First images from Miami pitlane: Ferrari with more downforce than Red Bull, updates for McLaren. Analyzing the first images from the Miami pit lane amid rear wing configurations.

Formula 1 teams are gearing up to face the sixth Grand Prix of the season, the third in Miami’s history. The American circuit is a semi-permanent venue featuring a fairly comprehensive layout: it includes slow corners, as well as medium and high-speed ones, along with long straights.

For this reason, it will be crucial for all teams to find the right aerodynamic compromise that also allows drivers to manage the thermal degradation of the tires. It’s also important to remember that the Sprint format will be used again: this means there’s only one hour of free practice session available before starting the “competitive” part of the Miami race weekend.

Analyzing the first images from the pit lane, published as usual by Spanish reporter Albert Fabrega, we notice the following configurations for the rear wing:

low downforce: Red Bull, Williams, Sauber, and Ocon’s Alpine;
medium downforce: Ferrari, McLaren, and Aston Martin;
high downforce: Mercedes and Gasly’s Alpine.

La configuración de alas traseras para Miami#miamigp rear wing configuration. #f1 pic.twitter.com/S0RXvSaiwf

— Albert Fabrega (@AlbertFabrega) May 2, 2024

Alpine has thus made a differentiated choice: the French team, clearly struggling at the start of the 2024 Formula 1 season, has opted for two completely opposite rear wings.

However, following an analysis of the data obtained from tomorrow’s first and only free practice session for the Miami Grand Prix, the Enstone team will most likely mount the same specification—the more performant one—on both cars.

There’s considerable curiosity about McLaren and Mercedes, which are supposed to have brought the “first major updates” of 2024. Scuderia Ferrari, on the other hand, has decided (with a last-minute program change) to postpone the introduction of new features until Imola, in two weeks. We will see whether or not this choice pays off for the Maranello team this weekend at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida.