Formula 1’s back for the Miami Grand Prix with a makeover that began here
Welcome back to the Miami metro area, Formula 1, for another FIA Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix...um, that is Formula 1, right? Something seems different about Miami Gardens’ annual international diva motorsport guest from its previous three visits...
Several somethings are different, most of them right there in black-and-white in the driver’s standings.
Max Verstappen’s how far down? Which McLaren driver leads and who’s second? And, where’s Lewis Hamilton? Yeah, Ferrari after a lifetime at Mercedes, but where in the standings?
And, then, there’s who replaced Hamilton at Mercedes and who Hamilton replaced at Ferrari...but that driver is not the Williams driver leading the drivers of the second-tier teams.
Much of this makeover started in the U.S. plastic surgery capital or has to do with South Florida.
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The height of motorsport competition actually is...competitive
F1 haters through the years have sneered after races, “Oh, did [dominant driver of the year/era] win again?” with a fair amount of accuracy.
READ MORE: A world famous F1 driver walked into a Home Depot in Broward County. Fans flipped
Even during eras F1 held four aces — such as Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell in the 1980s —predictability reigned. A great driver in the best car would dominate the rest of the field, often followed by his teammate.
That’s what was happening last year before the 2024 race at Miami International Autodrome at Hard Rock Stadium.
Verstappen, who skipped Thursday’s activities in Miami to stay with his pregnant wife, rolled into last year’s Miami Grand Prix having won all five 2024 pole positions, four of the races after winning a record 19 of 22 races in 2023. Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez ran second in the driver standings, providing Red Bull a fat lead in the constructor standings.
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Then, McLaren, which had one win in 12 years, gave Lando Norris an upgraded car and he outraced Verstappen for his first grand prix win after 109 failed attempts.
Verstappen still won his fourth world championship. But, starting with Norris’ triumph in Miami, Verstappen won only five of 19 races in 2024 while Norris won four; Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc won three; McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, Hamilton and Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate George Russell each won two; and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz won one.
McLaren surged to its first Constructors Championship since 1998 and appears to be the team this year. Their drivers sit first and second in the points. But, No. 1 isn’t Norris, McLaren’s No. 1 driver since 2021, but Piastri, winner of three races. And, while Norris is second, he’s only two points ahead of Verstappen. Each has one win this season.
Asked if this year’s McLaren suited Piastri more than it suited him, Norris said, “There are certain things that don’t allow me to feel what I need to feel. Those things are what allow me to drive to the level that I need to drive to get pole positions and drive at the highest level in racing.
“And, we’re talking about small things,” Norris continued. “It’s not like it’s impossible to drive all of a sudden. We’re talking about hundredths of a second, thousandths of a second. THat’s hwat I’m complaining more about. I think he’s more naturally able to adapt. And, I also think it’s a driver’s job to adapt to whatever car they’ve been given. But, there’s compromises.
“The team is also there to help you get the most out of a car. It’s clear there have been some changes. Whether it’s just suited Oscar or Oscar has been doing a better job of adapting, that’s not for me to know, figure our or waste my time on. It’s hurt me a little bit more and I’m not able to perform at the level I was at the end of last season.”
If two-time defending IndyCar champion Alex Palou (two firsts and a second so far this season) wins Sunday’s Children of Alabama Indy Grand Prix and someone other than Piastri, Norris or Verstappen takes the checkered in Miami Gardens, we’ll be in a full Bizarro Open Wheel World as far as competitiveness.
Hamilton and Sainz experience moving difficulties
The move of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, F1’s all-time leader in wins and pole positions, to the F1 team of the most iconic racing brand, Ferrari, created all manner of electricity in the offseason. In season, other than a Sprint race win in China from pole, Hamilton’s raced unplugged, seventh in the standings with only 31 points.
Jocular while speaking about failing to stay away from pasta and pizza while near Ferrari’s home in Maranello, Italy — he called his pizza guy three nights in five days — Hamilton tended to give clipped answers when discussing this season’s troubles.
“When I joined Mercedes, the first six months was tough,” Hamilton said. “Getting attuned to working with new people. Obviously, the engineers I’m working with now are used to setting up the car for a different driver and a different driving style. It’s a combination of things.”
Ironically, earlier Thursday, Carlos Sainz expressed empathy for his replacement at Ferrari. Sainz moved to Williams, replacing Fort Lauderdale’s Logan Sargeant. But, it’s Sainz teammate Alex Albon who sits eighth in the points, the highest of any driver not with McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari or Mercedes.
Sainz said it takes six months to a year before you know everything about the car.
“I expected it for myself and I expected it with him,” Sainz said of his and Hamilton’s early season difficulties. “When you’re up against teammates like we are with Alex and Charles (Ferrari’s Leclerc) who know the team inside and out, they are already performing at the maximum that car can perform. So, you can only be a little bit better or the same as them. You can’t suddenly arrive and be two or three tenths quicker.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 5:07 PM.
