The wait is over! After an impressive victory in Miami, Lando Norris can finally call himself a Grand Prix winner.
Max Verstappen didn't enjoy his usual level of comfort, but perfect safety car timing opened the door for Norris to take the lead, and from there Verstappen set out to fulfill his prophecy of a 2024 win coming. I shook it off. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will finish on the podium.
Say hello to new F1 Grand Prix winner Lando Norris
Lewis Hamilton, on hard tyres, was the only driver in the top 14 not to start on mediums. Pirelli says its hard compound can last an entire Grand Prix. Of course, a pit stop is a must.
Sauber's Valtteri Bottas took a completely different route by starting from 16th on the grid on soft tires.
However, pole-sitter Verstappen grabbed the lead, narrowly avoiding the speedy Sergio Perez wiping out his Red Bull teammate in the Turn 1 braking zone and turning heads. Leclerc was second, with McLaren's Oscar Piastri taking the start and moving into third.
Meanwhile, Nico Hulkenberg elbowed Hamilton, who was trying to warm up the hard tires, forcing the Mercedes driver back to eighth starting position.
Piastri was soon dreaming of a P2 of his own, sliding down the inside of Leclerc at turn 17 on lap five, showing that the McLaren, with half of Miami's upgrades, was actually performing very well at this early stage. showed that.
“I almost had a big crash,” Hamilton declared over the radio as he engaged in another close battle with Haas, passing Hulkenberg before locking up at Turn 17, forcing him back. . Hamilton has no doubt been fed up with Haas' form since his scrap with Kevin Magnussen, who collected a penalty yesterday.
After completing Hulkenberg's second pass at Turn 11, Hamilton attempted to flee up the road with George Russell in another Mercedes on Hulkenberg's rear wing. Russell completed the pass a few laps later on lap 13, with Hulkenberg diving in. Pit lane for hard tires.
By lap 15, Verstappen's advantage over Piastri was just under three seconds, and Red Bull encouraged him to increase his pace, but his trademark performance failed to materialize at this stage. Piastri himself was under pressure from Leclerc, while Norris emphasized the McLaren's race pace as he pushed Perez into fifth place.
Pérez, who pitted for hard tires on lap 18, released Norris and attempted to overcut, but McLaren urged him to chase Sainz, a request that Norris was happy to support.
Leclerc stopped on the hard tires on lap 20, with Ferrari giving the driver the perfect boost with a quick 1.9 second service.
Meanwhile, Verstappen made the unlikely mistake of making a total mistake at the turn 14/15 chicane, removing the bollard and inviting a virtual safety car while the marshals retrieved the hazard, and the track soon returning to green. . Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon and Magnussen were the drivers who pitted under VSC.
Then, the next lap, the 24th lap of the race, Verstappen appeared on hard tires.
Recommended by PlanetF1.com
F1 drivers net worth in 2024: 10 richest drivers on the F1 grid
F1 Schedule: When and where will the next F1 race be held?
On lap 28, it was Piastri and Sainz's turn to pit, but soon Magnussen and Sargent collided at Turn 3, removing Sargent and bringing out the safety car, drastically changing the course of the race.
Perez pitted again, but crucially, Norris made a cheap pit stop, pitted from the front and returned to P1 on hard tires, meaning Verstappen had to make a crucial overtake. It meant that.
Meanwhile, Magnussen was given a new 10-second penalty for causing a Sargent shunt, which was added to his collection.
On lap 32 of 57, the safety car returned to the pit lane and Verstappen was already trying to make a move in Turn 1, but there was no way to pass Norris and Leclerc, Piastri and Sainz occupied the top five, but Sainz He complained that Piastri pushed him. He went off the track at Turn 11, leaving him fighting for fourth place. In any case, the stewards initially disagreed, but eventually decided to investigate after the race.
Given Verstappen's dominance during this F1 era, it's understandable that Norris would be pessimistic about his chances of pulling away from him, but if anything the McLaren driver has built up a lead of up to three seconds, with Verstappen saying: I can't convert, it's no good,'' he exploded. “Disaster” served as music to Norris' ears.
Piastri and Sainz quickly started again, with Sainz locking up in turn 17 and tagging Piastri before completing the move in turn 1. Piastri suffered damage to his front wing in the exchange as Perez and Hamilton pulled out, and McLaren called him to the pits. It would be a huge shame for the Australian to change the front wing and run medium tyres.
Sainz also asked his team to “check the downforce” and complained that his Ferrari was not right.
A comfortable 4th place finish for Sainz, but the real story lies ahead with Norris winning his first Grand Prix in F1 here in Miami!
With Leclerc taking the top three spots, Verstappen was forced to make do with the second step on the podium.
2024 Miami Grand Prix Classification
1 Lando Norris McLaren
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +7.612
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +9.920
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari +11.407
5 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +14.650
6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +16.585
7 Hiroki Tsunoda RB+26.185
8 George Russell Mercedes +34.789
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +37.107
10 Esteban OCON Alpen +39.746
11 Nico Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team +40.789
12 Pierre Gasly Alpine +44.958
13 Oscar Piastri McLaren +49.756
14 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber +49.979
15 Daniel Ricardo RB +50.956
16 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber +52.356
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +55.173
18 Kevin Magnussen Haas F1 Team +64.683
19 Alexander Albon Williams +76.091
20 Logan Sergeant Williams