FORMULA 1 CRYPTO .COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2024

With the Hard Rock Stadium at its epicentre, a maiden win for a team and driver who dominated the race and Miami swarming with stars in the likes of Kendall Jenner, Tom Brady, Travis Kelce, and F1 Academy partner Charlotte Tilbury, the electrifying atmosphere of the Miami International Autodrome could be felt from every corner of the city. From the bustling streets to the sun-soaked grandstands, fans from all over came together to witness history in the making, their cheers blending with the roars of the engines.

This is Formula 1’s third trip to Miami since its inaugural race in 2022, and the first time the Sprint format was used, setting us up for an action-packed weekend of competitive racing.

F1® Miami Grand Prix™ sprint

The drama began before the race even started, with Esteban Ocon and Charles Leclerc involved in a pit lane incident, forcing Ocon to replace his front wing and be issued a 10-second penalty.

As the lights turned off and all 20 cars sped towards Turn 1, contact between Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll brought out an early Safety Car. Although Hamilton and Alonso were able to avoid any time penalties, Stroll and Lando Norris, an unwitting participant in the chaos, were forced to retire their cars.

After the restart, Max Verstappen cruised to his second sprint race victory of the season, but it was Daniel Ricciardo who was the unofficial Driver of the Day. He both qualified and finished the sprint race in fourth place after a difficult start to his season that called his entire future in F1 into question.

Defending against the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and McLaren of Oscar Piastri despite having a DRS disadvantage, Ricciardo managed to keep position and cross the finish line, doing it in style with the Miami-themed livery of his RB.

He never left. But he’s here to stay.

FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2024

What started off as a typical race weekend, with Max Verstappen dominating the field in his Red Bull followed closely by the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, ended with a surprise that could only be described as “a long time coming.” It was this weekend in Miami where McLaren’s Lando Norris joined the ranks of Formula 1 race winners, earning his maiden victory after beating the seemingly unbeatable Verstappen, sparking waves of cheers that could be heard around the world.

After Norris qualified fifth and spent the first half of the race running in sixth, it was Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri who seemed poised to cause an upset, surging forwards from sixth to third on the opening lap. However, after Haas’ Kevin Magnussen crashed into the Williams of Logan Sergeant on lap 28 and brought out the Safety Car, Norris was able to take advantage of the smaller time loss during his pit stop and emerge from the pits at the front of the pack, with Verstappen trailing behind after pitting earlier under normal racing conditions.

And it was at this point where the whole world (or, at least it felt like the whole world) jumped to their feet cheering, screaming, clapping and otherwise gesturing madly at the cars zooming past.

Despite having a rocky start to the weekend — struggling in free practice and crashing out early alongside Lance Stroll during the sprint race, Norris managed to fend off Verstappen at the restart and take the checkered flag.

Unfortunately, Logan Sargeant, the Miami native who was born a mere 18 miles out from the circuit, wasn’t so lucky. He was forced to retire due to the damage his car sustained on impact, marking a disappointing end to his home race.

Verstappen himself struggled with balance issues all weekend, and his Red Bull sustained damage during the race after a close encounter with his teammate Sergio Perez and a run in with a bollard, rendering him unable to put up a fight against Norris and his McLaren. However, Verstappen still managed to come in second, with Ferrari’s Leclerc completing the podium in third.

Leclerc’s teammate Sainz finished in fourth, but was demoted to fifth after being hit with a five-second time penalty following an incident with Piastri, promoting the second Red Bull of Perez up into fourth place.

Mercedes had a challenging weekend, with Lewis Hamilton finishing in sixth and George Russell finishing in eighth, split by RB’s Yuki Tsunoda coming in seventh who scooped up some more coveted points for the team.

Fernando Alonso finished in ninth for Aston Martin, while Esteban Ocon rounded out the point scorers to cross the finish line in 10th, earning Alpine their first point of the season.

All the action can be watched LIVE from F1 Arcade Boston. Find out more about our watch parties and race weekends here