Formula 1 will make its first of three visits to the United States this weekend for the third Miami Grand Prix.
It is also the second consecutive sprint round of the championship, where teams again face the prospect of limited practice time and an extra, 100 kilometre race on Saturday morning before setting the grid for Sunday’s grand prix.
But with McLaren and Mercedes both bringing their first set of major upgrades to their cars this weekend, there will be plenty of focus on the front of the field – as rivals Ferrari rock up with a new sponsor and a new look for the weekend.
Here are the talking points for the Miami Grand Prix…
Miami upgrades for McLaren and Mercedes
The sixth round of the championship and the first to be held outside of Asia and the Middle East, the sport heads to the Miami International Autodrome for the first of six North American rounds in this year’s championship.While Red Bull and Max Verstappen continued their winning ways last time out in Shanghai, the weekend saw mixed fortunes for two of their closest rivals, McLaren and Mercedes. McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton shared the front row together in the sprint race, with Hamilton taking a podium finish in second. In the grand prix, Norris managed to split the Red Bulls, with good fortune, to finish behind Verstappen – also in second place.
So far, Ferrari have been the closest contenders with Red Bull in 2024 and the only team to win a race other than the world champions. However, McLaren and Mercedes are both planning to bring their biggest upgrades packages of the season to date in Miami this weekend, hoping to claw back some ground on Ferrari and, with it, Red Bull.
Mercedes technical director James Allison has expressed his hope that the new parts for this weekend could give them the marginal gains that will earn them additional places on the grid with an extremely close field in qualifying. At McLaren, team principal Andrea Stella said his team’s package will target an improvement in tyre degradation, but has insisted that fans should not expect them to make the same leap forward in performance that they did with their two major upgrades last season.
Either way, Miami is an unusual choice to introduce a significant set of upgrades on a car, given its temporary circuit status and the fact it is another sprint weekend. But either team comes away with a bigger share of points this weekend, then it will certainly have been worth it.
New sponsor, new look
Unlike their rivals in McLaren and Mercedes, Ferrari will run a largely unchanged car from the one they raced in Shanghai. However, the Scuderia will be sporting a very different look in Miami this weekend following the announcement of the team’s first official title sponsor since 2021.
Blue has appeared on the team’s cars before, notably in the season-ending United States and Mexican Grands Prix in 1964, as well as on the overalls used by Ferrari drivers and mechanics over the sixties and seventies.
Ferrari say they are commemorating 70 years of their iconic brand existing in the North American market. The fact that the colours happen to closer match their major new partner, it seems, is a happy coincidence.
The team will be hoping for a better showing at Miami this weekend than they had last year, where Sainz and Leclerc finished only fifth and seventh, respectively. After neither Ferrari took a podium finish last time out in Shanghai, getting a top three will be the goal this weekend.
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Sargeant’s final home GP?
Logan Sargeant is alone on the Formula 1 grid in that he enjoys three grands prix in his home country each season. However, as a Floridian, the Miami Grand Prix is certainly the most ‘home’ round of the three for Sargeant.
As he heads into his second Miami Grand Prix, Sargeant sits rock-bottom in the drivers’ championship and does not look likely to remain on the grid to see a third in 2025. He is in desperate need of a clean weekend after crashing in practice in Japan and spinning in qualifying in China before he copped an unfortunate penalty in the grand prix for passing Nico Hulkenberg illegally behind the Safety Car.
With rumours swirling about Mercedes’ potential interest in filling Lewis Hamilton’s 2025 seat with F2 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli – who recently completed his first ever run in a Formula 1 car in a private test at the Red Bull Ring – there is even speculation that Antonelli could be fast-tracked into Sargeant’s seat once the Mercedes junior reaches 18 years old and becomes eligible for a superlicence.
If that comes to pass, Sargeant would be out of his seat before the next round in America – the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in October. That will make this weekend Sargeant’s potential last race in his home country, unless his form notably picks up over the coming months, that is.
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Setting up for the sprint race
Straight after the opening sprint round of the championship in Shanghai, the second will take place in Miami this weekend.
Last time in Shanghai, teams had the opportunity to modify their car set-ups following the sprint race for the first time, allowing them to try and improve their cars over the grand prix sessions rather than be stuck with what they had. Red Bull certainly made the best of this, improving Verstappen’s RB20 to take pole and victory in Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s grand prix. However, Mercedes and Hamilton managed to take their car in the wrong direction, going from fighting for the sprint win on Saturday morning to struggling to reach the top ten on Sunday.
Hamilton took responsibility for the way that the team went with his set-up, insisting that he will not be making that mistake again. But it was an example of how the dynamics can truly change between the sprint race and the grand prix under the new sprint round regulations, which arguably manages to inject more intrigue into the format compared to last season.
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Advent of Andretti
Despite having the door on their potential entry into Formula 1 for 2026 seemingly closed in their face by FOM and the ten existing teams after it was opened for them by the FIA months prior, Andretti have insisted that their preparations to join the grid “continue at pace.”
Reportedly, Michael Andretti will meet with his potential F1 counterparts over the weekend to discuss their potential entry in a face-to-face basis. While it is difficult to see how the existing team’s concerns could be addressed that will suddenly make Andretti’s place on the grid more likely, given that the primary objection has been the idea of splitting the sport’s revenues 11 ways instead of 10, this could still prove to be a pivotal weekend for the future of the sport.
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Are you going to the Miami Grand Prix?
If you’re heading to USA for this weekend’s race, we want to hear from you:
Who do you think will be the team to beat in the Miami Grand Prix? Have your say below.
2024 Miami Grand Prix
- McLaren had superior pace before Verstappen’s damage in Miami – Norris
- Sainz ‘struggles to understand’ why he got penalty when Perez didn’t
- Alonso’s unusual brake problem and more unheard Miami team radio
- McLaren’s Miami upgrade success points to even stronger form in coming races
- Norris expects more wins this year and believes “100%” in 2025 title bid
Jeffrey Powell
29th April 2024, 14:32
I know this is a bit petty ,unless of course you are an Aussie, but you know it isn’t part of Asia. It’s a good job there isn’t a New Zealand Grand Prix because that is not part of Asia or Aus. It is its own Micro Continent. Isn’t Goggle great.
Ankita
29th April 2024, 14:41
Small correction. Five North American rounds (3 in USA + Canada and Mexico) or six American rounds (which would include Brazil).
J.R. Love (@dermechaniker)
29th April 2024, 14:46
Unless I’m missing something, don’t we have five rounds in North America?
Miami
Montréal
Austin
Mexico City
Las Vegas
If São Paulo is meant to be the sixth, it’s not located in North America.
J.R. Love (@dermechaniker)
29th April 2024, 14:48
Looks like I was composing my post at the same time as Ankita…
Vulture
29th April 2024, 15:31
Will Wood only considers the USA as America.
grat
29th April 2024, 16:01
Colloquially, “America” as a country usually refers to the United States of America. This offends people in Europe, who are keen to stomp on Americans at any opportunity to show how cool they are– they argue that the natives of many countries can call themselves “american” because they are part of North, Central and South America. It’s also because Europe is a relatively small continent, and referring to a German or a Frenchman as “European” is perfectly reasonable.
Curiously, though, they get offended if you refer to any resident of the continent of Asia as “Asians”, or all of the residents of Africa as “Africans”.
To my knowledge, there is only one country with “America” in it’s name– there are, however, three geographic regions and two continents with “America” in their name, and frankly, most of them would be offended if you called them Americans.
So there are 6 American rounds, 3 United States rounds, and 5 North American rounds.
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
29th April 2024, 17:05
You made a lot of claims here.
None of which appear to have any truth to them. Quite remarkable, honestly.
grat
29th April 2024, 23:34
Proof? Can you even come up with a single quote to refute anything I said?
Are you suggesting there aren’t 3 USA races? That Canada and Mexico aren’t in North America?
Now, I get that various bureaus of vital statistic lump many “Asians” together (although it varies by country), I have personally encountered people from that continent who are NOT comfortable being lumped into “Asian”.
So– rather than generally dismissing me, how about refuting some of my claims?
anon
30th April 2024, 6:53
grat, and why should your comments be considered any more credible if all you are offering is “because I say so”? Or are you happy for others here to make the same broad sweeping generalisations as you, and to then give you back your own response if you were to disagree?
Ankita
30th April 2024, 11:19
Well … the names of the continents are not legal terms (unlike those of countries), so one could say that Morocco is Europe, that the UK is not Europe, that Russia and Turkey are Asia, that the Maghreb is not Africa or that South Africa is not (true) Africa. Why not ? You can say that there is North America and South America as two different continents. If that is the case, where do you leave Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, etc)?
But if we go to the origin of the term, America was named after Americo Vespuccio who found that Colombus did not arrive in India but to a different continent not known to the Europeans. Colombus never set foot in what today is the USA nor did Vespuccio. Thus, America is all of the new land found which goes from today’s Alaska to Argentina. All born there are Americans. This is not history. Ask any Mexican, Colombian, Peruvian, etc and he/she will tell you they are Americans. And will you tell them that they are not ?
MacLeod (@macleod)
30th April 2024, 8:10
This is correct as we have 7 continents and North and South America are 2 of them. So theoretic there are 6 in America: 5 in North America and 1 in South America AND 3 of them are in the USA.
Comments about how Europeans are being called is in the eyes of the beholder.
MichaelN
30th April 2024, 12:01
That’s primarily because Europe is a cultural term, and Germans and French share said common culture. It doesn’t derive meaning from geography, it’s the other way around. European cultures ‘claimed’ a part of Eurasia as a ‘continent’ when it really isn’t. And in the west, people from Iceland are also called Europeans even though their island is not part of any continent at all.
rprp
29th April 2024, 15:40
Source: Helmut Marko
isthatglock21
29th April 2024, 16:05
No doubt gonna be empty grandstands again till Sunday, during which most people leave before the race is over. Odd place for a GP given the intense heat, Yanks ain’t accustomed to midday sports event that aren’t AC balsted in arenas, they live their life going from AC location to AC location. Can see why they put sprints into this race as the blue empty seats were rife all weekend last year, but doubt it will fix stuff. That’s before the silly prices & fact novelty generally has worn off in F1 in YankLand
Mark in Florida
29th April 2024, 16:35
Apparently you’ve never been to Florida. The midday heat is well beyond what most people would consider comfortable. That is unless you like low to mid 90s Temps. I live here and most people from Europe complain when it’s in the mid 80s with 70% humidity. I’m happy when it’s in this range, at least it’s bearable. Air conditioning is a must in Florida to remove all the humidity from a buildings air, otherwise you’ll get mold.
Jere (@jerejj)
29th April 2024, 17:00
isthatglock21 Mark in Florida
No more intense or uncomfortable than in Southeast Asia, with more or less identical all-year-round climatic conditions, & high-20s or low-80s in Fahrenheit (current forecast for the weekend as highest ambients) are nothing new to F1 events, so people should stop exaggerating matters.
If the Celsius low-20s to early-30s range/Fahrenheit 80s were uncomfortable per se, no outdoor activities should happen in those figures anywhere in the world, especially those with high humidity levels, be that Florida or Southeast Asia.
P.S., I’ve been to both Florida & Southeast Asia, but of course, my good knowledge about climate zones & climatic aspects generally comes from information gathering & observations over the years, so I’m qualified.
Jere (@jerejj)
29th April 2024, 17:04
However, while this time of year is decently okay, holding the Miami GP before the annual Miami Open tournament or closer to its ending would be even better.
isthatglock21
29th April 2024, 20:08
So neither of you really disagree with my points, people rarely ever sit in the boiling sun outside in temporary stands. Agree south east Asia is the same, but also big part of why crowds were always so bad in Malaysia as it was during the day & even Bernie wanted a night race like Singapore which is super late even by night race standards. The crowd says it all, even on Sundays & the fact there’s so many indoor pop-ups & tents trackside where people flee to during the Miami race backs it up. Only the hardcore stick it out. Especially given how much of the race is marketed to non Floirdans you can see why hardly anyone ever returns, amongst other things re price etc.I had a friend go to the race who pretty much felt the same way, sure they’re British but they’re also well travelled. COTA/Montreal are 100x better re fan experience & weather.
Jere (@jerejj)
2nd May 2024, 7:03
isthatglock21 Good points, & I agree that COTA & Montreal are better experiences overall, meaning if I had to choose, I’d rather attend either of them than the Miami GP.
I also agree regarding the Malaysian GP, although 20:00 isn’t (necessarily) a super late start time for night race standards by any means, especially as the Singapore GP is the original floodlit event & has had that local start time this whole time, not to mention the ambient temps aren’t much different in the evening versus afternoon anyway, i.e., still either high-20s or low-30s on average.
Nick T.
29th April 2024, 22:01
Your hate oozes with every word. More hilariously, so does your impotent rage.
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s isthatglock21?!
dot_com (@dot_com)
29th April 2024, 16:08
Hopefully Logan Sargeants final GP, Miami or otherwise.
Jere (@jerejj)
29th April 2024, 16:52
I doubt.
Jere (@jerejj)
29th April 2024, 16:51
Miami upgrades for McLaren and Mercedes – They could impact the pecking order, or not, especially with the latter.
New sponsor, new look – I’m indifferent about the coloring aspect, but I’m sure the blue will look decent.
Sargeant’s final home GP? – Doubtful. I’m positive he’ll see out the season at the very least, even if Williams eventually wanted to replace him, depending on his performance level over the remaining rounds.
Setting up for the sprint race – I’m positive the Miami Autodrome will also prove a decent circuit for the sprint format.
Advent of Andretti – Probably not unless for an existing team buyout.
MichaelN
29th April 2024, 17:24
That’s saying the quiet part out loud! It’s about the uhm… the engines! And uhm… being competitive. You know, like Sauber and Williams. Everyone loves Williams. Such a quirky team. No hope of any success, but hey! At least they’re not Americans.
Anyway, if Miami didn’t have that silly chicane, it’s not that bad a track given the constraints of the location. The straight is a bit long, but some of the corners are pretty fun and tricky. And if nothing else, it’ll be a sunny and colourful race. Much better than the evening and dull grey we’ve mostly had so far! The only problem with that will be all the Americans pretending that describing ambient temperature in Fahrenheit is normal.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
30th April 2024, 4:53
Williams is basically there for nostalgic value: “they were a top team when I was a kid!”, if someone only started watching a few years ago they wouldn’t care at all about them.
Jonathan Parkin
29th April 2024, 20:22
Let’s also not forget this weekend Nico Hulkenberg can beat Andrea DeCesaris’ record of 208 GP starts without a win
Tom Baker
29th April 2024, 21:46
Quite ironic to see that photo of il Commendatore and his workforce being used to argue there are precedents for Ferrari’s plan to use blue in Miami. Yes, there are – and jolly lovely the ’64 NART livery looked too – but what the old man never did was change the livery to match a sponsor’s colours, indeed he was adamant he would never do so. That’s why until almost the end of his life he put no sponsor logos on his cars at all other than those of trade suppliers. I remember in the mid-80s there was speculation that Ferrari was set to do a deal with Coc-Cola, on the understanding that the drinks giant’s colours wouldn’t require any deviation from the traditional red. Naught came of that, but around the same time the old man had finally started putting Marlboro stickers on his cars. But they were small and discreet initially and again they had no impact on the traditional red livery.
Well, officially we are obliged to believe that the Miami blue is a nod to old history rather than to new sponsors. I’m not sure I’m convinced and I’m not sure the old man would be either.
Nick T.
29th April 2024, 22:02
Logan should have been gone by halfway through last season.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
30th April 2024, 4:58
Yes, I’m pretty sure mick schumacher was better, what would have happened if they had swapped the teams they started with? Maybe sargeant would’ve been gone after 1 season and maybe mick schumacher, showing a bit of promise on his 2nd season to go on, which he did, would’ve got a 3rd season and went on to be an average driver by today’s standards.
Mooa42
30th April 2024, 5:14
@Nick, I disagree. I don’t think he should have got a drive in F1 at all!
RL
30th April 2024, 3:36
Nothing about Newey?
Seems that someone said “he’s going”, the (F1) world exploded, Red Bull went “news to us” and it was never mentioned again.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
30th April 2024, 4:47
“First full-time American driver in the sport in well over a decade and become the first to score a world championship point in thirty years” about sargeant, don’t make me laugh, I mean, the authors are just reporting statistics and that’s fine, but I’m not impressed about a driver scoring ONE point with the current points system when for example 30 or even 22 years ago you needed to come 6th or better to score points, and then as an insult to injury, that point only came because of questionable disqualifications of drivers ahead of him, who would’ve ended up ahead even with regular cars. Coming 12th and getting a point isn’t impressive at all, and hopefully it’s indeed his last miami gp.
GmP (@gmp)
30th April 2024, 5:36
Are you going to the Miami Grand Prix?
I am a bit confused, the link points to the article it is in, oh well.
Yes, I am going to the Miami GP. Fly in from California on Thursday afternoon, three day pass, fly back Monday morning. Long weekend break from work, will be nice.
Went last year also, first time, at the Marina grandstand. This year a “rotating” ticket, each of the three days a different grandstand. Sounds nice, will see how that works in practice. With the sprint race and F1 Academy race there will be quite some action on track. Didn’t check yet, are the Porsches also there? That was fun last year.
While I prefer Austin for walking around when there is no track action, Miami was not bad, not like Vegas, horrible. The views into the F1 hospitality area inside the stadium last year was underwhelming. Yes it was possible to see drivers and notables/celebraties, but not close up. We stayed for an hour or so inside, then got bored and walked around outside. No shuttle busses means driving to and parking around the circuit. Enough parking, but getting out was taking some time. Getting in and out the circuit was easy and quick.
Looking forward to the race, that the best might one (Max).
GmP (@gmp)
30th April 2024, 5:47
As for the race:
My expectations are Max win, Checo plus two Ferraris and one McLaren for 2-5; one McL plus two Mercedes and one Aston for 6-9 and then 10th between Alex and Yuki. Indifferent of Haas, Alpine, and Sauber, so don’t care where they end up, but do expect some nice scraps between those seven (six plus Daniel) drivers. Unfortunate Logan will be last. Nice guy but just doesn’t have it.
Severin (@severin)
30th April 2024, 11:13
Australia is not in Asia or the Middle East
juan fanger (@juan-fanger)
1st May 2024, 1:12
That’s right. Australia is in Europe!