Lando Norris won the Miami Grand Prix, marking his first win in Formula 1. This is McLaren's first victory since Monza '21.
Max Verstappen climbed to the second step of the podium, Charles Leclerc finished third.
Esteban Ocon's tenth place earned Alpin its first point of the season.
In two weeks, the fight will continue with the race in Imola.
The sixth race of the 2024 season, the Miami Grand Prix, is not usually the most exciting on the calendar, but the sprint format made it unpredictable.
The weather was hot and the asphalt was heating up to a maximum of 50 degrees, so before the race no one at Pirelli could predict which compound order was the best in the fastest strategy on paper from one pit stop.
Max Verstappen had a good start and defended the lead well after the first corner. Charles Leclerc was overtaken by Carlos Sainz Jr., but Sergio Perez almost made a "suicide" maneuver in the first corner and it was Oscar Piastri who took advantage of this situation and placed third, ahead of Sainz Jr., Perez and Norris.
Further back, George Russell dropped to tenth and Fernando Alonso moved up to thirteenth.
In the second lap, Verstappen was already more than a second ahead of Leclerc, so the Monegasque was not able to use the DRS system at any point.
Oscar Piastri was less than a second behind the Monegasque and even set the fastest time in the second lap, hinting at a great race pace for McLaren at the start of the race.
The Australian was "stuck" behind the Ferrari, and rose to second place in the fourth lap. Oscar Piastri was just over two seconds behind Max Verstappen, a gap he was able to maintain.
Now the roles were reversed, so Charles Leclerc was in close proximity to the McLaren car, able to use the DRS system, but with no chance of an overtaking attempt.
Behind him, Carlos Sainz Jr. he was saying on the team radio that he had more pace, but at Ferrari they decided not to have team orders.
Sergio Perez was fifth, with Norris sixth and Hulkenberg seventh. Haas' car was attacked by Lewis Hamilton. It wasn't until the tenth lap that the Brit managed to overtake Nico Hulkenberg.
Max Verstappen could not make a bigger gap than just over three seconds. Two laps later, at the end of lap 12, three drivers, Stroll, Sargent and Bottas, started pitting for new tyres, 2-3 laps earlier than Pirelli had predicted.
In those moments, Verstappen overcame the three-second barrier over Oscar Piastri, and the Ferrari drivers were right behind the Australian. In addition, Sergio Perez began to lose his advantage over Lando Norris who was coming at a great pace.
The race was entering a crucial moment, with planned pit-stops for new tires, and the gap between the leaders was minimal.
Sergio Perez, faced with the threat of Lando Norris, decided to change tires on the 18th lap. Lando Norris preferred to stay on the track and immediately set a very high pace, with several fast laps included.
Charles Leclerc pitted on lap 20, but Carlos Sainz Jr., Oscar Piastre and Max Verstappen preferred to continue on the first set of yellow tires.
Max Verstappen had difficulty controlling his RB20 in this race, making a small mistake at turn 15, running over the trackside pole, which ended up in the middle of the track.
That was removed with the introduction of a virtual safety car, a period when several drivers, Esteban Ocon, Fernando Alonso and Kevin Magnussen, decided to pit.
The Dutchman, after VSC ended, decided to change tires at the end of the 24th lap. Soon after, Russell stopped on lap 25, Hamilton on lap 27, Piastre and Sainz Jr. in the 28th, but already in the next lap the safety car came out on the track as a result of the collision between Magnussen and Sargent.
The biggest beneficiary was Lando Norris, who made his pit stop on the 30th lap under BV mode, after which he came out on the track as the leader of the race and with new tires.
The race entered a new reality. Norris was in the lead on new white tires, but behind him was the "almighty" Verstappen, and Pirelli's white tires had almost no degradation on this track. Leclerc was third, but Piastre, Sainz Jr. and Perez were also on fresher tyres.
The race was restarted on the 33rd lap and Max Verstappen was very aggressive on the old finish line, but Lando Norris defended well.
The tire difference was real, as the McLaren Briton gained more than a second on that lap and the Dutchman was unable to open the DRS system.
Max actually had Leclerc very close behind. A little further back, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Oscar Piastre had their own battle.
After a few laps it was clear that Lando Norris had the pace to beat the rest. The Briton extended his gap to two seconds over Max as the race approached the 38th lap of its course. There were still 20 laps to go, but the RB20 and Max were powerless against the McLaren's speed.
At the same time, Charles Leclerc was more than a second behind Verstappen, and Carlos Sainz Jr. and Sergio Perez were trying to find a way past Oscar Piastre.
The Australian and the Spaniard had several battles, but it wasn't until the 39th lap that Carlos managed to pass Oscar with late braking entering the 17th corner. There was contact between them and Piastre suffered damage to his front wing, losing a few places and having to pit for a new nose.
Meanwhile, his teammate was on his way to victory and was already more than three seconds ahead of Verstappen. In the final laps, Lando's pace was unstoppable.
Little by little his advantage only increased and reached more than seven seconds. In the end, the Brit comfortably crossed the finish line in first place and finally, in his sixth season as a Formula 1 driver, in the 110th race he took his first victory.
In the final laps there were no changes to the front of the order, with Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc joining Landau on the podium.
Carlos Sainz Jr. he finished fourth, ahead of Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton who managed to keep pace with the Mexican.
Yuki Tsunoda surprised by finishing seventh, ahead of George Russell and Fernando Alonso in ninth. Esteban Ocon was tenth and recorded the first point for the Alpin team.
Considering the circumstances of the incident during the race, when Carlos Sainz Jr. touched the car of Oscar Piastri, as a result of which the front wing of the McLaren was damaged, the stewards of the Grand Prix of Miami found the Spanish driver to be the gulity.
Sainz Jr. received a five-second time penalty and 1 penalty point in his Super Licence, dropping him from fourth to fifth in the standings. Sergio Perez moved up to fourth place.
Monday, May 6, 2024
LANDO NORRIS FINALLY HAS HIS FIRST F1 WIN
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