Miami GP: Ferrari matches Red Bull’s pace even without SF-24 updates

The 2024 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix left a bitter taste for Scuderia Ferrari, with a podium finish for Charles Leclerc but a sense of missed opportunity lingering following the race weekend which was held at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida. Of course, Lando Norris’ victory is well-deserved, as the Englishman’s McLaren was clearly the fastest car on the Florida track, a fact evident to all. Yet, there’s understandable disappointment for Charles Leclerc, who once again could not capitalize on a far from ieal performance from Max Verstappen and Red Bull.

One reason for this, as discussed immediately after the checkered flag in Miami, is represented by the SF-24 updates that the Maranello team hasn’t yet introduced. These updates are slated to be installed on the two Ferrari cars in two weeks’ time, when the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is scheduled to take place at the Imola circuit in Italy. It’s said to be a significant aerodynamic upgrade package, despite the fact that Team Principal Frederic Vasseur seemed to downplay it somewhat after Sunday night’s race. The drivers seem to await it with greater anticipation, hoping for a boost of two to three tenths per lap, but these are still somewhat speculative figures at this moment.

However, the positive takeaway lies in the pace shown by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz throughout the race: the Monegasque driver managed to keep up with the Dutchman practically all afternoon in Miami. While Max Verstappen did have that extra tenth per lap compared to the two Ferrari drivers, it’s not something monumental considering the base car driven by Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. The real game-changer was Lando Norris, with a McLaren MCL38 that seemed almost like a revamped version, akin to a B-spec of the car seen just two weeks ago in the Chinese Grand Prix at the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit.

Ferrari, Leclerc Matching Verstappen’s Pace with the “Base” SF-24

Nevertheless, Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari appeared to be in top form once again. After regaining position from Carlos Sainz following a rather poor start, helped also by a rather reckless maneuver from Sergio Perez who nearly collided with his teammate and the two Ferrari drivers, the Monegasque managed to keep up with Oscar Piastri without, however, having the necessary speed to overtake him at the end of the straight. Carlos Sainz was indeed close behind, but there didn’t seem to be that substantial difference between the two to warrant the position swap fervently requested by the Spaniard over the team radio, which was ignored by the Maranello pit wall.

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However, Charles Leclerc’s racecraft was clearly evident in the second stint of the Miami Grand Prix, with the hard Pirelli tires: after the Safety Car period, Charles Leclerc had the most worn tires of all, yet he managed to keep up remarkably well with the pace of Max Verstappen, finishing just a couple of seconds behind him. This is a sign of how the SF-24 is really on the right track this year, and now the main thing will be not to make any mistakes with the updates planned for the Imola weekend, otherwise it would be a real tragedy for Ferrari’s Formula 1 championship prospects.

Charles Leclerc also holds Sergio Perez accountable for the strange maneuver at the start, where he risked ruining not only his own race but also that of Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, who reviewed the replays backstage with absolute dismay at his Red Bull teammate’s move. The Monegasque admits the start was far from perfect but tries to explain the reason behind it.

The Ferrari driver explains that they setup the car in a certain way to anticipate others and gain grip. They were a bit aggressive in trying to pass Max Verstappen in turn 1, going too far, causing him to skid. He attempted to recover, but Sergio Perez took too many risks, fortunately without hitting him. He mentions managing to hold onto second place and maintain a non-aggressive pace for the tires. He admits pitting quite early, which prevented him from taking advantage of the Virtual Safety Car and Safety Car that allowed other drivers to pit and lose less time. In the final stages, he struggled with very worn tires, making it challenging to maintain a competitive pace. He expresses hope for upcoming Ferrari technical developments that could aid them in returning to contention for the race victory.

Sunday felt quite bitter for Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard, fourth at the finish line, was also penalized with a five-second time penalty to be added to the final result for a slight contact with Oscar Piastri, which indeed ruined the McLaren driver’s race. The fortuitous causes leading to the contact only resulted in a reduced penalty for the Ferrari driver, which according to the FIA stewards should have been ten seconds plus two penalty points on the license, but instead, it was all halved.

If we take into considering Sergio Perez’s maneuver at the start of the Miami Grand Prix, then, theoretically speaking, they should have given him a life sentence, but that’s just how it goes. Carlos Sainz is satisfied with the behavior of his Ferrari car, certainly better than in the first park ferme, but overall it was a more negative than positive weekend for the Spanish side of the Scuderia.

Carlos Sainz acknowledges that his start was very good. However, at the first corner, he had to avoid Sergio Perez, who had overshot, causing him to slip from second to fourth position. From that moment, he found himself in a train of cars, all with drag reduction system. He tried to increase the gap, carefully managing the tires to delay the pit stop and attempt a different strategy.

Unfortunately, bad luck struck when Carlos Sainz entered the pits, and just a lap later, the Safety Car was deployed due to the incident between Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant. If he had pitted earlier, he would have had great opportunities to climb onto the podium, and perhaps even win, as he himself admitted. He expresses regret that the Safety Car came out the lap after his stop, resulting in the loss of the chance to fight for the win. Nonetheless, it was still a good race, with consistently competitive pace that allowed him to bring home important points, despite the penalty.

During the post-Miami Grand Prix press conference, questions and answers attempted to ascertain how much the safety car helped Lando Norris in his quest for his first Formula 1 victory.

In reality, the analysis of the race aimed to understand if the speed of the McLaren would have been sufficient to challenge Red Bull’s lead even without the race being frozen, an important consideration for the future. Before his pit-stop, Norris was leading the race but was virtually in sixth place, as his direct competitors had already completed their stops. The entry of the safety car onto the track effectively guaranteed Lando a gain of five positions. Was it just luck? No. Norris started the race on a set of medium tires, a choice made by all drivers in the top-10 except Hamilton. Starting sixth, Lando stayed on the track for 16 laps in close proximity to the rear of Perez’s Red Bull, a position that usually doesn’t help tire life.

Finding himself in clear air (Checo made his pit-stop on lap 17), Norris began an impressive push, lapping at a very fast and incredibly consistent pace. “My tires feel like new,” Lando said via radio to his engineer, and indeed, the stopwatch supported his feeling. Two laps after Perez’s pit-stop, Leclerc stopped, then on lap 23, it was Verstappen’s turn, followed by Piastri and Sainz on lap 27. Norris continued his march as instructed by the team, intending to extend his stint as much as possible. This choice was made possible by Norris’s lap times and was driven by two reasons: to have a tire advantage over rivals in the second stint and to be ready to capitalize on a potential safety car period. Just a lap and a half later, the contact between Magnussen and Sargeant occurred.

In reality, the race direction waited a bit before signaling the race freeze because Magnussen had managed to return to the track independently, and it wasn’t clear if Sargeant would do the same. When it became evident that the Williams wouldn’t be able to continue, the signal was issued. At that moment, Norris was aligned with the pit lane entry, and to enter, he would have had to brake and turn abruptly, a risky maneuver. The team decided to leave him on track, and Lando continued onto the main straight. Despite McLaren’s reduced speed, the safety car (positioned at the pit lane exit) didn’t make it out before Norris passed. If Bernd Maylander had passed in front of Lando, all the drivers on track would have caught up to him, and after the pit-stop, Norris would have found himself at the back. Instead, the first driver to be behind the safety car was Verstappen.

Norris thus had a solo lap before heading to the pits for a tire change. As soon as McLaren returned to the track, race control asked Maylander to wait for Norris and allow the rest of the group to catch up to Lando. Upon resuming the race, Norris could rely on three factors to pull away: new tires, clear track, and a Red Bull (Verstappen’s) not performing at its peak. Before the safety car, Max had hit a cone at turn 14, and after a few laps, Red Bull engineers could confirm that the impact had caused damage to the car’s underbody. “We lost downforce,” admitted Christian Horner, and his lap times confirmed it. The gap accumulated towards Norris at the checkered flag was almost eight seconds, perhaps enough to suggest that Lando could have won his first Formula 1 race even without external assistance. It matters little to McLaren and Norris themselves, but it becomes an important topic ahead of Imola, a weekend where Oscar Piastri will also have access to the 2.0 version of the MCL38.

Ferrari SF-24, Miami GP