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The 2024 F1 Miami GP was the second sprint weekend of the season. The race weekend was quite interesting even though the rain that was expected to make an appearance during the weekend never did.
The sprint was won by Max Verstappen, while the main race was won by Lando Norris. Amidst all that, Kevin Magnussen made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
In this feature, we take a look at all the drivers and how each of them fared at the F1 Miami GP. So without further ado, let's rate how the drivers fared.
Criteria:
- Performance in both qualifying and race
- Results achieved compared to the potential of the car
- Mistakes made over the weekend
- Relative performance against their teammate
2024 F1 Miami GP: Rating the drivers
Red Bull
Max Verstappen
Sprint (Started: 1st, Finished: 1st)
GP (Started: 1st, Finished: 2nd)
Rating: 8
Not the kind of perfect weekend we've come to expect from Max Verstappen, as the Red Bull driver was not too comfortable in the car. He made things work in the sprint and got the win, but the main race saw him make a mistake, cut the corner, and even damage his floor.
It was still a strong weekend for Verstappen as he extended his lead in the championship, but it's wasn't perfect.
Sergio Perez
Sprint (Started: 3rd, Finished: 3rd)
GP (Started: 4th, Finished: 4th)
Rating: 6
Sergio Perez didn't have a great weekend and possibly the Red Bull's incompetitive nature played a role. Getting hounded by Lewis Hamilton late in the race was disappointing as the driver didn't have a great F1 Miami GP.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton
Sprint (Started: 12th, Finished: 16th)
GP (Started: 8th, Finished: 6th)
Rating: 7.5
Lewis Hamilton showed signs of his vintage old self at the F1 Miami GP, and it happened with the driver attacking Sergio Perez in his Red Bull late in the race.
The F1 legend didn't have a perfect weekend, especially if we count the ultra ambitious dive down the inside in the sprint. But there were still some very positive signs for the driver.
George Russell
Sprint (Started: 11th, Finished: 12th)
GP (Started: 7th, Finished: 8th)
Rating: 6
Russell had the pace over his teammate over one lap. Other than that, he struggled too much at the race starts and even with the race pace in general. Not a good one for Russell.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc
Sprint (Started: 2nd, Finished: 2nd)
GP (Started: 2nd, Finished: 3rd)
Rating: 8.5
This was an uncharacteristic weekend for Charles Leclerc because his usual brash self could have seen him win a race this weekend. It could have also seen him draw a blank at the F1 Miami GP. Leclerc has tamed himself a bit this season, and he's getting consistent results because of that.
Carlos Sainz
Sprint (Started: 5th, Finished: 5th)
GP (Started: 3rd, Finished: 5th)
Rating: 7
Carlos had a decent weekend, but the collision with Oscar Piastri as well as being just a step behind his teammate sees him compromised in the ratings.
McLaren
Lando Norris
Sprint (Started: 9th, Finished: DNF)
GP (Started: 5th, Finished: 1st)
Rating: 8
Lando Norris had a dream weekend when it came to the feature race. The sprint was not as fruitful, as Norris couldn't score anything after the first lap tango involving other drivers.
The McLaren driver was flying in the race and left everyone in his lurch. While the sprint part of the weekend was not as good, he nailed the rest of the weekend and won his first race.
Oscar Piastri
Sprint (Started: 6th, Finished: 6th)
GP (Started: 6th, Finished: 13th)
Rating: 6
Did we overestimate how good Oscar Piastri was, or has Lando Norris took things up a gear? This is the question many are battling with at the moment. Piastri has the performance. He's probably a tenth or two short of Norris, but the results are lacking.
Having a fresh set of tyres after the safer car should have meant Piastri challenging Charles Leclerc. On the contrary, he was fending off Sainz and had a collision. The F1 Miami GP solidifies the view that Piastri needs to take a step-up in his performance.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso
Sprint (Started: 8th, Finished: 17th)
GP (Started: 4th, Finished: 9th)
Rating: 6
An off weekend by Alonso's standards. It's funny that on such a weekend, he still outclassed his teammate and scored points. The Miami GP is one race Alonso will be looking to forget fast, as nothing really worked for him in general.
Lance Stroll
Sprint (Started: 7th, Finished: DNF)
GP (Started: 11th, Finished: 17th)
Rating: 6
Lance Stroll had the legs on Alonso in qualifying. Then came the race, and he was nowhere on Sunday. The Miami GP ended up being another reminder of why Aston Martin need a different driver at the team.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly
Sprint (Started: 16th, Finished: 9th)
GP (Started: 12th, Finished: 12th)
Rating: 8
Esteban Ocon scored the first points for Alpine and did that impressively. The French driver was unlucky in qualifying to lose time due to a power unit issue.
He was a bit lucky to make the most of the virtual safety car, and that helped him jump Hulkenberg. After that, it was just ruthless defence and car placement that helped him scrape a point and open the account for himself and his team.
Esteban Ocon
Sprint (Started: 13th, Finished: 15th)
GP (Started: 13th, Finished: 10th)
Rating: 8.5
An improvement weekend for Pierre Gasly, as he was neck and neck with Ocon. Gasly probably lacked the pace of his compatriot by a tenth or so and struggled post-safety car period.
Williams
Alex Albon
Sprint (Started: 20th, Finished: 13th)
GP (Started: 14th, Finished: 18th)
Rating: 5
It was an overall poor Miami GP for Alex Albon. The driver was outqualified by Logan Sargeant for the first time. Moreover, the car didn't have the pace, and Albon going straight on late in the race didn't help.
Logan Sargeant
Sprint (Started: 18th, Finished: 10th)
GP (Started: 17th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 6
The sprint part of the F1 Miami GP weekend was impressive for Sargeant, but it all unraveled after that. The American battled rumors of losing his seat and so many other things that it was great to see him have a decent race.
Unfortunately, Kevin Magnussen put an end to the Miami GP race weekend early for Logan, but it was a pretty good overall weekend for him.
V-Ca-RB
Daniel Ricciardo
Sprint (Started: 4th, Finished: 4th)
GP (Started: 20th, Finished: 14th)
Rating: 7
In a race weekend of two halves, the first saw Daniel Ricciardo excel and be his old self, while the second was just horribly underwhelming.
Yuki Tsunoda
Sprint (Started: 15th, Finished: 8th)
GP (Started: 10th, Finished: 7th)
Rating: 8
Tsunoda had a contrasting weekend compared his teammate. His race performance at the Miami GP should surely be considered a step better than what Ricciardo did, as the Japanese driver continues to impress.
Stake F1 Sauber
Valtteri Bottas
Sprint (Started: 19th, Finished: 14th)
GP (Started: 16th, Finished: 16th)
Rating: 7.5
It was a weekend to forget for Bottas who was quite miffed with losing his race engineer without being told that he was losing him. There was not much else to talk about, as it was the same old story for Sauber at the Miami GP.
Guanyu Zhou
Sprint (Started: 17th, Finished: 11th)
GP (Started: 19th, Finished: 14th)
Rating: 6
The clock continues to tick for Zhou Guanyu, but he's yet to give any team a reason to bet on him. The Chinese driver didn't have the best of Miami GP weekends.
Haas F1
Kevin Magnussen
Sprint (Started: 14th, Finished: 18th)
GP (Started: 18th, Finished: 19th)
Rating: 4
Magnussen probably got a bit unlucky with the virtual safety car, as he ended up losing big time to Alonso and Ocon. That sealed his F1 Miami GP, even though he tried to regain the position late. The sprint performance yielded important points for the German and his team, though.
Nico Hulkenberg
Sprint (Started: 10th, Finished: 7th)
GP (Started: 9th, Finished: 11th)
Rating: 8
Hulkenberg accumulated 5 F1 penalty points during the Miami GP. He was in the news for only the wrong stuff. That's just not how anyone can succeed or have a long-term future in F1.
