System 1 will make its first of three visits to the USA this weekend for the third Miami Grand Prix.
Additionally it is the second consecutive dash spherical of the championship, the place groups once more face the prospect of restricted observe time and an additional, 100 kilometre race on Saturday morning earlier than setting the grid for Sunday’s grand prix.
However with McLaren and Mercedes each bringing their first set of main upgrades to their automobiles this weekend, there will probably be loads of deal with the entrance of the sphere – as rivals Ferrari rock up with a brand new sponsor and a brand new search for the weekend.
Listed below are the speaking factors for the Miami Grand Prix…
Miami upgrades for McLaren and Mercedes
The sixth spherical of the championship and the primary to be held exterior of Asia and the Center East, the game heads to the Miami Worldwide Autodrome for the primary of six North American rounds on this yr’s championship.
Whereas Purple Bull and Max Verstappen continued their successful methods final outing in Shanghai, the weekend noticed blended fortunes for 2 of their closest rivals, McLaren and Mercedes. McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton shared the entrance row collectively within the dash race, with Hamilton taking a podium end in second. Within the grand prix, Norris managed to separate the Purple Bulls, with success, to complete behind Verstappen – additionally in second place.
Thus far, Ferrari have been the closest contenders with Purple Bull in 2024 and the one workforce to win a race apart from the world champions. Nonetheless, McLaren and Mercedes are each planning to carry their largest upgrades packages of the season so far in Miami this weekend, hoping to claw again some floor on Ferrari and, with it, Purple Bull.
Mercedes technical director James Allison has expressed his hope that the brand new elements for this weekend might give them the marginal positive factors that may earn them extra locations on the grid with a particularly shut subject in qualifying. At McLaren, workforce principal Andrea Stella mentioned his workforce’s package deal will goal an enchancment in tyre degradation, however has insisted that followers mustn’t count on them to make the identical leap ahead in efficiency that they did with their two main upgrades final season.
Both manner, Miami is an uncommon option to introduce a big set of upgrades on a automobile, given its non permanent circuit standing and the actual fact it’s one other dash weekend. However both workforce comes away with a much bigger share of factors this weekend, then it’ll definitely have been price it.
New sponsor, new look
In contrast to their rivals in McLaren and Mercedes, Ferrari will run a largely unchanged automobile from the one they raced in Shanghai. Nonetheless, the Scuderia will probably be sporting a really completely different look in Miami this weekend following the announcement of the workforce’s first official title sponsor since 2021.
Know-how model Hewlett-Packard have been confirmed as Ferrari’s latest and largest sponsor with their brand becoming a member of the workforce’s automobile and driver overalls from this weekend. To mark the announcement the workforce will incorporate blue into the color schemes of its drivers’ overalls and helmets, plus the SF-24’s livery.
Blue has appeared on the workforce’s automobiles earlier than, notably within the season-ending United States and Mexican Grands Prix in 1964, in addition to on the overalls utilized by Ferrari drivers and mechanics over the sixties and seventies.
Ferrari say they’re commemorating 70 years of their iconic model current within the North American market. The truth that the colors occur to nearer match their main new companion, it appears, is a cheerful coincidence.
The workforce will probably be hoping for a greater exhibiting at Miami this weekend than that they had final yr, the place Sainz and Leclerc completed solely fifth and seventh, respectively. After neither Ferrari took a podium end final outing in Shanghai, getting a prime three would be the aim this weekend.
Advert | Grow to be a RaceFans supporter and
Sargeant’s last residence GP?
Logan Sargeant is alone on the System 1 grid in that he enjoys three grands prix in his residence nation every season. Nonetheless, as a Floridian, the Miami Grand Prix is definitely probably the most ‘residence’ spherical of the three for Sargeant.
The Williams driver has definitely made historical past over his time in System 1 thus far, being the primary full-time American driver within the sport in effectively over a decade and change into the primary to attain a world championship level in thirty years. Nonetheless, Sargeant is nearly undoubtedly probably the most under-pressure driver of the 20 on the present grid resulting from some well-publicised struggles over his rookie season and the opening 5 rounds of 2024.
As he heads into his second Miami Grand Prix, Sargeant sits rock-bottom within the drivers’ championship and doesn’t look prone to stay on the grid to see a 3rd in 2025. He’s in determined want of a clear weekend after crashing in observe in Japan and spinning in qualifying in China earlier than he copped an unlucky penalty within the grand prix for passing Nico Hulkenberg illegally behind the Security Automobile.
With rumours swirling about Mercedes’ potential curiosity in filling Lewis Hamilton’s 2025 seat with F2 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli – who not too long ago accomplished his first ever run in a System 1 automobile in a personal check on the Purple Bull Ring – there’s even hypothesis that Antonelli may very well be fast-tracked into Sargeant’s seat as soon as the Mercedes junior reaches 18 years outdated and turns into eligible for a superlicence.
If that involves move, Sargeant can be out of his seat earlier than the following spherical in America – the USA Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in October. That may make this weekend Sargeant’s potential final race in his residence nation, until his type notably picks up over the approaching months, that’s.
Advert | Grow to be a RaceFans supporter and
Organising for the dash race
Straight after the opening dash spherical of the championship in Shanghai, the second will happen in Miami this weekend.
In contrast to China, which the game hadn’t visited in 5 years previous to the final spherical, the groups have loads of information from two earlier Miami Grand Prix weekends to assist put together their automobiles forward of the one hour of observe out there to them. Whether or not Miami will show a very good venue for a dash race stays to be seen, however with three main overtaking alternatives across the lap and a typically low-grip floor having a behavior of prompting extra errors from drivers than different circuits, this may very well be one of many extra eventful sprints we’ll see all season.
Final time in Shanghai, groups had the chance to switch their automobile set-ups following the dash race for the primary time, permitting them to attempt to enhance their automobiles over the grand prix classes slightly than be caught with what that they had. Purple Bull definitely made one of the best of this, enhancing Verstappen’s RB20 to take pole and victory in Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s grand prix. Nonetheless, Mercedes and Hamilton managed to take their automobile within the incorrect course, going from preventing for the dash win on Saturday morning to struggling to succeed in the highest ten on Sunday.
Hamilton took duty for the way in which that the workforce went along with his set-up, insisting that he is not going to be making that mistake once more. However it was an instance of how the dynamics can really change between the dash race and the grand prix below the brand new dash spherical laws, which arguably manages to inject extra intrigue into the format in comparison with final season.
Advert | Grow to be a RaceFans supporter and
Creation of Andretti
Regardless of having the door on their potential entry into System 1 for 2026 seemingly closed of their face by FOM and the ten current groups after it was opened for them by the FIA months prior, Andretti have insisted that their preparations to hitch the grid “proceed at tempo.”
Final yr, Andretti workforce CEO and former F1 driver Michael Andretti was a extremely seen presence on the Miami Worldwide Autodrome as he appeared to assist foyer the powers that be to approve his workforce’s bid to change into the game’s eleventh workforce. Lots has modified over the 12 months since that point, nonetheless, and this weekend might show one other key second of their efforts to change into a fully-fledged System 1 workforce.
Reportedly, Michael Andretti will meet along with his potential F1 counterparts over the weekend to debate their potential entry in a face-to-face foundation. Whereas it’s tough to see how the prevailing workforce’s considerations may very well be addressed that may abruptly make Andretti’s place on the grid extra seemingly, on condition that the first objection has been the concept of splitting the game’s revenues 11 methods as a substitute of 10, this might nonetheless show to be a pivotal weekend for the way forward for the game.
Advert | Grow to be a RaceFans supporter and
Are you going to the Miami Grand Prix?
In case you’re heading to USA for this weekend’s race, we need to hear from you:
Who do you suppose would be the workforce to beat within the Miami Grand Prix? Have your say under.
2024 Miami Grand Prix
Browse all 2024 Miami Grand Prix articles
