F1. Miami 2024 Review

By Dewi Preece, Chelsea Wintle, Aiden McLaughlin and Gavin Huet

Driver of the day

Dewi – Purely because the obvious answer is Lando (which will no doubt get covered by others, and by me shortly – spoiler alert) I’ll actually use this opportunity to shout out Yuki Tsunoda. Starting the season under a lot of pressure, he’s barely put a wheel wrong so far – China aside – and Sunday in Miami was another seriously accomplished drive by Tsunoda. It still wasn’t perfect, but his and the team’s strategy, his tyre management and racecraft brought home a hugely valuable six more points. It’s also snuck him ahead of Lance Stroll for tenth place in the championship, and t this rate he looks nailed on to bring the curtain down on Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 career. Somebody please find Tsunoda a seat for next year.

Chelsea – Lando Norris, obviously. The delirium over his win meant I was spoiled well before I sat down for the race on Monday evening, but it was still an absolute joy to watch it all play out. The safety car played beautifully into his hands, but that’s not to take away from a strong drive, clear strategy and a steady nerve through the final laps. The top step of the podium suits him!

Aiden – It may have taken 110 starts, but jeez, it was worth the wait for Lando Norris to finally reach the top step of a Formula One podium. Unless you’re Max Verstappen, you’re going to need a bit of luck to win a Grand Prix these days, and Norris got some with the safety car coming out after Logan Sergeant’s crash. But, with that luck also came exceptional speed as he not only kept the world champion at bay, but also extended his lead to a winning margin of 7.6 seconds. A more popular race winner will be hard to find as he put fifteen previous podium finishes behind him to take the victory.

Gavin – Lando Norris of course. I asked last time whether he was on an upwards trajectory and he answered emphatically. Ok, he had some luck with the safety car but even then he was on track to be on the podium, the safety car timing allowed him to take control and after that Max Verstappen had nothing. In my opinion the only blot on his copybook was an interaction with Donald Trump who, as many people were pointing out, would obviously be a fan of the papaya…

 

Moment of the weekend

Dewi – “About ****** time.” Lando Norris as he crossed the finish line for his maiden Grand Prix win, a sentiment shared by most of the F1 community. This was one of the most wholesome sports results I remember seeing in a long time, and I found myself physically unable to stop smiling for the whole of the celebrations coverage. The ‘moment’ for me was the stream of fellow drivers and F1 staff from across the paddock going out of their way to share in the Briton’s joy – a mark of the respect he’s earned as a driver. This is without doubt the first of many, and the latest chapter in what will be a superb career.

Chelsea – Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes backfiring on Martin Brundle’s leg as he walked the pit lane. “Lucky it only got my leg!” he squealed. Indeed.

Aiden – Magnussen v Sargeant – and what it brought us…

Gavin – When we all realised that Max Verstappen in the Red Bull could not catch the McLaren of Lando Norris. Everyone was expecting the Red Bull to just breeze past everyone into the lead and win the race after the safety car ended – a scene we have witnessed on numerous occasions over the last few years. It was weird as the Ferraris, Red Bulls, and McLarens just held position relative to each other with the gaps only increasing right at the end when the result was a given and everyone was settling for the result. It certainly looks, in Miami at least, that these three teams are quite evenly matched with the difference being where on the track they are more dominant.

A close second to this was Martin Brundle on his gridwalk pointing out the lights on the rear of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes only to not realise the car was in fact running and it backfired at that exact moment giving him the fright of his life. Priceless.

 

Hot take of the weekend

Dewi – As much as the Miami sprint race proved to be on the better end of the scale, I still fail to see the point of what F1 are trying to achieve, and I can’t get excited about it. Throw the format in the bin and get really radical and creative with a genuine team race. Average qualifying time of both decides grid position, slowest driver starts, both have to use different tyre compounds, then a clever mid-race relay-style swap in the pits (in their own cars, I’m not a madman). All points go towards the constructor’s title, forcing teams to take it seriously. To be honest – I’d settle for anything that isn’t just a watered down version of a Grand Prix.

Chelsea – K-Mag’s K-Magnitude of penalties were the gift that kept on giving. The Dane racked up six penalties over the course of the weekend – four during the sprint race and two during the race proper. In the main event, overenthusiastic cornering led him to collide with the unfortunate Logan Sargeant, ending Sargeant’s race and earning K-Mag a ten second time penalty. He then failed to serve the penalty correctly and was penalised again. He now sits on 10 penalty points, meaning another two will earn him a single-race suspension.

Aiden – Adrian Newey to Williams. Ferrari are the favourites to sign the design genius after confirmation that he will be leaving Red Bull in the early part of 2025. But putting to one side the obvious attractions that organisation brings, what better way to bring your incredible career full circle, than to go back to the team where you won your first constructors and drivers world titles over 30 years ago, a team that are well down the pecking order, but making steady strides under team principal James Vowles. You heard it here first.

Gavin – McLaren was on form this weekend and deserve all the plaudits they are getting. I hope this performance continues and that alongside Ferrari they can take the fight to Red Bull, but I remember being here before when a Danny Ricciardo driven McLaren scored a race victory out of nowhere and that didn’t eventuate into anything. Times have changed, the team today is not the same as it was even three years ago but F1 has a way of exposing weakness and punishing it mercilessly.

As an aside, I am a big fan of these US races (mainly because of the friendly timezones) but can the commentators please stop telling us that the US knows how to put on a show etc. etc. It is about as interesting to hear about as a Max Verstappen 30 second victory.

 

Cold take of the weekend

Dewi – Don’t get your Championship hopes up. As much as F1 needed this result to shift the never-ending predictable narrative, I think Miami will still likely prove an exception rather than a sign of something bigger in 2024. Although it should serve as even more evidence that McLaren’s progress is real. Take Verstappen out of the equation, and this season would be an absolute banger. Alas…

Chelsea – All eyes were on Adrian Newey’s eyes as he wandered the pit lane – where will he land in 2025? My picks are historically terrible – I picked Nyck de Vries as my one to watch last year – so I’m not going to take a punt on his next team. That being said, I’m pretty sure we won’t see Christian Horner as an awkward groomsman at Newey’s next wedding.

Aiden – I don’t see the mass exodus from Red Bull that some are predicting, materialising. Newey’s departure presents opportunities for those at the organisation. If you are part of the design team there, what better motivation than to emerge from Newey’s shadow and extend the incredible run of success the Milton Keynes outfit are currently enjoying.

Gavin – Whilst I agree that there are some cracks appearing in the Red Bull facade I do not think this is anything they are overly worried about. Max appeared to be off the pace for the entire weekend even when he was putting his car on pole position, and with Miami being a circuit that is easy on the tyres this was just not the weekend for Red Bull. But, in saying all of that I do think if one or two other chips fall in a certain way then the team could be facing a real battle even if Max undoubtedly wins the title again.

 

Bonus picture of the week

The Red Bull passing the Ayrton Senna mural, it has been 30 years since Ayrton tragically passed away.

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