Ferrari under their new boss Fred Vasseur have created a calmer trackside operation for their Formula One weekends. Gone are the confusing team radio instructions and even their once awful race strategy calls have improved as a consequence.

This weekend in Miami despite bringing zero upgrades for the SF-24, Ferrari appear closer to Red Bull than at any time this season. In qualifying, Max Verstappen was just 0.141 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc who finished in second and Carlos Sainz in third was just another 0.073 seconds back.

 

 

 

Top four closer than ever

The top four are closer than they’ve been all season with Checo failing to beat Sainz by the fraction that is just 0.005 seconds but it is this fine margin which Ferrari believe is the key to their Miami race strategy to beat Verstappen.

The small amount of data available at the Sprint weekend though suggests Sergio Perez has the slightly better race pace which requires Carlos Sainz to act as the rear gunner for the team as Charles Leclerc looks for his first F1 win in almost two years, the last being at the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix.

Leclerc was encouraged by his pace in the Sprint event held on Saturday morning, where after 19 laps of the Miami Internal Autodrome his Ferrari was just three seconds behind Max’s Red Bull.

In the similar length race in China, the Ferrari duo were 17 and 21 seconds behind winner Max Verstappen which bodes well for the Grand Prix coming later today.

Newey departure: Marko breaks silence

 

 

 

Ferrari close to red Bull in Sprint

“In the Sprint race we were a little bit closer to what we normally see,” noted Leclerc. “However, Max wasn’t really happy with his car in the Sprint race. So we need to see how much of a step forward he does, being happier with the car.

“But as I said, we did some fine-tuning on our side. We’re also confident we did a step forward, so we’ll see.”

Leclerc reveals how Ferrari will take on Verstappen as they face their best chance this year of beating him on pace.

“But if we have a similar pace like we’ve seen [in the Sprint] then I think with strategy you can always put a bit more a bit more pressure. And I hope that is the case.

“We’ve got the two cars in the front, so it’s a good opportunity.”

Mekies explains remarkable Ricciardo P4

 

 

 

Sainz role of rear gunner

Simply put, not only does Carlos Sainz need to play the rear gunner role with Perez, but it will be he who takes the statistically less likely race strategy. Ferrari must keep the pressure on Max and hope Charles can undercut him at the first round of pit stops yet Max has proven to be the tyre whisper this season so far so only the unpredictable Miami track surface has caused him some bemusement.

There were glimpses during the Sprint that Leclerc had the matching of Verstappen as he closed the gap during the middle part of the race. The Scuderia driver even lined up an overtake bull failed to complete it and will be hoping he fares differently in the Grand Prix.

“The first corner is obviously always important,” noted Leclerc. “And Max has a very strong race pace. So yeah, it’s definitely an opportunity to attack. But that’s only if there is an opportunity to attack.

“This morning [in the Sprint], there was. I didn’t make the pass. If we manage to make it, then I will be happy. And if not, we’ll be a bit more patient and try to keep those tyres to attack later on.”

Alonso furious with “bull” Lewis Hamilton

 

 

 

 

When the lights went out for the Sprint, there seemed for a few seconds hope that Leclerc would keep his foot in into turn one. He was alongside Verstappen but later explained the risk of damaging his car was too great and it was more important to collect the points and focus on Grand Prix qualifying later in the day.

Carlos Sainz knows its going to be tough to beat Verstappen, but agrees the two Ferrari’s against the one Red Bull ahead should give the Italians some strategic advantage.

“I think when Max starts in front, it’s always difficult to find ways to beat him. Having two cars is our best possible bet in trying to do that. And we will give it our best shot, knowing that is…

“Obviously, if you look at the last statistics, it’s going to be extremely difficult, but we’ll give it our best shot.”

Miami F1 mystery strikes again

 

 

Miami F1 GP never won from pole

Max is the only driver to win an F1 race in Miami yet strangely has never yet started from pole position. Today is different though with the Miami circuit mystery over the performance of the tyres, it cold be Pirelli who are offering the most likely route to beat the three times world champion.

Last year most of the team’s opted for a one stop strategy, through with tyre degradation up 30% this year this together with the extreme heat force the drivers into a safer two stop strategy.

Despite the treacherous nature of the concrete walls around the high speed autodrome team’s can’t bank on a virtual or ‘real’ safety car period given last year there were non throughout the entire Grand Prix.

At the inaugural event the previous year, the race was interrupted on lap 41, as Norris’s rear right tyre made contact with Gasly’s front left, triggering a virtual safety car and then a safety car for five laps.

Red Bull civil war over as Austrian’s now publicly back Horner

 

 

 

McLaren boss SLAMS FIA ruke chang

Kevin Magnussen has built a reputation for being an elbows out type of Formula One driver. Despite often being in an inferior car, the Dane has demonstrated over the years his fine defensive driving capabilities and that every inch of asphalt is to be fought for.

Once again K-Mags prowess was on display in the Miami Sprint race. He was pitched against Lewis Hamilton in what should be a far superior Mercedes, yet the Haas driver was able to keep ahead of the seven times champion lap after lap… READ MORE