The first of three Grands Prix in the USA (don’t ask why!) and the second of six Sprint format weekends (just two weeks after China), Miami is bound to be somewhat overshadowed by the news that Adrian Newey is leaving Red Bull after 18 years. There are lots of rumours but no confirmation yet regarding where he’ll go next; he’s already retired from F1 once, so it might be Ferrari (with HAM), Aston Martin, even Williams, or maybe he’ll return to catamaran racing. He’s diplomatically avoiding saying he’s leaving RB because of the fiasco & infighting caused by Whiny Spice.
Reminder of the 2024 sprint format:
- Friday: Free Practice 1; Sprint Qualifying
- Saturday: Sprint (don’t say race); Qualifying (for the race)
- Sunday: Race
Within Sprint Qualifying (SQ) the restrictions are that they can only run new medium compound tyres in SQ1 and SQ2 (12mins and 10mins respectively) and then softs in SQ3 (8mins).
Free Practice
There’s only one practice session all weekend. LEC only managed 3 laps after spinning his Ferrari and having to be recovered back to the pits.
Sprint Qualifying (SQ)
The start of SQ is slightly delayed
Sprint Qualifying session 1 (SQ1)
LEC has a twitch in Turn 7 and abandons his quick lap
ZHO 1:29.705
STR 1:28.960
PER 1:28.681
VER 1:28.601
ALO banged his rear right wheel on the wall
Radio from MAG complaining that a Sauber was in the way, although in that series of corners there isn’t a lot of room for a slower car to use
BOT (on a slow lap) turned in as PIA dived inside, almost making contact; BOT tells his new race engineer that he wasn’t told about PIA in time
Unsurprisingly the incident involving BOT and PIA will be reviewed after the session
NOR 1:27.939
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are BOT, RIC, SAR, HUL, ALB
RIC P9, ZHO P16
HUL P14, GAS P16
SAR P19
ALB P16
(ALO P2)
(PIA P2)
Back of the grid: ALB, GAS, ZHO, BOT, SAR
Oh, wait – ALB’s time has been deleted so he’s P20
Qualifying session 2
PER 1:27.865
NOR 1:27.597
RIC grazed the wall at Turn 16
3mins left; bottom 5 are HAM, OCO, MAG, VER, TSU
(VER P4)
Race control have noted a pit lane infringement for HAM – were the mechanics not wearing helmets when he did a quick stop?
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are RUS, HAM, OCO, MAG, TSU
OCO P13
Radio from HAM, “I hit the wall”
HAM P12
RUS P11
Middle of the grid: RUS, HAM, OCO, MAG, TSU
Top 10 shootout is between NOR, PER, LEC, VER, RIC, PIA, ALO, SAI, STR, HUL
HAM gets out of the car and looks pretty dejected; Toto looks tired and frustrated (more than usual)
Qualifying session 3
Halfway through SQ3 and still everyone sitting in the pits, so it’ll be just one flying lap each
HUL 1:28.476
PER 1:27.876
Chequered flag; only PER and HUL have so far set a time
VER 1:27.641
RIC P3
STR P4
ALO P5
NOR P6 – replay shows the McLaren was sliding through some corners
LEC P2
SAI P5
PIA P6
Provisional grid for the Sprint: VER, LEC, PER, RIC, SAI, PIA, STR, ALO, NOR, HUL, RUS, HAM, OCO, MAG, TSU, GAS, ZHO, BOT, SAR, ALB
The stewards are reviewing (at least) a couple of incidents: BOT-PIA from SQ1 and HAM from SQ2
Sprint
BOT was given a 3-place penalty for causing the collision with PIA in SQ1 but he was already going to start P18
Grid: VER, LEC, PER, RIC, SAI, PIA, STR, ALO, NOR, HUL, RUS, HAM, OCO, MAG, TSU, GAS, ZHO, SAR, BOT, ALB*
*ALB will start from the pit lane after the team made changes whilst under parc ferme conditions
VER leads everyone (other than ALB) away on the formation lap; all on medium compound tyres except TSU and SAR on softs
Note: OCO already has a 10-sec penalty for an unsafe release and causing a collision with LEC
01/19: VER squeezes LEC towards the wall
Yellow flag – NOR
Safety Car deployed
Radio from ALO reporting he has a puncture
02[SC]: SC leads everyone through the pit lane because there’s debris in Turn 1
Replay of the start shows ALO and STR make contact, and HAM tries to squeeze inside but also hits ALO; NOR was going around the outside, avoiding the incident until STR hit him
OCO serves his 10-sec penalty under the SC – is that allowed?
STR is pushed into the Aston Martin garage to retire
ALO pits for hard tyres
03[SC]: VER, LEC, RIC, PER, SAI, PIA, HUL, MAG, HAM, TSU, GAS, SAR, ZHO, RUS, BOT, ALB, OCO, ALO; out: STR, NOR
Stewards said they won’t review the lap 1 incident – that’s inconsistent… but in a way, that inconsistency is completely consistent for these officials
SC coming in at the end of this lap
04: VER pulls away
05/19: VER, LEC, RIC, PER, SAI, PIA, HUL, MAG, HAM, TSU
VER already has over 1sec lead
DRS enabled
PER dives inside RIC to steal P3
SAI now closing on RIC
06: Race control noted NOR walked across the track to get back to the pits – I can’t believe they’re dare penalise him for that but not the collision that took him out of the race
07: There’s not a lot of overtaking despite having 3 DRS zones
08: HAM has a look around the outside of MAG but the Haas defends, although he might have run wide
10/19: VER, LEC, PER, RIC, SAI, PIA, HUL, MAG, HAM, TSU, GAS, SAR, ZHO, RUS, BOT, ALB, OCO, ALO
SAI has DRS behind RIC
Radio from VER reporting “zero rear grip, like Quali” … yeah, it must be terrible because he’s only got a 2-sec lead over LEC
11: HAM around MAG, takes P8; MAG fights back, makes contact with the Mercedes and reclaims P8
12: MAG given 10-sec penalty for the P8 incident
SAI still unable to find a way round RIC
13: Replay shows MAG was off the track after HAM passed him, and then hit HAM when he rejoined the track
Race control: HAM speeding in the pit lane (presumably when the SC led them through?)
TSU now has DRS behind HAM
MAG keeping HAM behind, despite the 10-sec penalty; this is why they should use drive-through and stop-go penalties rather than adding a few seconds at the end
14: HAM now has TSU, GAS, SAR, ZHO, RUS, ALB
MAG given black and white flag for exceeding track limits; once more and he’ll get a time penalty
HAM attacks; MAG runs wide, forcing HAM off-track; TSU steals P9
15/19: VER, LEC, PER, RIC, SAI, PIA, HUL, MAG, TSU, HAM, GAS, SAR, ZHO, RUS, ALB, BOT, OCO, ALO; out: STR, NOR
MAG has always been a poor driver but this is disgraceful
TSU and HAM past MAG
16: ALB has a look inside RUS but backs out
MAG given another 10-sec penalty, this time for leaving the track and gaining an advantage
17: Another MAG incident under investigation
RIC’s mirrors are full of the blue Ferrari (that’s not a mistake – Ferrari have added blue elements for this weekend)
18: VER is opening his lead; it’s now over 2.5 secs; he’s been coasting
19/19: HAM’s taken P8 from TSU
VER takes the chequered flag 3.3 secs ahead of LEC
Provisional result: VER, LEC, PER, RIC, SAI, PIA, HUL, HAM; TSU, MAG*, GAS, SAR, ZHO, RUS, ALB, BOT, OCO, ALO
DNF: STR, NOR
*MAG now has a third 10-sec penalty and 3 penalty points (total of 8 for the 12 month period)
*HAM has been given a drive-through penalty (converted to 20 secs) for speeding in the pit lane (behind the SC)
NOR was given a reprimand for crossing the track and “fined €50,000, €25,000 of which is suspended for the remainder of the 2024 season on condition that there is no further breach of similar nature”
It’s still strange (inconsistent, just plain wrong?) that the lap 1 collisions weren’t even considered and yet they’ll tell NOR off for walking back to the pits
Update: the stewards did review the lap 1 incident; the official report says “However, we were not able to identify one or more drivers wholly or predominantly to blame for the various collisions or any one of them.”
Revised result: VER, LEC, PER, RIC, SAI, PIA, HUL, TSU; GAS, SAR, ZHO, RUS, ALB, BOT, OCO, HAM, ALO, MAG; DNF: STR, NOR
Qualifying
Reminder: RIC was given a 3-place grid penalty for this race after the stewards in China “determined that Car 3 overtook Car 27 while the race was under Safety Car conditions.”
Aston Martin have been busy fixing the damage he caused in lap 1 on the Sprint, as have McLaren with NOR’s car that was taken out in that incident
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
ZHO is already in trouble for “not following race directors instructions”, i.e. going too slowly on his out lap
MAG 1:29.015
HUL 1:28.945
HAM 1:28.817
RUS 1:28.567
SAI 1:28.159
HAM reports “grip was very good”
VER 1:28.023
(HAM P3)
SAI 1:27.937
RIC tapped the wall
SAR complaining ZHO ruined his lap because the RB was close to the corner
5mins left; bottom 5 are SAR, GAS, MAG, ZHO, ALB
PER 1:27.772
VER 1:27.689
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are SAR, MAG, GAS, ZHO, ALB
SAR P12, RIC P16
ALB P8, TSU P16
TSU P9, BOT P16
RIC P17 (plus he has a 3-place penalty to be applied)
GAS P5, STR P16
STR P10, SAR P16
BOT P16
Back of the grid: BOT, SAR, RIC*, MAG, ZHO
Race stewards noted ZHO crossed the line at pit exit
Qualifying session 2
The Ferrari duo leave the pits together; SAI lets LEC past as the exit the pit lane
TSU 1:28.223
VER 1:27.972
NOR 1:27.871
PIA 1:27.721
LEC 1:27.533
Yellow flag – ALB stopped at Turn 17 but he’s going again
5mins left; bottom 5 are OCO, HAM, STR, ALO, ALB
NOR is going out on medium compound tyres – the official timing data says softs but there’s a yellow stripe on them
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are GAS, OCO, HAM, ALO, ALB
HAM P2; RUS P11
RUS P8, STR P11
OCO P13
GAS P12
ALB P14
Middle of the grid: STR, GAS, OCO, ALB, ALO
Top 10 shootout is between LEC, VER, HAM, PIA, PER, NOR, SAI, RUS, TSU, HUL
Qualifying session 3
NOR on mediums again; everyone else on softs
HUL 1:29.104
TSU P2
HAM 1:28.654
RUS 1:28.067
PER 1:27.754
VER 1:27.241
NOR P3
LEC P2
SAI P3
PIA P4
Order after the first run: VER, LEC, SAI, PIA, PER, NOR, RUS, HAM, HUL, TSU
Race control: SAI/HUL incident noted – impeding
Replay shows SAI was slow to move off the racing line as HUL approached
Race control: no further action
Mercedes send their pair out on medium tyres, same as NOR (Ah, HAM and RUS had no more new softs)
Radio from RUS, “tell HAM to hurry up” so they both start their lap before the chequered flag… which falls now and they’re both fine
PIA P4
PER P4
VER P1 (doesn’t improve his time)
NOR P5
LEC P2
SAI P3
HAM P8
RUS P7
Front of the grid: VER, LEC, SAI, PER, NOR, PIA, RUS, HAM, HUL, TSU
Provisional grid: VER, LEC, SAI, PER, NOR, PIA, RUS, HAM, HUL, TSU, STR, GAS, OCO, ALB, ALO, BOT, SAR, RIC*, MAG, ZHO
*RIC has a 3-place penalty to be applied
ZHO was given a reprimand for crossing the white line at Pit Exit
Race
Pit lane is open; drivers can make their way to the grid
Grid: VER, LEC, SAI, PER, NOR, PIA, RUS, HAM, HUL, TSU, STR, GAS, OCO, ALB, ALO, BOT, SAR, MAG, ZHO, RIC
Another painful anthem, but it’s the US so it’s expected
Air temperature 28°C; track 43°C; humidity 57%
VER leads everyone away on the formation lap
Most are starting on medium compound tyres; HAM, ALO, MAG and RIC on hards; BOT the only one on softs
01/57: SAI past LEC for P2
PER dives down the inside but runs off at Turn 1
The Alpine pair are scrapping again; GAS ahead of OCO
02: VER, LEC, PIA, SAI, PER, NOR, HAM, HUL, TSU, RUS, STR, ALO, GAS, OCO, ALB, SAR, MAG, ZHO, BOT, RIC
HUL takes P7 from HAM
DRS enabled
GAS has passed ALO for P12
ZHO cuts the chicane
03: PIA fastest lap 1:32.827
MAG falling down to P19
04: LEC has PIA and SAI with DRS behind him
PIA inside LEC at Turn 17, takes P2
05/57: VER, PIA, LEC, SAI, PER, NOR, HUL, HAM, TSU, RUS
RUS takes P9 from TSU
SAI all over his teammate’s rear wing
06: Replay of the start – PER was closer to taking out VER than I initially thought, and then nearly hit SAI as the Red Bull came back on track
Race Control: PER false start noted
07: GAS taps ALO’s Aston Martin as he forces his way through for P12
HAM reclaims P7 from HUL, despite some agresive movement from the Haas
08: HUL’s back up to P7 because HAM locked up
No further investigation for PER’s false start
10/57: VER, PIA, LEC, SAI, PER, NOR, HUL, HAM, RUS, TSU, STR, GAS, ALO, ALB, OCO, SAR, ZHO, BOT, MAG, RIC
HAM inside HUL again
11: ALB pits from P14; hard tyres go on; rejoins P20
12: STR, SAR and BOT all pit; they all go onto hards
RUS inside HUL for P8 but HUL’s hanging in
13: HUL and GAS pit from P9 and P11 respectively; hards; rejoin P15 and P16
ALB blasts past STR for P17 but runs wide and has to give the place back
14: NOR all over PER’s tail, harrying him for P5
15/57: VER, PIA, LEC, SAI, PER, NOR, HAM, RUS, TSU, OCO, ALO, ZHO, MAG, RIC, HUL, GAS, STR, ALB, SAR, BOT
16: VER has 3sec lead over PIA
LEC f/lap 1:32.689
No further action for ALB/STR incident, because ALB gave the place back
NOR closing on PER again
17: PER defends P5; it’s the only battle at the front of the field other than PIA/LEC
18: PER pits; hards; rejoins P10
20/57: VER, PIA, LEC, SAI, NOR, HAM, RUS, TSU, OCO, PER, ALO, ZHO, MAG, RIC, HUL, GAS, STR, ALB, SAR, BOT
LEC pits; hards; rejoins P6 – a 1.9sec stop from Ferrari
NOR f/lap 1:32.476
21: NOR f/lap 1:32.421
HAM defends but LEC goes around the long way for P5
22: Radio from VER saying he hit a cone at Turn 15, when he cut the chicane – it’s on the racing line
23: LEC f/lap 1:32.113
VSC deployed
OCO, ALO and MAG all pit
Marshals jump the wall and pick up the debris
VSC ending
24: VER pits; hards go on; rejoins P4
DRS enabled
ALO takes P14 from GAS
25/57: PIA, SAI, NOR, VER, LEC, HAM, RUS, PER, TSU, ZHO, RIC, OCO, HUL, ALO, GAS, STR, ALB, SAR, MAG, BOT
NOR 1:31.982
RUS pits from P7; hards; rejoins P12
26: ALO inside HUL for P13
PER takes P7 from TSU
RUS past OCO for P11
Radio from HAM saying it’s impossible to see the kerb at the chicane now the bollard has gone
27: HAM pits from P6; mediums go on; rejoins P9
Yet to pit are PIA, SAI, NOR, TSU, ZHO and RIC
28: PIA and SAI pit; both switch to hards; rejoin P4 and P5
Yellow flag in Sector 1 – MAG and SAR have gone off at Turn 2
Safety Car deployed
29[SC]: PER, TSU, ZHO, RIC, HUL, STR all pit
Looks like SAR hit the tyre wall backwards
Replay of HUL outside SAR; SAR holds the racing line; HUL was definitely not alongside; contact, spinning them both off
30/57[SC]: NOR pits from P1; hards go on; rejoins still P1
Why is VER staying behind the SC? He’s P2
SC finally lets everyone through, but NOR is about 25sec ahead
31[SC]: So now the SC will slow down and wait for NOR to catch him; will race control delay the restart to allow VER to close up?
MAG gets 10-sec penalty for causing the collision with SAR
32[SC]: NOR’s behind the SC, and VER et al have caught up
SC in at the end of this lap
Order for the restart is NOR, VER, LEC, PIA, SAI, PER, TSU, HAM, RUS, OCO, ALO, GAS, ALB, ZHO, RIC, HUL, STR, BOT, MAG; out: SAR
33: LEC looks inside VER but LEC slams the door
34: NOR f/lap 1:31.157
DRS enabled
LEC has DRS behind VER
Radio from RUS complaining he’s got “absolutely no grip”
HAM hits TSU’s rear-left wheel as he steals P7
35/57: NOR, VER, LEC, PIA, SAI, PER, HAM, TSU, RUS, OCO, ALO, GAS, ALB, ZHO, HUL, RIC, STR, BOT, MAG
SAI on the radio demanding PIA give him P4 back
36: Race control say no further investigation for PIA/SAI incident
37: NOR f/lap 1:31.133 – he’s now just over 2sec ahead of VER
38: NOR f/lap 1:31.074
HAM closing on PER – only the two of them are on mediums; everyone ahead are on hards
39: VER complains “I can’t get the car to turn – it’s a disaster”
40/57: NOR, VER, LEC, SAI, PER, HAM, PIA, TSU, RUS, OCO, ALO, GAS, ALB, HUL, ZHO, RIC, STR, BOT, MAG; out: SAR
Radio for PIA telling him he has front wing damage and they want to replace it
41: PIA pits from P7; new nose; mediums go on; rejoins P19
Replay shows SAI passing PIA but clipping the McLaren’s front wing
42: NOR f/lap 1:31.059
Radio from SAI asking the team to check for damage
43: Radio from HAM asking “If you have any power, give it to me”
MAG under investigation for not serving his 10-sec penalty correctly!
44: NOR slowly opening his lead; it’s nearly 4secs over VER
PIA f/lap 1:30.643
45/57: NOR, VER, LEC, SAI, PER, HAM, TSU, RUS, OCO, ALO, GAS, HUL, ALB, ZHO, RIC, STR, BOT, MAG, PIA
46: HAM has DRS behind PER, and OCO has DRS behind OCO
SAI/PIA incident under investigation
47: NOR now has 5-sec lead
ALO has a look but OCO defends successfully, although it was a bit of a late move
48: OCO runs deep but hangs on to P9
This time ALO makes the move stick
50/57: NOR, VER, LEC, SAI, PER, HAM, TSU, RUS, ALO, OCO, HUL, GAS, ALB, STR, ZHO, RIC, PIA, BOT, MAG; out: SAR
HAM still on PER’s tail
51: PIA makes a move on RIC; locks up and RIC keeps P16
Radio for PIA telling him “Lando is leading the race; we don’t want to cause a safety car”
52: STR tries to get inside ALB but the Williams keeps P13
STR takes P13 but he was off the track, so he should give it back
ZHO passes ALB too
53: I don’t know how STR can give the place back to ALB because ZHO is between them
54: ALB has a huge lockup, runs very wide but returns to the track
ALB pits; puts softs on
55/57: NOR, VER, LEC, SAI, PER, HAM, TSU, RUS, ALO, OCO, HUL, GAS, STR, ZHO, RIC, PIA, BOT, MAG, ALB
PIA takes P15 from countryman RIC
56: Stewards will investigate the STR/ALB pass after the race
57/57: NOR has over 7.5sec lead but it’s not over yet
NOR takes the chequered flag!
Provisional result: NOR, VER, LEC, SAI, PER, HAM, TSU, RUS, ALO, OCO; HUL, GAS, PIA, ZHO, RIC, BOT, STR, MAG, ALB
DNF: SAR
Fastest lap: PIA but he doesn’t get a point because he finished outside the top ten
There are some incidents to be investigated after the race, but the top positions are safe
It’s really nice to see all the drivers congratulating him
I loved the “stage dive” into his team
Is Jenson Button hoarse from cheering him on?
Huge cheer for Lando 🙂
First time for F1 to play God Save The King! 🏴🧡🏴🧡🏴🧡🏴
Yep, that was definitely a tear
But now I’ll keep a nervous eye on the FIA official docs until they finish the post-race investigations and declare the final result🤞
MAG given 10-sec penalty and 2 penalty points for causing a collision with SAR
STR given 10-sec penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage (when he passed ALB)
MAG given a drive-through penalty (converted to 20secs added to his time) for entering the pit lane during the SC period and not changing tyres
SAI given 5-sec penalty and 1 penalty point for causing a collision with PIA
All of which means the final classification is: NOR, VER, LEC, PER, SAI, HAM, TSU, RUS, ALO, OCO; HUL, GAS, PIA, ZHO, RIC, BOT, STR, ALB, MAG
(so the only significant change is SAI drops from P4 to P5, promoting PER)
[2024 calendar and driver line-up]
