On a weekend which marked his 110th start, Lando Norris finally clinched a maiden Formula 1 victory at the Miami Grand Prix.
A major upgrade package from the papaya team and a well-timed Safety Car propelled McLaren to the top step of the podium since Daniel Ricciardo claimed victory at Monza in 2021.
While there was jubilation for many in Miami, several already under-pressure drivers were unable to leave Florida with a positive note on their report cards.
Lando Norris – 10
Sprint: Qualified: P9, Race: DNF
Grand Prix: Qualified: P5, Race: P1
At long last, Lando Norris leaves a Grand Prix weekend as a Formula 1 winner. While perhaps yes the timing of the Safety Car helped propel the Briton to victory, his pace prior to the stoppage was amongst the best on circuit once he found clear air.
Norris was able to stretch his legs at the restart and build a gap to the chasing Max Verstappen in a perfectly managed race from McLaren.
The Sprint race was far from perfect for Norris after a poor Shootout performance which contributed to him getting caught in the opening lap melee, however, his Grand Prix performance dispelled Saturday’s woes with ease.
Oscar Piastri – 8.5
Sprint: Qualified: P6, Race: P6
Grand Prix: Qualified: P6, Race: P13
Whereas Norris was benefitted by the timing of the Safety Car, McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri was hampered by the intervention.
Piastri exhibited class when battling his way to second-place in the opening stanza of Sunday’s race and did very well to fend off the Ferraris for some time too. However, his race came undone when he pitted before the stoppage seeing him lose track position.
Contact from Carlos Sainz during an ambitious lunge from the Spaniard saw Piastri pick up front wing damage, sentencing the Aussie to a lowly finish on an afternoon where he had the pace to join his team-mate on the podium.
Max Verstappen – 9
Sprint: Qualified: P1, Race: P1
Grand Prix: Qualified: P1, Race: P2
Verstappen had a perfect start to the weekend, claiming pole for the Sprint before cruising to yet another Sprint win on Saturday. He followed that up with Grand Prix pole before controlling the race from the front.
However, the Dutchman wasn’t entirely happy with the RB20 in Miami, proven when on Lap 21 he clouted a bollard when skipping the chicane while leading. A subsequent pit-stop saw him lose track position which was consolidated by the Safety Car’s deployment just a few laps later.
Unusually, Verstappen had no answer for Norris and had to settle for P2 but the Dutchman still extends his championship lead on what was otherwise a strong weekend for the Red Bull driver.
Sergio Perez – 6.5
Sprint: Qualified: P3, Race: P3
Grand Prix: Qualified: P4, Race: P5
After a reasonably solid start to the season, Sergio Perez’s Miami Grand Prix was rather unspectacular. The Mexican was no threat for his team-mate in single lap performance, and only really seemed to threaten Verstappen on the approach to Turn 1 when a massive lock-up almost saw him collect the championship leader.
Perez simply did not have the pace to challenge in the race and was kept on his toes by a feisty Lewis Hamiton in the closing stages.
Charles Leclerc – 8.5
Sprint: Qualified: P2, Race: P2
Grand Prix: Qualified: P2, Race: P3
After a spin in FP1 saw Charles Leclerc miss out on much of the sole practice session, the Ferrari driver bounced back in style to claim second on the grid for the Sprint Shootout. Leclerc backed up his Friday performance with second in the Sprint race itself.
Leclerc was again second fastest for qualifying proper, but a poor getaway saw him nearly lose position off the line but that became a reality on Lap 4 when Piastri breezed past with DRS assistance.
The Ferrari driver found himself stuck behind Piastri until he boxed and was later caught in the same predicament behind Verstappen. A strong weekend for Leclerc, but lacked the incisiveness to take that next step.
Carlos Sainz – 6
Sprint: Qualified: P5, Race: P5
Grand Prix: Qualified: P3, Race: P5
Carlos Sainz endured a scrappy weekend in Miami which saw him unable to pass the RB of Daniel Ricciardo during the Sprint.
The 2024 race winner found similar frustration in the main event when grew frustrated when team-mate Leclerc was unable to pass the McLaren of Piastri in the opening phase.
Frustration grew for Sainz when it became his turn to attempt to pass the Australian. An audacious divebomb saw Sainz collect the front wing of the McLaren and earning the Spaniard a time penalty and a penalty point on his license.
Lewis Hamilton – 8
Sprint: Qualified: P12, Race: P16
Grand Prix: Qualified: P8, Race: P6
Once Lewis Hamilton was able to find his tyres in the right operating window, Miami was a positive exercise for the Mercedes driver.
The Sprint race was an eventful affair for Hamilton who was involved in the four-car incident at the opening corner. Able to continue, he found himself in a ferocious scrap with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen before sparring with the other Haas of Nico Hulkenberg on Sunday.
Once he had navigated the extremely wide Haas’, Hamilton was able to challenge the faster cars ahead en route to 6th place in one of his strongest Sunday’s of the year so far.
George Russell – 7
Sprint: Qualified: P11, Race: P12
Grand Prix: Qualified: P7, Race: P8
It was a difficult weekend for George Russell despite seemingly getting the better of his team-mate in qualifying.
Having lost ground off the line in both the Sprint and the Grand Prix, Russell was unable to get on top of the tyres in Miami costing him dearly when battling on track and finishing 18 seconds adrift of Hamilton at the line.
Yuki Tsunoda – 8
Sprint: Qualified: P15, Race: P8
Grand Prix: Qualified: P10, Race: P7
While Daniel Ricciardo reaped all the plaudits for RB in the Sprint, Yuki Tsunoda, who also claimed a point in the Sprint, led the Red Bull junior team’s charge on Sunday.
Starting 10th, Tsunoda was well placed to pick up places from those in faster machinery who struggled to exploit their pace advantage in Miami.
Tsunoda outpaced Russell’s Mercedes in the final stint to claim seventh at the line and his consistency sees him maintain his edge over team-mate Ricciardo.
Daniel Ricciardo – 7
Sprint: Qualified: P4, Race: P4
Grand Prix: Qualified: P18 (Started P20), Race: P15
It was a weekend of two halves for Daniel Ricciardo who drove emphatically on Saturday to claim a much needed result for RB during the Sprint.
But come Qualifying, Ricciardo suffered a shock Q1 exit worsened by a grid drop carried over from the Chinese Grand Prix. Ricciardo struggled to make progress during the race despite many drivers struggling and getting caught up in incidents. The Australian’s rating is heavily bolstered by his Sprint performance.
Fernando Alonso – 7
Sprint: Qualified: P8, Race: P17
Grand Prix: Qualified: P15, Race: P9
2023’s version of Fernando Alonso was missing from a sizeable chunk of the Miami Grand Prix weekend with the Spaniard outqualified by team-mate Lance Stroll on both occasions.
Alonso believed that the team had headed in the wrong direction with its setup tweaks, but the two-time champion was able to salvage a couple of points with a strong final stint and a late pass on Esteban Ocon.
Lance Stroll – 5.5
Sprint: Qualified: P7, Race: DNF
Grand Prix: Qualified: P11, Race: P17
Lance Stroll has long been under pressure when compared to his veteran team-mate Fernando Alonso but the Canadian emerged with the upper hand in qualifying trim.
Stroll wasn’t entirely innocent in the first lap incident that led to his retirement from the Sprint and he later struggled to make ground during the Grand Prix despite promising pace. A penalty for an illegal overtake on Alex Albon only worsened his weekend.
Esteban Ocon – 8
Sprint: Qualified: P13, Race: P15
Grand Prix: Qualified: P13, Race: P10
It was another strong weekend for both Alpine drivers after a dismal start to the 2024 campaign for the French marque.
The team perhaps could have extracted more from qualifying, but a stellar battle with Pierre Gasly in the technical middle sector provided brilliant entertainment during the opening lap on Sunday.
Strong pace helped Ocon pass Hulkenberg and Alonso however the pace started to diminish in the latter stages, seeing him cede position to the Aston Martin but clinging on to tenth to collect the team’s first point of the year.
Pierre Gasly – 7.5
Sprint: Qualified: P16, Race: P9
Grand Prix: Qualified: P12, Race: P12
Boosted by the upgraded Alpine, Gasly did well to adjust to the altered Alpine and was expected to fall behind Ocon who already has one race with the revised car under his belt.
That being said, Gasly came close to clinching a point on Saturday and edged Ocon in Grand Prix qualifying to boot. Pit strategy saw him lose track position and a chance to battle for the final point positions.
Nico Hulkenberg – 8
Sprint: Qualified: P10, Race: P7
Grand Prix: Qualified: P9, Race: P11
It was another strong weekend for Nico Hulkenberg who managed to pick up an important couple of points for Haas in the Sprint.
Hulkenberg was in the fight early on Sunday before an early pitstop saw him slip down the order and lose ground to his midfield rivals.
A final stint on the Medium compound saw the pace return for Hulkenberg, although the strategy was proven to be the wrong call. Still, a highly impressive weekend from the eventual Audi driver.
Kevin Magnussen – 5
Sprint: Qualified: P14, Race: P18
Grand Prix: Qualified: P19 (Started P18), Race: P18
Off the pace compared to Hulkenberg, Magnussen picked up a host of penalties in Miami and edges closer to a potential race ban.
Haas and the Dane resorted to dirty tactics in the Sprint to help preserve Hulkenberg’s points haul while Sunday saw him come to blows with Logan Sargeant, pitching the American into the barriers.
Guanyu Zhou – 7
Sprint: Qualified: P17, Race: P11
Grand Prix: Qualified: P20 (Started P19), Race: P14
A poor qualifying performance on Saturday saw Zhou on the backrow of the grid and some three-tenths adrift of Valtteri Bottas’ pace.
There were signs of promise in the first half of the race as Zhou passed both Bottas and Magnussen, however a final stint on the Soft compound saw him tumble back down the order.
Valtteri Bottas – 6
Sprint: Qualified: P18, Race: P14
Grand Prix: Qualified: P16, Race: P16
A quiet weekend for the Finn not helped by Sauber’s struggles in Miami. Starting on the Soft tyre certainly didn’t help his afternoon either, with the fastest tyre instead sending him backwards down the order.
Alex Albon – 6
Sprint: Qualified: P20, Race: P13
Grand Prix: Qualified: P14, Race: P19
Williams’ poorly optimised package meant that the team was always in for a tough weekend in Florida with Albon unable to deliver any of the heroics that he may have been capable of last year. A late lockup saw Albon plummet to last of the runners with optimism dwindling for the team.
Logan Sargeant – 5
Sprint: Qualified: P19, Race: P10
Grand Prix: Qualified: P17, Race: DNF
Coming into the weekend, Logan Sargeant garnered plenty of attention approaching his home race, but also with rumours swirling of an impending snub in favour of Kimi Antonelli.
On track, it was a mixed bag for Sargeant who finally got the better of Albon in a qualifying session on Friday before driving to 10th in the Sprint, albeit without the reward of points.
He ran well during Sunday’s race until he was clouted by Kevin Magnussen in the first sector, sending him rearwards into the barriers and out of the running.
