Formula 1’s return to Miami will bring back welcome memories for Lando Norris of his breakthrough victory at the track 12 months ago.
But team mate Oscar Piastri is leading the way at McLaren now which should force a rethink in the team’s priorities.
Here are the talking points for this weekend’s round.
Piastri’s earned parity
McLaren have always made a point of treating their drivers equally on-track until they decide one was in a far stronger position to fight for the drivers’ championship. That was clearly the case last year, when many were surprised they did not instruct Piastri to let Norris win in Hungary, but later in the season the pair did exchange places in the interest of the latter’s championship ambitions.
However the team has consistently favoured one of its drivers when new parts have been available. Norris was the first to get his hands on McLaren’s extensive car upgrade at the Austrian Grand Prix in 2023, which transformed their season. The same happened again in Singapore later that season.
At last year’s Miami Grand Prix, only Norris received McLaren’s upgrade in full. The revisions propelled McLaren from occasional podium finishers to regular contenders for victory. Despite a poor result in qualifying, and thanks to strong race pace and a fortuitously-timed Safety Car appearance, Norris finally claimed the first victory of his career.
But 12 months on the situation is rather different. Norris may have added four more wins, but Piastri tied him on five career grand prix victories last time out. What’s more, Piastri claimed the lead in the drivers’ championship, where he leads his team mate by 10 points.
There may still be occasions where McLaren can only bring one example of its latest upgrade to a race weekend. With Piastri now leading the way, surely it should now be him and not Norris who gets first call on the latest hardware?
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Risk softs for sprint race?
For the second year in a row, Miami’s round of the world championship gets the dubious distinction of holding a sprint event. Last year the top six finished where they started.
Might this year’s race prove a little less static? Pirelli has brought a softer range of tyres which teams have just one hour to evaluate, which may lead to some tricky calls on which compound to use.
In last year’s sprint race almost every driver opted for the medium (now the hard) while just a pair of starters in the back three rows risked the softs (this year’s medium). The strategy paid off handsomely for both Yuki Tsunoda, who rose from 15th on the grid to take the final point, and Logan Sargeant who moved up eight places to finish 10th.
Disqualifications
Not that long ago it wasn’t unusual for an entire season to pass without anyone being disqualified. But Hulkenberg’s disqualification in Bahrain was the fourth so far this year.
The other three all came at the previous sprint event in Shanghai. Avoiding disqualifications at sprint rounds is more challenging because of the reduced practice time available. But teams have the benefit of more experience with their latest cars after five rounds this year and should be better-placed to avoid and nasty post-race surprises.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
DRS dodges
Besides being one of the worst corners in Formula 1, turns 14 and 15 at Miami International Autodrome offers great potential for drivers to abuse the DRS zone which follows it. Cutting the chicane shortly before the DRS detection point can deny a chasing driver the chance to open their rear wing, leaving them vulnerable to an attack from behind.
Several drivers have been accused of using these tactics – notably Nico Hulkenberg last year (by his team mate Kevin Magnussen, no less) and Fernando Alonso in the inaugural race. Teams have become more cunning in how they use DRS to frustrate their rivals, such as Williams’ approach at the last race. Unless the configuration of Miami’s DRS zones is changed for this weekend’s race we could see similar tactics again.
US representation diminishing…
F1 returns to Miami without Florida’s local driver, Logan Sargeant, who lost his Williams seat after last year’s race. The championship is once more without a driver from the market in which it most wants to make an impact.
But what of Sargeant’s future? An IndyCar test last year led nowhere, though most of the top seats for 2025 were already taken. He was set to race in the European Le Mans Series but withdrew in February this year. The IDEC team he signed for said at the time he was “stepping away from the sport to pursue other interests.”
Remarkably, this is the second consecutive driver who has seemingly turned their back on the sport after losing their seat at Williams. Nicholas Latifi, who lost his seat to Sargeant at the end of 2022, left motor racing to pursue a business career.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
…and growing
In Haas’s press release for this weekend’s race Esteban Ocon looked forward to “the first of three home races for us this year as the only American team on the grid.” It’s also their last three home races as F1’s only US outfit, as the Cadillac team will boost F1 grids to 22 cars next season.
Last week the FIA confirmed more details of Cadillac’s pending arrival, including plans to run their own power unit from 2029. Does the team have any announcements of its own to tie in with the coming weekend – such as the first of its drivers?
Miami specials
At the time of writing Ferrari, Mercedes and Sauber have teased special liveries for this weekend’s race. Will they all materialise – and do the others have similar plans? And is this in aid of anything besides flogging more one-off merchandise?
Are you going to the Miami Grand Prix?
If you’re heading to USA for this weekend’s race, we want to hear from you:
Who do you think will be the team to beat in the Miami Grand Prix? Have your say below.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
