Here is our full text transcript from the Miami Sprint race at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida
The pit lane is open and we have contact! Esteban Ocon is sent out of his garage but clips Charles Leclerc. Ocon is wheeled back into the garage and Leclerc carries on, while the Monegasque is told “everything is OK” on the radio, while Alpine have put a new front wing on Esteban Ocon’s car. The stewards are looking at that incident.
Charles Leclerc was on the Ferrari team radio after being tagged by Esteban Ocon in the pit lane: “The guy was completely sleeping. I don’t know who that was but… even the mechanics were telling him to stop I think.”
A second successive Sprint weekend in F1 2024 and a first for Miami’s street circuit on the third staging of its Grand Prix. Just a couple of minutes away from lights out in this 19-lap dash this afternoon as Max Verstappen leads the field away for the formation lap to the grid proper. Alex Albon will pull up to the end of the pit lane, where the Williams is starting after the team took his car out of parc ferme.
All but two of the field are on the medium tyre, but there’s quite a split between the use of new and used sets. Pole-sitter Verstappen has done three laps on his, whereas Charles Leclerc has a brand new set from P2. Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri are also on new tyres, while the rest of the top 10 are using worn sets.
Lap 1/19: It’s lights out and away we go for the first time this weekend in Miami! Max Verstappen holds the lead from Charles Leclerc as he moves heavy right to cover off the Ferrari, but Sergio Perez has lost ground from start! Daniel Ricciardo up one to third!
Lap 1/19: We’re yet to see exactly what happened, but Lando Norris is out of the Sprint after being involved in a collision at the start. Fernando Alonso may well have been involved, as he has a puncture. With Norris stranded in the run-off, and Fernando Alonso having another puncture in the Sprint, Race Control have called the Safety Car before even the first lap is completed.
We’ve just seen replays of the start, and it was Lewis Hamilton’s dive up the inside at the first corner which ultimately led to Lando Norris’s retirement. Hamilton went up the inside of Fernando Alonso at Turn 1, but couldn’t slow down and went into the Aston Martin, who subsequently made contact with his team-mate Lance Stroll, who then hit Norris on his outside. The heavy bump on the McLaren took both Norris and Stroll out of the race, while the other two cars also sustained damage. The stewards have taken a look at it and decided no further action is required, which might be a little fortuitous for Hamilton.
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Lap 4/19: We’re back under way with a rolling start and Max Verstappen retains his lead from Charles Leclerc. Daniel Ricciardo is third – what a result this could be today for the Australian. Max Verstappen leads Charles Leclerc by 1.1s, with Daniel Ricciardo still ahead of Sergio Perez. Carlos Sainz is fifth with Oscar Piastri sixth. Then it’s the Haas pair – Hulkenberg is seventh with Magnussen eighth.
Lap 5/19: The fairy-tale is already going a little wrong for Daniel Ricciardo. The senior Red Bull car of Sergio Perez eases past him to take third, and Carlos Sainz is now applying further pressure to the RB. A steady lead of 1.5s for Max Verstappen over Charles Leclerc so far, with Daniel Ricciardo doing a good job of hanging on to the back of Perez. But the RB is now coming under big pressure himself from Carlos Sainz.
Lap 8/19: Lewis Hamilton looked as though he was about to move into P8, but Kevin Magnussen just about holds him off. The Dane may have cut the chicane in doing so, but for now he remains ahead.
Lap 9/19: Daniel Ricciardo is doing a fine job of keeping Carlos Sainz behind him – although it still might not be quite enough. Having now lost the DRS himself off the back of Perez, Ricciardo is being attacked with the overtaking aid by the Ferrari.
Lap 11/19: Max Verstappen isn’t best pleased with how his Red Bull is performing. He has just described “terrible rear grip” over team radio, and Charles Leclerc has closed to within about two seconds of the leader.
Lap 12/19: This is a remarkable defensive display from Daniel Ricciardo. He’s late on the brakes once more at the first corner to hold off Carlos Sainz, who is now coming under pressure from the McLaren of Oscar Piastri behind him.
Lap 14/19: Amid those grip struggles, Max Verstappen certainly hasn’t been able to scamper away at the front of this Sprint. But he’s still doing enough to keep his lead over Leclerc at around two seconds. Lewis Hamilton is not going to be happy with Kevin Magnussen. Hamilton looked set to finally pass the Haas around the outside but Magnussen then forced the Brit off track, which allowed Tsunoda to sweep past the Mercedes. That puts Hamilton down to 10th. Before that incident happened, Magnussen had been shown a black and white flag, which counts as a final warning, for his previous overzealous defending against Hamilton.
Lap 17/19: It’s rather calmer near the front as Max Verstappen continues to lead Charles Leclerc by around 2 seconds, with Sergio Perez a similar gap back in third. But fourth place is still being held by Daniel Ricciardo despite Carlos Sainz having DRS behind him for lap after lap now. Oscar Piastri in the McLaren has DRS on the Ferrari behind!
Lap 18/19: Any concerns for Max Verstappen would appear to have gone away. His lead over Charles Leclerc is back above 2.5s. The other Red Bull of Sergio Perez momentarily looked to be closing on the Ferrari, but it looks as though the top three will finish in their current order.
Max Verstappen eases to another Sprint victory! Charles Leclerc is second for Ferrari in the middle of a Red Bull sandwich as Sergio Perez completes the top three. What a performance from Daniel Ricciardo! He holds off Carlos Sainz to take fourth for RB. The Australian is back on form and earned a well-deserved thumbs up for the Ferrari driver for that defensive effort.
Revised Sprint points scorers after Hamilton penalty
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
3) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
4) Daniel Ricciardo, RB
5) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
6) Oscar Piastri, McLaren
7) Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
8) Yuki Tsunoda, RB
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