Max Verstappen claimed victory in the 2024 Miami sprint race of Formula 1’s Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League. However, he didn’t seem to enjoy driving his Red Bull as much as expected. Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari provided some challenge for Verstappen after surviving a collision with Esteban Ocon’s Alpine during the pre-race pitlane. Unfortunately, the safety car disrupted Leclerc’s momentum, and he was unable to get within DRS range of Verstappen for the remainder of the race. Despite Verstappen’s complaints about his car, there was no opportunity for Leclerc to overtake.
Daniel Ricciardo’s performance in sprint qualifying was the highlight of his season so far. He managed to secure a top-three position after Sergio Perez made a mistake in Turn 1. However, Perez quickly regained his position with the help of DRS, ensuring he wouldn’t be overshadowed by a driver in a less competitive car. Ricciardo’s Red Bull is not expected to be a top-six contender, but he impressively held onto fourth place despite Carlos Sainz’s attempts to overtake in the final laps.
Lando Norris, who should have started on pole position, faced challenges due to a mistake made by McLaren in the SQ3 lap on Friday. As a result, he started from ninth place, putting him at risk of being involved in any early race chaos. Unfortunately, Norris became an innocent victim of a collision involving Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, and Lance Stroll. Hamilton’s aggressive braking and Stroll’s unawareness of Alonso’s position led to the incident. The stewards decided to show leniency considering it was the first lap.
Oscar Piastri, driving the less-upgraded version of the McLaren, finished in sixth place, following Sainz closely. Hamilton, after surviving the collision, found himself in ninth place behind the Haas duo of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen. Hamilton attempted multiple overtakes on Magnussen but faced penalties for cutting the track and going outside track limits. Magnussen’s defensive driving allowed Hulkenberg to secure seventh place for Haas.
Hamilton managed to regain eighth place after Magnussen’s penalty, but he received his own drive-through penalty for speeding in the pitlane. It was a disappointing race for Mercedes, with George Russell finishing in 12th place after starting from 14th. The lack of race pace in the heavily updated Mercedes car is concerning for the team’s engineers.
Ricciardo’s performance demonstrated the difficulty of overtaking midfield cars in a race with high temperatures and limited tire performance. The Mercedes car’s underwhelming performance in both sprint qualifying and the race is a cause for concern.