Miami Produces an F1 Race to Remember!
Everyone was happy with the results of Sunday’s FIA Formula One Championship race in Miami, the first of three Grands Prix held in the United States. It was a busy weekend for the 10 teams and 20 drivers that participate in F1, with a single practice on Friday followed by Sprint race qualifying. The primary race was held, as is customary, on Sunday afternoon on a hot and sunny Miami day.
Saturday’s primary action was for the second Sprint race of the season, won by Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing, who also took pole position for the Sprint on Friday and for Sunday’s feature event on Saturday afternoon. A monster crash on the first lap of the Sprint made it easy for Verstappen as he lost some of his primary competitors: Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll and Lando Norris all tried to occupy the same territory.
That would change for Sunday, despite what looked like another Verstappen victory. It’s not been an easy week for the reigning champ or for his Red Bull team; after 19 years, they’re losing the services of Adrian Newey, the architect of the team’s astoundingly successful race cars. The paddock, as is its wont, was filled with rumors of Newey’s next adventure.
Yet, there was still racing to be had, 57 laps around the 3.363-mile, 19 corner Miami circuit. When Verstappen ran over a bollard that got caught in his front wings, he had to cede position. And guess who was there to take advantage of the leader’s faux pas? Lando Norris of McLaren Mercedes, after being quickest in the first two portions of Sprint race qualifying, after being taken out on the first lap of that Saturday feature and after starting fifth in Sunday’s premier contest, Norris earned his first FIA Formula 1 World Championship race victory.
In fact, Norris was more than seven seconds clear of Verstappen by the time they all saw the checkered flags, with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari taking the third podium spot. It was the first non-Verstappen victory in the three United States races since 2021! And every single driver was happy to see Norris take his maiden victory. Every single one. Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton saluted his fellow Briton on the cool-down lap and in the paddock; Verstappen and Leclerc celebrated Norris’ win by drowning him in their celebratory bubbly. Even Frederic Vasseur, principal of Scuderia Ferrari joined McLaren in celebrating!
This never happens in F1. There are usually too many egos involved to be happy for a driver or team that isn’t your own. The McLaren team dedicated the victory, its first since Daniel Ricciardo’s 2021 Italian GP victory, to Gil de Ferran, who was the team’s sporting director from 2018 to 2021. He had worked with the team in a consultant’s role before passing in December of last year. Brazilian de Ferran made his home in South Florida. This was de Ferran’s “home” race.
After making his way to pit road and parking his car, Norris erupted into his team’s arms in celebration. “It’s been a long time coming, but we’ve finally managed to do it. I’m so happy,” he crowed, “for the whole team and what we’ve achieved together. We’ve had a few little setbacks across the weekend, but today we managed to put it all together. The car was great, the strategy was perfect and I’m over the moon!”
Norris has always had faith in his team, “And they’ve always had faith in me. Today we’ve really justified that. A huge thanks go to them for the hard work they’ve put in that made this possible.” Norris had intended to fly back to the UK Sunday night; Lewis Hamilton cautioned him not to do so, but to remain in Miami and party, because you only have one first win in F1. He did and apparently the party lasted well into the wee hours.
Norris wasn’t the only McLaren driver to give Verstappen a run for the checkers. His teammate, Australian Oscar Piastri hounded the Dutchman relentlessly in the early going and, when Verstappen switched to the harder compound tire, he just couldn’t get the necessary pace. “Today was just a bit tricky,” Verstappen said. He knew the McLaren cars had pace, but his error sealed that second-place result. “It was incredibly difficult for us in that stint, but if a bad day is P2, I’ll take it!”
Leclerc realizes his Scuderia Ferrari team needs to keep up with McLaren, as well as Red Bull, as this race shows. “If we compare ourselves to Max this weekend, it’s been a positive weekend. However,” he said, “we cannot completely ignore Lando.” After watching Norris earned P1 in both the two initial Sprint qualifying sessions, Leclerc was impressed. “As I’ve said many times, I think the season will be up to upgrades.” McLaren introduced several changes at Miami. “We have ours coming very soon and that will define the rest of the season for us.”
The Miami race, shown on broadcast ABC television, drew a record audience for Formula 1 in the United States. The average viewing audience throughout the more than two-hour broadcast was 3.1 million, eclipsing the 2.6 million that watched the inaugural Miami race on ABC two years ago. The fact that the race occurs early in the F1 calendar, compared to Austin in October and November’s Las Vegas race, likely helped ABC secure that number of eyeballs. The championship is just beginning and there’s plenty to see.
Formula 1 has this weekend off before returning to the European theater and the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, a 63-lap contest taking place May 17-19 at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, the circuit conventionally known as Imola.