Miami Recap: Lando's epic debut win, Verstappen settles for second and Newey rumours swirl
07 May 2024While he made us wait for it, McLaren's frontman Lando Norris finally scooped his first win in Formula One in Magic City at the weekend. Alongside the British driver's career-topping performance, we saw Red Bull's Verstappen struggle with his pace for the first time in what feels like forever. Outside of the top two, Haas driver Kevin Magnussen caused chaos and controversy on-track, while rumors still swill around former Red Bull technical officer Adrian Newey's future. Here's all the highlights and what we learned from the race in Miami.
No more 'No-wins' Norris
While it might have taken Lando Norris 110 races to make it so, his epic win in Miami was certainly worth waiting for. Despite starting the Miami race in fifth, Norris pulled off his best race to date to take the chequered flag on America’s East Coast. Holding his own in the pack, Norris' fortunes changed when race leader Max Verstappen came unstuck after striking a bollard on lap 21, before being called into the pits. For Norris, the Brit stayed out after a skillful display of tyre saving set him up to take advantage of a safety car-assisted pitstop on lap 29, which put him in the lead.
From there, Norris held Verstappen at bay as the two drivers were evenly matched, with Lando gaining the upper hand in the opening sector, sometimes gaining a 0.3s gap over the Red Bull driver in the opening corners. Gradually building a gap between the two drivers each lap, Norris held on to his race lead until the end when victory finally arrived for the Brit.
"I've been down a few times but I think today makes up for every moment [the team and I have] had together - the ups and downs. Today overtakes everything by a country mile," he said after the race.
"This is something I've dreamed of doing for a long time and today I managed to do it." With 15 podiums to his name, it's Miami 2024 that will no doubt stand out as the career highlight for the 24-year -old from Bristol. Can he repeat his fine form at home, at the British Grand Prix? We certainly hope so.
READ MORE: LANDO NORRIS’ 2024 F1 SEASON SO FAR: HAS IT LIVED UP TO EXPECTATIONS?
Verstappen 'lacks pace'
For the first time in an age, Verstappen was beaten on track, finishing the race in Miami in second place behind Norris. For the reigning World Champion and ever-dominant driver, Verstappen drifted into trouble on lap 21 when an uncharacteristic error saw the Dutchman strike a bollard, resulting in an unplanned visit to the pits. Despite no clear issues, Verstappen continued but the damage to his race was done.
On closer inspection, the team believed the bollard had done damage to the underside, which impacted Verstappen's performance from then on. "I can't get the car to turn - it's a disaster," declared the Dutchman over the radio on lap 39. From there, Verstappen was helpless in his pursuit of Norris who continued to distance himself at the front.
"The pace was just not really there - I was pulling away but it was just marginal, so it wasn't particularly good," said Verstappen after the race. Despite a second-place finish, Verstappen still leads the Drivers' standings by 33 points.
Newey courted by Ferrari, Aston and Williams but future still uncertain
After Adrian Newey's formal resignation from Red Bull caused the biggest stir in 2024's silly season, all eyes were on the lookout for an announcement in Miami. While a much-anticipated headline switch to Ferrari failed to arrive, it did emerge that the British Formula One engineer and former Red Bull technical officer had been in talks with not just Ferrari but also Aston Martin and Williams.
Newey departed Williams in 1996 after fractures emerged between him and Frank Williams. Moving to McLaren until 2005, the British engineer then moved to Red Bull that same year, where he's played a pivotal role in securing the team's six World Championships. With history at Williams, it's possible that Newey could be tempted back to round off unfinished business at the British team.
"It would be remiss of me to not be talking to him. It is as simple as that," said Williams principal James Vowles in Miami. "I think we also have to be sensible about it. Our conversations with him have been very light. But even so, are we in discussions? Yes. Very light discussions. But to answer your question, would it be a dream team? Yes."
Similarly, when asked about the possibility that more Red Bull names would walk from the team, McLaren CEO Zak Brown said "more dominos" would fall, with the team boss even citing an increase in CVs on his desk from Red Bull employees.
Aggression from Magnussen earns hefty penalty from FIA
Outside of the top ten, Miami saw seasoned Haas driver Kevin Magnussen collect a grand total of 10 points on his race license for various misdemeanours, meaning he's potentially one more incident away from a race ban.
The Haas driver has collected all ten points in the six races of the season so far, meaning he will need to stay clear of any further controversy for the remaining 18 races to avoid a ban. No driver has reached the 12-point limit to trigger an automatic ban since the system was introduced in 2014 In the Sprint Race on Saturday, Magnussen was handed three penalty points for repeatedly leaving the track and gaining an advantage while trying to defend from Lewis Hamilton.
Following up on the Sunday, Magnussen was then found "wholly to blame" for the smash with Williams' Logan Sargeant at Turn Three, which sent the home race favourite into the barriers on lap 29. The stewards imposed a 10-second time penalty on Magnussen for the move, in addition to two further super licence points. "It wasn't a good day, again," Magnussen mused. "Hopefully I can get some clarity on things going forward."
Antonelli poised for F1 after FIA receives super licence request
Rumours continue to swirl about who's set to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes and the plot only thickened over Miami weekend. It emerged that the FIA received a request to grant Mercedes young driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli a super licence, despite him still being under the required age of 18.
While a Mercedes seat might be the ultimate plan, Sargeant’s seat at Williams looks to be a more realistic ambition in the short term for the Italian, given the American's struggles this season.
Despite the speculation, Williams boss Vowles still stands by Sargeant. "We are looking, as everyone else is, for where we want to be on driver line-up for next year. And we have our own young driver programme," he admitted.
"Logan has to earn his seat and at the moment, he has some tough targets where he has to get much closer to Alex. But there is nothing on the radar at the moment for replacing him."
