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Formula 1
Miami GP
F1 Miami GP Live Commentary and Updates – Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2024 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix.
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Max Verstappen will search for yet another F1 victory from pole at the Miami Grand Prix but will face opposition from Charles Leclerc.
The Ferrari driver joins Verstappen on the front row having failed to land a blow in Saturday's sprint race. Can anyone challenge the Dutchman?
The Miami Grand Prix gets underway at 9pm BST (4pm local time).
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If Perez is struggling with his tyres, it hasn't yet played into Norris's hands as the McLaren driver remains 1.3s shy of the Red Bull ahead.
No further action is the decision on Perez, not only for an alleged false start but for his move at Turn 1 which fortunately didn't result in contact with his team-mate.
Onto lap 10 and Verstappen's lead inches closer to the 3s mark, currently at 2.7s. He's doing just what he needs to and no more, you get the feeling.
Hulkenberg has gotten straight back past! A gift as Hamilton locks up into T17 and he has to do all the hard work again.
Piastri is just doing enough for the moment to keep the Ferraris behind, but can't seem to get himself out of DRS range.
A big move for Hamilton as he gets past Hulkenberg into T11. DRS assisted but the defence from the Haas was very naughty.
"We nearly had a big crash there," reports Hamilton.
"We nearly had a big crash there," reports Hamilton.
Gasly and Alonso may be outside the top 10 but that hasn't dimmed their aggression. Contact between the pair threatens damage but they both escape.
Replays confirm that Leclerc was initially slow away and had been usurped into Turn 1 by Sainz to his outside, before Perez steamed in and forced Sainz wide. Not only did he lose out to Leclerc on corner exit, but a brief lift allowed Piastri to get a run on him and storm ahead too.
Verstappen is inching away little by little from Piastri. His gap now stands at 2.2s. Perez meanwhile has been noted by the stewards for a false start.
That DRS train hasn't stopped Russell getting past Tsunoda for ninth. Will Mercedes swap him with hard tyre-running Hamilton, given the tyre strategies?
Hulkenberg's move on Hamilton looks crucial for strategy. The Haas is almost two seconds off Norris in sixth and the cork in the bottle for those behind - almost everyone is within DRS range of each other.
Change for second as Piastri uses DRS to outbrake Leclerc into Turn 17 on lap four. The McLaren driver then holds off the Ferrari's attempted fightback into the first corner to secure the place.
How badly will that first corner lock-up hurt Perez over this first stint on the mediums? He's not exactly bothering Sainz at the moment as the drivers running second through to fourth are locked together nose-to-tail.
Crucially Verstappen is already clear of DRS range, but Leclerc will have to keep his wits about him with Piastri and Sainz looming in the mirrors.
After that early battle, Gasly now finds himself with two cars between him and Ocon, who has dropped behind Alonso and Albon.
A great start then for McLaren sophomore Piastri, up three spots. He was really opportunistic there in taking advantage of Perez locking up and delaying Sainz.
Hulkenberg has made a fast start, from ninth to seventh with a little help from a special lunge on Hamilton at the start of lap two.
That skirmish helped Piastri to squeeze into third ahead of Sainz, with Verstappen leading Leclerc by 1.3s at the end of lap one.
Back in the pack, the Alpine team-mates are absolutely side-by-side all the way through the final sector! Unbelievable stuff as they make it stick through the narrowest section of the track.
Lights green
We're green in Miami! Verstappen leads, but Perez nearly clatters into the back of his team-mate into Turn 1 and runs wide.
Verstappen leads the field around to start forming up on the grid. We'll be under way shortly...
Will we see a repeat of the first corner antics from the sprint or will the drivers behave themselves better today? We don't have long to find out.
Engines fired, off come the blankets, the last mechanics vacate the grid and the cars are away for the formation lap.
Alonso, Magnussen and Ricciardo are also going for hards to start, while Bottas could be one to watch at the start with soft tyres on his Sauber in the hope of making up positions early.
The timing screens tell us that Hamilton is the only driver in the top 10 not using mediums. He's opted for hards.
Not long until the teams take the tyre blankets off and we get to see what tyre compounds everybody is running. Stand by...
The timing screens helpfully inform us that the risk of rain for this event is 0%. So the weather won't be a factor today.
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It's hot out there today. Cool suits will be working overdrive.
I must admit, I've still not gotten used to seeing Ferrari's crew decked out in blue this weekend. A bit like when Cardiff City switched up blue for red a few years back - it does take time for the mind to compute.
With just under 10 minutes to go, drivers are getting ready to clamber into their cockpits. Are we sitting comfortably?
Drivers have taken their places on the grid for the US national anthem, which is being performed by Marc Anthony.
Daniel Ricciardo was one of the stars of the sprint race yesterday, qualifying and finishing fourth with a stern defence against Carlos Sainz. But he's starting last today after falling in Q1, and then having to serve a three-place penalty for overtaking under safety car conditions in the Chinese GP last time out.
The cameras are doing a good job of spotting the celebrities that are becoming standard fare for this event on the grid. Singer Zayn Malik and Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of the upcoming F1 film starring Brad Pitt, are among those picked out so far.
Breaking news
Among the other major talking points of the weekend is the fallout of the news that Adrian Newey will leave Red Bull. But amid reports that the chief technical officer could be followed out the door by senior colleagues, including sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, the team is confident of retaining key personnel. Here's the full story.
The Miami stewards ultimately cleared Magnussen of alleged unsportsmanlike conduct, but pointedly noted that they "disagreed" with the "way in which Car 20 was driven". The report suggested talks would be had over regulation tweaks to offer the stewards more power in increasing the severity of punishments to drivers. You can read more on that here.
One of the more flat out takes on Magnussen's defending in the sprint came from McLaren's Andrea Stella. He labelled such antics as "completely unacceptable" and believes they should become bannable offences. "For the competitors you have damaged, you have put them out of their race in a deliberate, perpetuated and repeated way," he said. You can read more on his comments here.
The biggest talking point after yesterday's sprint was the defensive tactics used by Kevin Magnussen to keep Lewis Hamilton behind and ensure his Haas team-mate Nico Hulkenberg's seventh place didn't come under threat from the Mercedes. What was your take on the Dane's self-confessed "stupid tactics"?
For those of you out there who like to know these things, the air temperature currently is 29.0 °C, while track temperature is a stout 48.8 °C. Humidity stands at 57.0%, so the drivers won't be keen to be sticking around in their cars once they all settle down on the grid.
Alex Kalinauckas has dug into the numbers, and says although Max Verstappen’s dominant display so far gives little indication of a serious challenge against him, Ferrari has a few factors to remain optimistic as Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz both outqualified Sergio Perez yesterday. Here's his full analysis of what the sprint race and qualifying told us about today's grand prix.
Today's race will be the third Grand Prix held in Miami since F1 first arrived in 2022. And in an ominous omen, today's poleman Max Verstappen has won on both previous occasions, as well as taking the maximum points on offer in yesterday's sprint race. Will we get a familiar result at the end of today's 57 laps?
By: Autosport Staff
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