The big news of the week is the ‘blue’ Ferrari as the team run a new livery for this weekend’s race in Miami. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc will look to push Red Bull for the win in the second Sprint weekend of the season and will be driving with some new colours, although the car is still predominantly red.
The pair will also wear blue overalls will celebrate two colours from its past, Azzurro La Plata and Azzurro Dino, which are shades of blue that were part of daily life in Maranello for many years and are now coming back into play after an absence of around 50 years.
Unfortunately for the Maranello team, the Ferrari car number 16, driven by Charles Leclerc, came to a halt on the track after just a few moments, prompting the first red flag of the Miami Grand Prix. The Monegasque driver spun at the exit of the final corner of the second sector, effectively blocking the track as he was unable to reposition the car correctly, with his car momentarily blocking future Ferrari team mate Lewis Hamilton and a host of other drivers. Charles Leclerc attempted to maneuver his car forwards and backwards several times in a bid to rectify the situation. However, as his vehicle risked overheating, the Monegasque driver eventually conceded defeat. He swiftly exited the cockpit, with marshals intervening to remove the car from the circuit during the red flag period.
Now, Charles Leclerc’s weekend becomes more complicated, considering that he had to switch off the car and was therefore not able to take part in the only free practice session at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida.
In Friday’s practice session for the Miami Grand Prix, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen led the pack, surpassing McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in a session marked by interruptions and bustling activity.
Similar to the previous race in China, the Miami International Autodrome is hosting a Sprint weekend, affording drivers and teams only 60 minutes of track time to familiarize themselves with the 5.412-kilometer circuit before Sprint Qualifying. Concurrently, numerous teams were evaluating upgrades, with McLaren taking the lead by introducing a range of new components from front to rear, aiming to narrow the gap to pace-setters Red Bull, the reigning world champions.
Despite the pre-event buzz surrounding Red Bull due to the announcement of legendary designer Adrian Newey’s impending departure early next year, the onset of FP1 redirected attention to on-track action.
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Following the brief practice session, drivers will reconvene with their teams to analyze data before heading into Sprint Qualifying, slated to commence at 16:30 local time and determine the grid for Saturday’s Sprint race.
F1 Miami Grand Prix 2024 – FP1 Results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:28.595 |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.105 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.116 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.189 |
| 5 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +0.222 |
| 6 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +0.273 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.417 |
| 8 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | +0.461 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +0.568 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +0.580 |
| 11 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | +0.583 |
| 12 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +0.594 |
| 13 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +0.719 |
| 14 | Alexander Albon | Williams | +0.798 |
| 15 | Guanyu Zhou | Sauber | +0.850 |
| 16 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.900 |
| 17 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | +1.041 |
| 18 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | +1.296 |
| 19 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +1.428 |
| 20 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +3.504 |
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