The Grand Prix weekend in Miami did not disappoint. Chaos in the sprint race and the main race provided an entertaining spectacle, with Lando Norris as the beautiful and surprising winner. The Briton drove a great race, took full advantage of the safety car and stoically showed Max Verstappen his heels in the final stint. Verstappen, who struggled throughout the weekend, had won the sprint race and taken pole position.
You can probably guess: Norris is at the top of the list of winners, but who else belongs on the list of winners and losers?
Winners
Lando Norris
What a weekend for Norris. The Brit had been looking for his first victory for years and struck hard in Miami. Okay, Norris had some luck with the safety car, but after that Verstappen and co. stop threatening him. The lead kept increasing over Verstappen, who in turn struggled and had to deal with damage. Norris took full advantage and will have received a huge confidence boost. This victory certainly leaves us wanting more.
McLaren
Norris’s victory cannot be seen separately from the hard work at McLaren. The team from Woking brought a huge update to Miami and has apparently taken another huge step. As mentioned, Verstappen struggled throughout the weekend, but Norris was also a lot faster than the Ferraris. Add to that Piastri’s good speed and you can only conclude that McLaren will seriously participate. And then Piastri, who finished outside the points due to a touch with Carlos Sainz, should still receive some of the updates…
RB
RB added no fewer than twelve points in Miami and that is a great achievement. On Friday, Daniel Ricciardo put his car in fourth place in the sprint qualifying, after which he managed to retain that position a day later. The only blemish on RB’s weekend was that Ricciardo ruined his qualifying again. The Australian did not get further than P18 and had to start from last place due to a grid penalty.
However, Yuki Tsunoda was the lifesaver. The Japanese reached Q3 and finished seventh in the race. Tsunoda was not in the picture much, but drove so consistently that Red Bull’s sister team was allowed to add another six points. Tsunoda had also finished in eighth place in the sprint race, which shows that RB’s updates also seem to be working.
Esteban Ocon
Finally there was a ray of hope for the wandering Alpine! The French factory team was much more competitive than in recent races and was finally able to compete again. Only you have to do that with other teams. Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly pushed each other off the track several times in the opening phase, but fortunately it did not end in tears.
In fact, Esteban Ocon claimed the last point. The driver held off both Aston Martins and Nico Hulkenberg and crowned a strong race with tenth place. Ocon also showed Gasly who is the boss at the moment.
Losers
Sergio Perez
It wouldn’t have made much difference if Sergio Perez had become the schlemiel of the weekend. The Mexican rode an invisible sprint race and started from P4 in the main race. Not a man overboard, you would say, but Perez almost broke his own glasses. He completely missed his braking point for Turn 1, after which it was a miracle that no major crash occurred. Perez avoided Verstappen at the last minute by straightening his steering wheel.
Even after that, things did not go smoothly for Perez. His mediums were not in optimal condition due to the kamikaze action, but also on the hard tires the speed was not really there. Perez battled with Lewis Hamilton for fifth place in the final phase, barely held on and moved up another spot due to a penalty for Sainz. All in all, a sub-par weekend for Perez, who will want to return to Imola in two weeks.
Aston Martin
What was going on with Aston Martin? Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso only collected a total of two points in both races and left Miami with their tails between their legs. It says enough that the entire weekend was mainly about strong statements from Alonso. The Spaniard saw his sprint race fall apart due to a bold action by Hamilton at the start, after which he shouted that nationality plays a role in handing out penalties. Hamilton got off without a penalty.
By the way, Alonso hit Stroll during the incident, causing the Canadian to immediately retire. A day later things weren’t much better. Stroll and Alonso had to tolerate Tsunoda’s RB and Ocon’s Alpine and were not fast enough to grab points. Was it a one-off problem or should Aston Martin really be concerned?
Logan Sargeant
During the GP weekend in Miami, the FIA announced that they had received a dispensation request for Andrea Kimi Antonelli. And while Logan Sargeant completed his home race… The American must increasingly fear for his seat, because Williams submitted the request himself. The team would like to see Antonelli in the car soon.
Then it helps if you have a good weekend. Sargeant just couldn’t do that. The driver was eliminated twice while swearing in Q1 and was in the wall during the main race due to a heavy tap from Magnussen. Okay, maybe there wasn’t much he could do about that, but the fact remains that Sargeant can’t keep up with Albon. How much longer does he have?
