It's race week once again as we head into the first of three U.S. Grand Prix for the 2024 F1 season. The Miami Grand Prix has quickly made a name for itself early in its age as it tends to host some high-profile celebrities and spectacular Formula 1 racing action.
We had a rather eventful off-week in F1 with the news of Haas' driver Nico Hulkenberg inking a deal with Sauber for the 2025 season, and even more shocking is the desired departure of race engineer Adrian Newey from Red Bull Racing.
Let's dive into the race in Miami first before trying to unpack the latest news from this past week.
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Miami Grand Prix Set to Excite
Hopefully we'll be in store for another exciting race weekend as the Miami Grand Prix will also host its first ever sprint race this weekend. The nature of the Miami track holds quite a few slow corners and a long straight, conceiving a ton of excitement during Grand Prix races, and definitely should deliver a surprising and action packed sprint race.
With teams having less time in Free Practice for adjustments to their cars, any team that is ahead of the curb holds the edge in the sprint race. We saw this unfold in the last sprint race held in China, where Mercedes Lewis Hamilton finished an outstanding P2. Mercedes though were later knocked back down to reality in the actual Chinese Grand Prix finishing P6 for Russell and P9 for Hamilton.
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A Sprint for Upgrades in Miami GP
Red Bull and Max Verstappen are practically the kings of the Miami GP, but could we see a new winner this year with the sprint format shaking things up?
Teams like Mercedes and especially McLaren are scheduling to bring in some upgrades for this weekend, whether they'll be enough of difference makers to challenge Red Bull on a track that they have dominated since its birth is to be determined.
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Ferrari Search for Fresh Form in Miami
Ferrari on the other hand are in a bit of an odd place. They've so far seen great tire management and pace almost on level with Red Bull, but shockingly in China displayed a dip in performance.
We were under the impression that the SF-24 would perform well in the slow corners of the Chinese Grand Prix, but to our surprise Ferrari's car had a surprising drop off in pace once the hard tires were put on.
Still, the Scarlet F1 team, or for this weekend the Azzurro La Plata and Azzurro Dino team, have the best shot at dethroning Red Bull in Miami and for the 2024 season.
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