelled in a milestone second that additionally gave McLaren its first Grand Prix win since Monza in 2021.
Mario Isola, Motorsport Director, Pirelli:
First, I wish to congratulate Lando Norris on his first Formula 1 win. He will always remember his feelings within the last kilometres after which on the rostrum!
Despite the surprising twists led to by the Safety Cars, first the digital after which the actual one, the race adopted a surprisingly linear trajectory when it comes to tyre behaviour. It was a one-stop technique, with tyres that, no matter their band color, confirmed minimal degradation, thanks partly to the absence of graining. The efficiency distinction between the vehicles was additionally negligible, including to the race’s unpredictability.
That stated, the 2 compounds most used, the C2 and C3, allowed the drivers to push flat out for nearly your entire race, as will be seen from learning the chronology of the lap occasions. This made for an thrilling race, even when, on paper, it was constrained by technique. The VSC and SC ruined the plans on a number of pit partitions, whereas others have been luckier or cleverer, however that’s all a part of racing.
As at all times, the post-race evaluation holds immense worth. The information gathered over the three days of this Grand Prix will present us with invaluable insights. These insights might information us in compound choice and improve our understanding of the intricate interplay between the tyres and numerous observe surfaces. This is the great thing about Formula 1-a sport that provides a relentless studying curve, paving the best way for steady progress.
The day on the observe:
As simply predicted, the one-stop technique was the one believable one, however the Virtual Safety Car on lap 22 after which the actual one on lap 28 clearly upset the plans, giving those that had not but pitted the possibility to take action whereas shedding considerably much less time than those that had already modified tyres. This reshuffled the pack, after which the order remained comparatively static within the early phases after the restart, at the least among the many leaders.
On the beginning grid, the preferred compound was the C3, with 15 drivers going for what, on paper, was the quickest technique: a primary stint on the Medium and a second on the Hard. Hamilton, Alonso, Ricciardo, and Magnussen opted for the C2, hoping to run as lengthy a primary stint as doable, whereas Bottas gambled on the C4.
A complete of 1110 laps have been accomplished, with solely Sargeant (Williams) failing to complete the race. The C3 did probably the most work (562 laps, 50.6%) with barely increased mileage than the C2 (504 laps, 45.4%). The C4 was solely utilized by the 2 Sauber drivers, Bottas for the primary 11 laps and Zhou from his pit cease to the chequered flag, and it proved to be as much as the duty each when it comes to degradation and efficiency.
Apart from the sight of a model new Formula 1 race winner on the rostrum within the form of Lando Norris, there was additionally a novelty when it got here to the Podium Cap, which Pirelli offers to the highest three finishers within the Grand Prix, in addition to the consultant of the profitable group, who at present was McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella. For the Miami occasion, Formula 1’s Global Tyre Partner ready a particular cap in turquoise, a color suggesting the waters in entrance of the town’s seashores, together with stylised palm bushes on the height, an emblematic aspect of Miami, alongside the flag of the United States of America.
2024 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Country | Team | Time | Points | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 4 | Lando Norris | Great Britain | Mclaren Racing | 1:30:49.876 | 25 | 83 |
| 2. | 1 | Max Verstappen | Netherlands | Red Bull Racing | +7.612s | 18 | 136 |
| 3. | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Monaco | Scuderia Ferrari | +9.920s | 15 | 98 |
| 4. | 11 | Sergio Perez | Mexico | Red Bull Racing | +14.650s | 12 | 103 |
| 5. | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Spain | Scuderia Ferrari | +16.407s | 10 | 83 |
| 6. | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Great Britain | Mercedes-AMG Petronas | +16.585s | 8 | 27 |
| 7. | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Japan | Visa Cash App F1 Team | +26.185s | 6 | 14 |
| 8. | 63 | George Russell | Great Britain | Mercedes-AMG Petronas | +34.789s | 4 | 37 |
| 9. | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Spain | Aston Martin F1 Team | +37.107s | 2 | 33 |
| 10. | 31 | Esteban Ocon | France | Alpine F1 Team | +39.746s | 1 | 1 |
| 11. | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Germany | Haas F1 Team | +40.789s | 0 | 6 |
| 12. | 10 | Pierre Gasly | France | Alpine F1 Team | +44.958s | 0 | 0 |
| 13. | 81 | Oscar Piastri | Australia | McLaren Racing | +49.756s | 0 | 41 |
| 14. | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | China | Kick Sauber F1 Team | +49.979s | 0 | 0 |
| 15. | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Australia | Visa Cash App F1 Team | +50.956s | 0 | 5 |
| 16. | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Finland | Kick Sauber F1 Team | +52.356s | 0 | 0 |
| 17. | 18 | Lance Stroll | Canada | Aston Martin F1 Team | +55.173s | 0 | 9 |
| 18. | 45 | Alexander Albon | Thailand | Williams Racing | +76.091s | 0 | 0 |
| 16. | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Denmark | Haas F1 Team | +87.533s | 0 | 1 |
| 17. | 2 | Logan Sargeant | USA | Williams Racing | DNF | 0 | 0 |
2024 Constructor Standings
| Pos | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Red Bull Racing | 239 |
| 2. | Scuderia Ferrari | 187 |
| 3. | McLaren Racing | 124 |
| 4. | Mercedes-AMG Petronas | 64 |
| 5. | Aston Martin F1 Team | 42 |
| 6. | Visa Cash App F1 Team | 19 |
| 7. | Haas F1 Team | 7 |
| 8. | Alpine F1 Team | 1 |
| 9. | Kick Sauber F1 Team | 0 |
| 10. | Williams Racing | 0 |
Here are the team-by-team highlights:
