Another Sprint Weekend!
For the second straight Grand Prix Weekend, we have a Sprint! That means that Sprint Quali will take place on Friday, the Sprint and normal Qualifying will take place on Saturday, and the Race will take place on Sunday. I’m still up in the air as to whether I like these changes or not, it was definitely an odd one watching a Race three hours after Qualifying! My advice to you is to keep an eye on Max Verstappen (obviously) but also the McLaren boys as they tend to go well in the Sprint!
Lance Stroll Needs a Strong Weekend!
As sad as it is to admit, I do say this a lot about Lance Stroll. After scoring a great P6 in Australia, Lance could only manage a disappointing 12th in Japan followed by China where he failed to make Q3 in either Qualifying Session and he also ran into the back of Daniel Ricciardo in the actual Grand Prix. Stroll is already 22 points behind his teammate after just 5 Rounds, so it’s really important that he bounces back at Miami. On a more positive note, the last time I said this about Lance was in my Australia Preview so maybe this is a sign!
Will Lando Norris Make it Back-to-Back Podiums?
I like to think of China as a typical Lando Norris performance; he’s mega in the wet, overperforms (most of the time), makes one costly error (from time to time), and whilst Lando wasn’t able to beat Max Verstappen in the Race (who is), a P2 is a very, very strong effort! So, Norris now heads into Miami 5th in the Drivers’ Championship (behind the 2 Red Bull’s and Ferrari’s) and he’s going to a track that hasn’t been a particularly good hunting ground for him! However, it’s also a Sprint Weekend, and Lando is damn good on those weekends (only Max scored more points in my Ratings last year)!
Sergio Perez Needs a Big Result!
I think it’s fair to say that Sergio Perez is doing a pretty decent job so far in 2024, as he finds himself second in the Drivers’ Championship with 4 Podiums (and a Sprint one) to his name. Whilst Sergio is no match for Max Verstappen, he shouldn’t be and he also doesn’t need to be, and what he’s doing now is more than good enough (even though he probably should’ve beaten Lando Norris in China). However, a year ago in Miami, Perez was on to win the Race and take the lead of the Drivers’ Championship, only for Verstappen to overtake him late on, and this was ultimately the start of Perez’s drop-off. So, it’s critical for Checo that he’s not too far away from Max this weekend because he cannot allow those doubts to creep in.
Logan Sargeant’s Big Race!
As an American driver these days, you’re privileged to have not 1, not 2, but 3 Home Races per season! However, for Florida-born Logan Sargeant, Miami is his true Home GP! I’ll be the first to admit that Logan’s time in Formula 1 has been a bit of a disaster, but if he’s ever going to have a strong weekend, it might be this one! There’s clearly a lot of pressure on Sargeant’s shoulders, my pal Mark Schofield did a great interview article with him over on SB Nation (go check it out if you haven’t already), but Logan is smart enough to know that it really is Now or Never for him in the big time!
My Predictions for the Miami Sprint Shootout
Max Verstappen
Lando Norris
Sergio Perez
Oscar Piastri
Fernando Alonso