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F1 2026 Miami Grand Prix Full Sprint
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00:00Welcome along everyone from 347 Don Shuler Drive. It's the Hard Rock Stadium to you and I and it's not
00:07the home of the Miami Dolphins this weekend. It is the home of round four of the World Championship in
00:122026. Welcome back to Formula One and welcome to our sprint race. 19 laps to come around this 3.36
00:21mile track. Just a slight elevation as we go up and under the bridge and the flyover at turn 16.
00:29Active aero three straights for the drag to be reduced. Overtake modes is a new for 2026 feature at one
00:37detection spot and you can get an extra energy boost if you're within one second of the car in front.
00:41It's all peace and quiet down by the seaside. It is all hurly burly action here. Over 19 laps for
00:48today's sprint where Mercedes have been beaten and qualifying for the first time this season. Not for the first time
00:53this season. The two Aston Martins find themselves right at the back.
00:57Arvid Lindblad sadly for him starts in the pit lane after a breach of the Park Fermat regulations. Valtteri Bottas
01:03starts 19th for the Cadillac team and ahead of him on the grid.
01:08Well it's Alex Albon in 18th after getting his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits and then Sergio Perez
01:13the lead Cadillac in 17th.
01:15Esteban Ocon 16th and Liam Lawson starts 15th. Racing Bulls are out in Q1 for the first time this season.
01:21Carlos Sainz 14th. Oli Behrman will start 13th. It's the first time he's got to the second part of qualifying
01:28in Miami.
01:29Nico Hülkenberg should line up 12th but his engine has failed. Three out of five races Audi have had a
01:34car that haven't started this year. Gasly 10th beaten by his teammate in qualifying for the first time this year.
01:39Hadjar is 9th. Colopinto starts 8th and Lewis Hamilton for the second year in a row here in the sprint
01:44is 7th on the grid.
01:46George Russell hasn't been within half a second of the fastest lap all weekend. He's 6th. Max Verstappen best quality
01:52in the last four sprint races is 5th.
01:54Charles Leclerc didn't make it to the grid last year for the sprint. He's 4th. Oscar Piastri is 3rd.
01:59First time this season. Two McLarens in the top three. Antonelli's on the front row for the second year running
02:04and Lando Norris is on pole position for the 5th time in a sprint race.
02:09He's got some fast starting cars behind him but Martin Brundley's got some upgrades on his McLaren that are working
02:14well.
02:15They very much are. Yes, the McLaren once again showing that it knows how to make an upgrade, get it
02:21on the car and perform as expected.
02:24Ferrari have almost got a brand new car here as well. So Mercedes have got a challenge on their hands
02:28until they bring some new parts for Canada.
02:31This is going to be very close and it's hot out there. Track temperature over 53 degrees and it'll be
02:38quite difficult to keep these tyres alive for what is quite a short race.
02:42At the moment there looks to be a really nice gap for Charles Leclerc to drive through there but I'm
02:46sure that's going to be blocked off when the lights go out.
02:48But the two McLarens, Kimi Antonelli, need to be aware of those fast starting Ferraris even though there is what
02:55just 190 metres down into turn one.
02:58But the McLarens have had some pretty handy starts as well into the start of the season.
03:03It's Mercedes and particularly Antonelli that really struggled but you have to assume that the month that we had off
03:10unexpectedly they'll have done a thousand practice starts on the simulator each and every one of them.
03:16You would certainly imagine so. Disappointment then for Nico Hülkenberg. Big engine failure for him. Lots of smoke, flames as
03:27well, down into turn 17.
03:29The race is on an Audi to get that engine changed and ready for qualifying for the Grand Prix.
03:33Well we spoke to the new boss there Alan McNish didn't we before they went to the grid and he
03:38said I've got butterflies in my stomach and well he was right to do that it seems with one of
03:43the cars not making the grid.
03:45Here's interesting. Medium all the way down to Esteban Ocon. The two Cadillacs have gone for the hard tyre, the
03:50two Aston Martins for the soft tyre.
03:52Protecting your rear tyres against degradation in this heat could be the key to this race today.
03:57Absolutely. I'm assuming Aston Martin think there's nothing really to be gained in this race so let's save the harder
04:03compound more raceable tyres for tomorrow but there they continue to be in a very difficult place Aston Martin.
04:11They've got neither speed nor reliability and it's going to be quite a while before they can sort that out.
04:16I do believe though they've got rid of almost all of the vibrations that we're giving the drivers, tingly fingers
04:23and bits and pieces.
04:25Yes it has been a month at Aston Martin trying to fix reliability. It has been a month elsewhere trying
04:30to find some performance.
04:31What's interesting this weekend Red Bull, Ferrari with Fred Busser on the pit wall there and McLaren big upgrade packages.
04:39Mercedes saving their next big upgrade for Canada.
04:42So this really is the weekend for others to try and wrestle back some of that Mercedes advantage.
04:47Indeed and Alpine there, Flavia Breatore. Alpine going well again with the Mercedes power unit looking very much top 10
04:53contenders here this weekend.
04:55But let's see how they use their power. It certainly looks like they've smoothed out quite a bit doesn't it?
05:02But this is quite a good energy circuit for these latest power units anyway.
05:08So in terms of filling the battery up, not that, not as difficult as some circuits but we'll see them
05:14coming out of turn 16 at the back end, the far end of that straight there with a full, all
05:19of them with full batteries.
05:19And talking of battery power, that might just change the tactics slightly. We were watching the back straight into turn
05:2617, which used to be a very good place to get some overtakes done.
05:29That might not be the place this year because if you use too much boost energy to overtake into turn
05:3517, you are very vulnerable all the way through to turn one.
05:39I haven't seen Lando Norris this year yet without a smile on his face. He is so relaxed, he is
05:44so happy and so comfortable in his own skin, in his own racing overalls, in his own McLaren.
05:50And he knows what to do. So let's see, as you say, it is a short run down to turn
05:56one, but like we have at Spa, what that means is they're all in pretty close company when they get
06:00there.
06:00Well, if there's anywhere that Lando Norris should be relaxed, it should be Miami, of course. His maiden win here
06:06in the Grand Prix in 2024 and he won the sprint from third on the grid last year here.
06:10Apologies for my voice. I sat next to a man who was coughing and spluttering for nine hours on the
06:15way to Miami and then the air conditioning finished me off.
06:18You're doing well so far, MB. Don't worry. 19 laps. You can do this. You've got the stamina from this.
06:24Just think about your years in sports cars. You'll be fine. Don't worry.
06:26Right. Kimi Antonelli, I think, is pointing a little bit towards the left here to try and cover off maybe
06:32a potential charge from Charles Leclerc behind him.
06:35And they've been on the grid for a while, the 20 cars. No Nico Hülkenberg, Arvid Lindblad in the pit
06:41lane.
06:41Great starts are mostly in your head, in my experience.
06:45And you've got to react to the lights as we now start the pre-starting procedure. Let the revs build
06:52up.
06:52And now we've got the five lights, the sprint in Miami to come. 19 laps. It's lights out and away
06:58we go.
06:59And this time, Charles Leclerc getting a better start against Kimi Antonelli, who's getting bogged down once again into the
07:04first corner.
07:05Lando Norris leads from Oscar Piastri. Then Charles Leclerc. George Russell is now going wheel to wheel with Kimi Antonelli,
07:11who gets past him.
07:13And there is Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton having a great old scrap going through turn one.
07:18Antonelli, poor start. Russell nearly had him. He managed to stay ahead.
07:21Yeah, Russell was very tight on the inside, the dirty line, and Antonelli just kept it pinned around the outside
07:26and reclaimed the place between the two Mercedes.
07:28But once again, then, the teenager not getting off the line cleanly.
07:33It's been a feature in every race so far.
07:37And he's dropped down places for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Perfect start.
07:42And then comes Charles Leclerc. Then Antonelli now trying to get back with Charles Leclerc.
07:47Colopinto's been passed by Gasly. And now, going into turn 11, Leclerc under pressure from Antonelli, managing to stay ahead.
07:54Yeah, Antonelli here at tremendous speed down the back straight.
07:57And Leclerc will be desperate to build a bit of a gap while he's got chance through this really tight
08:02part of the racetrack before they let it go.
08:05Down the back straight. 203rd West Street, this is normally. Now, it is the back straight.
08:12All right, who's going west and who's keeping straight north?
08:15And we watch the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc ahead of Kimi Antonelli into that heavy braking zone.
08:21The overtake mode is enabled, so that detection point is coming up too.
08:25Colopinto has a look at Gasly. Meanwhile, behind there's Liam Lawson.
08:29And behind him, Carlos Sainz swamping the Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas.
08:34Alex Albon, sorry, Sergio Perez. Alex Albon is ahead of Valtteri Bottas.
08:38We're on lap two with the leaders, though.
08:40Norris, Piastri, Leclerc, Antonelli and Russell out in front.
08:44Then comes Hamilton ahead of Max Verstappen.
08:47Overtake enabled, but they won't get to the detection line until...
08:51There goes Antonelli. Sorry, Martin, just to kick in.
08:53He almost spied a gap with the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc just leaving the door half ajar.
08:59But Leclerc's managed to salvage that one for the moment.
09:02Yeah, this looks like it's going to be a great little scrap, doesn't it?
09:05Yeah, so they won't get to the detection point for overtake until they come out of turn 17 at the
09:10end of the back straight.
09:11Then they get it for the whole lap.
09:13That means they can charge the battery more and keep a higher top speed.
09:18So it's well worth having. And Antonelli then up the inside, but not brave enough on the brakes.
09:23And he just about keeps the car in play.
09:25Yeah, the thing is, he's gone deep there.
09:27And that has now allowed George Russell to gain a couple of car lengths on his teammate.
09:31He's got to be a bit careful, the young Italian.
09:34Pimi is so bad on Tottenham.
09:38He moved at the braking. It's unbelievable.
09:41We've got to cry.
09:42Well, Charles Leclerc is getting a little bit worried.
09:44He didn't need to worry too much for the time being because Antonelli has lost a lot of car lengths
09:50behind him with that move down towards turn 11.
09:53George Russell has a little look on his teammate.
09:56Nothing doing there to try and get past.
09:58Still weird to see that Ferrari rear wing somersault its way back into place.
10:04Sainz ahead now of the Cadillac of Sergio Perez, who gets past Liam Lawson, who's struggling a bit out there.
10:12That was vintage Sergio Perez down into turn 17.
10:15Cadillac make it up a place.
10:16Lawson's under pressure from Alex Albon now behind him.
10:19And it's a terrific little scrap down in, what, 15th place currently for Perez, 14th for Sainz.
10:25And Lawson really struggling out there.
10:28Yeah, you can see them really struggling with traction, the rear wheels spinning up, coming out of the hairpin.
10:33And already then, I think the rear tyres are getting tortured, especially if you're in a fight.
10:40Everything gets, your caution goes away.
10:42You just have to start attacking and then your tyres start squealing.
10:46And that's enough.
10:47We're on board, but the fastest man on the track at the moment, that's Lewis Hamilton.
10:50Maybe that 180 wing that you were talking about, Martin.
10:53First time we've seen that in a race this season, is paying dividends and reducing a little bit more drag.
10:59It's certainly helped Hamilton in that battle with Max Verstappen.
11:02He's ahead of him and now gaining on George Russell.
11:05About four tenths of a second, the gap at the end of the last lap, about seven tenths currently between
11:10the two cars.
11:11Lando Norris is over a second clear of his teammate Oscar Piastri McLaren running one and two,
11:17which is exactly where they want to be in these early stages.
11:21Now the concept of there being overtakes down into turn one doesn't appear to be shaping up.
11:27So they're going to have to have a rethink on that and have a look where else they might be
11:31able to deploy battery, boost and overtake.
11:35Because we're not seeing any sort of wheel-to-wheel action into one at the moment.
11:40That's very true.
11:41Lawson has Valtteri Bottas behind him now because Alex Albon has managed to pass him.
11:45And the two Aston Martins are right behind Valtteri Bottas, bringing up the rear.
11:50Arvid Lindblad looks to have retired from this race.
11:54We haven't seen him feature at all.
11:56He was due to start from the pit lane, but he's out.
11:59Hülkenberg is out.
12:00220, still left going.
12:02And for Lando Norris, first time he's led a race since Qatar last November, out in front and looking very
12:09comfortable.
12:09We can pick up Isaac Hadjar as he tries to gain on Gabriel Bortoletto to get back into the top
12:15ten.
12:15And importantly, Norris then one and a half seconds clear at the front.
12:19And that means Piastri's not getting the extra overtake harvest of battery power and boost.
12:26McLarens, though, have a very decent pace in these early stages ahead of the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
12:32Who, yeah, had his mirrors full of Kimi Antonelli for a while, but isn't making that impression.
12:37He's losing a couple of tenths to Piastri on the last lap.
12:40Six tenths to Lando Norris.
12:42Hadjar taking a very tight line through the long right-hander and now onto the chicane.
12:48While he does that, the leader, Lando Norris, is halfway down the back straight.
12:53It all goes quiet, doesn't it?
12:54There until the cars get to turn 17 and we can hear the engine noise once more.
12:59And once more, Kimi Antonelli has a little look at Charles Leclerc, and he needs to be making up places.
13:05He's lost positions today at the start.
13:07He's done it in every single race in 2026.
13:105.6 seconds covers the top seven at the moment.
13:14They're going to be a little bit nervous in this sprint race.
13:17Qualifying comes up this afternoon.
13:20You can't afford to smash your car up.
13:22And the race could well be brought forward for tomorrow due to rain, couldn't it?
13:26So they're going to have to be a little give-away.
13:28But that is how bad it looked.
13:30And somehow he gets back around the outside of George Russell.
13:33Because Russell was a sort of a clear car length ahead, wasn't he?
13:37Just managed to get that extra speed while Russell's taking the tighter line.
13:41We've got a better view of it here.
13:44Charles Leclerc.
13:45It was a good start from Charles Leclerc.
13:46But he gets bogged down.
13:47And now a bit later on to the brakes.
13:49Look at Lewis Hamilton around the outside and Max Verstappen as well.
13:52Almost making that move stick before Verstappen squeezes through.
13:57And that's brilliant.
13:58That's a brilliant scrap between Verstappen and Hamilton there.
14:00Yeah, we've seen that before, haven't we?
14:02But somehow, of course, Hamilton passed him somewhere.
14:06Got him a little bit later on.
14:07I think Max got a bit bogged down at the start there.
14:09He did.
14:11George Russell will be very annoyed that he didn't make it.
14:14Oh, there was like a real sandwich there.
14:16A Red Bull sandwich, wasn't it?
14:17Yeah.
14:18And Max, quick look in the mirror.
14:20Always, like Fernando Alonso, very aware of what's going on around him.
14:24So Lewis gets a good start.
14:26Flicks left.
14:27That's nice.
14:29And just watches for the Mercedes that they don't contact.
14:34Yeah, Max.
14:34But that's sort of braille racing, isn't it?
14:36That one.
14:37Rubbing is racing, I think they call it in this part of the world, Martin.
14:40There was a lot of real rubbing going on between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
14:43But banging, not a problem at all.
14:46And they were trying to avoid each other as Max Verstappen now in seventh place ahead of Pierre Gasly.
14:53And Hamilton still tying again on George Russell.
14:56And suddenly Russell looks a little bit closer to Antonelli than Antonelli does to the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
15:03He certainly does.
15:05George Russell at the end of the last lap, half a second behind Antonelli, who was a second behind Charles
15:12Leclerc.
15:12Points from first, eight points for that, all the way down to eighth.
15:16And Pierre Gasly has the solitary point for that eighth place currently.
15:21And we're on lap six of 19.
15:23We're about a third of the race gone.
15:26It's gone by in an absolute flash.
15:28Karun Chandok has been watching it intently at Sky Race Control.
15:30What have you got for us, Karun?
15:31Yeah, a few little bits here, Crofty.
15:33One is Kimi Antonelli has been warned by his race engineer, Pete Bonington, about track limits.
15:38He's had two strikes already.
15:39So he's got to be careful about that.
15:41Bono is trying to coach him with the energy management.
15:44So that's why you've seen the gap, Ebb and Flow.
15:46Two seconds, Karun.
15:47Yeah, I can't be played there.
15:48Your vessel is just definitely up and down.
15:52That's it.
15:54Just to finish up, that's why you've seen the gap, Crofty.
15:56Ebb and Flow.
15:57Antonelli dropping out of overtake mode zone over a second and then coming back in.
16:01So we'll see how that plays out.
16:03The wind has changed direction.
16:04Lots of drivers are being coached.
16:06You can see the trees there on the left-hand side.
16:08The wind has picked up and has changed direction.
16:11It's now a tailwind into turn 11.
16:13Which doesn't necessarily help overtaking as much as the teams might have expected based on yesterday.
16:20The wind definitely has picked up.
16:22Liam Lawson running a bit hot in his racing balls,
16:25trying to pull out there and get some cooler air behind Sergio Perez in the Cadillac.
16:30Now, I said Lewis Hamilton was gaining a bit on George Russell.
16:34It's been a slow burner has this one.
16:36A tenth there, a couple of tenths there.
16:39But he's getting within striking distance, slowly but surely.
16:43He is.
16:44Lewis looking comfortable.
16:45The Ferrari, I don't know, maybe given the incredible amount of changes on that Ferrari,
16:49I think they expect a little bit more here this weekend.
16:52But they've certainly got a fast race car.
16:54Max was talking about his rear accidents, his rear tyres, of course.
16:56Basically, under heavy braking, you get a lot of weight transfer to the front.
17:00You think of a motorcycle or a bicycle where everything sort of goes to the front.
17:04It lightens the back of the car.
17:06And it sounds like he's sort of losing a bit of suspension control of the rear tyres of the car.
17:15Dare say George Russell would rather like his teammate, sliding through there, the Mercedes,
17:20to get a bit closer to Charles Leclerc here.
17:23Because I'm not saying Kimi Antonelli's holding him up, but I think if he extends his pace,
17:28George might be able to extend his pace a little bit more too.
17:31And that might protect him a tad against Lewis Hamilton.
17:34The one who has got the pace out in front, Lando Norris, looking very cool.
17:38Is this George Russell making a move into turn 17?
17:41Looks like it, doesn't it?
17:42He's decided, I can't wait any longer here.
17:45Lewis is catching me.
17:47I need to get an overtake done.
17:48And he does.
17:49Russell up into fourth place.
17:50But I said, if you go into turn 17 and do an overtake, you might be vulnerable into turn one.
17:55And that is what George Russell's looking at the moment.
17:58But he's just got enough juice in the battery and in the tank to stay ahead.
18:03Yeah, he placed the car welded, George.
18:05So, now he's out front.
18:07Now he's got some clear air.
18:08He ought to be able to just gap his teammate a little bit.
18:12Antonelli getting a wild sort of rear wheel slide coming out of that 17 just after he'd been overtaken.
18:18Which won't have done the surface temperature of his rear tire.
18:22But can George Russell now start to gap him?
18:24And the answer looks like yes.
18:26And Antonelli last year, pole sitter for the sprint here in Miami.
18:29Finished seventh in the end.
18:30He started on the front row today and he's now down into fifth.
18:34Verstappen's coming back at Lewis Hamilton.
18:37And there is Antonelli ahead.
18:39Oh, George Russell and Verstappen squeezing down the inside on Lewis Hamilton.
18:43And they both go off the track.
18:45Yeah, Lewis will be on the radio saying he forced me off the road.
18:48And he went off the road as well.
18:50He should give the place back.
18:53And that's what's going to be going on now on the pit wall.
18:56And...
18:57We might have said that before as well.
18:58Yes, up to race control.
19:00Max did not stay within the track limits.
19:04Yeah, Max overtook me going off track.
19:09As predicted and as demonstrated.
19:14So Antonelli's got back ahead of George Russell.
19:17And Lewis Hamilton, I think, is allowed to go past by Max Verstappen.
19:23Verstappen was waiting for him for a long time there.
19:25And that looked like a very tactical place to give that place back.
19:28I'm not entirely sure Lewis was convinced that he was being given a place there.
19:33And this is where Antonelli then steamed back around the outside.
19:37Yeah.
19:38And it's turn level.
19:38And we were so busy watching Verstappen and Hamilton squabbling off the racetrack there.
19:44Yeah.
19:45So, back comes Antonelli.
19:47And through goes Hamilton, I believe you would say.
19:50Excellent.
19:51I think what's happened there, as Karun was saying at race control, Bono's giving Kimi a bit of coaching on
19:58where to deploy and when not to.
19:59And maybe you said, right, look, if George does go for you at turn 17, don't worry.
20:04You'll have a bit more battery to deploy later on and we'll get him at turn 11.
20:08Yeah, I was just about to say George will be a lot happier with all of this because he's not
20:11been within half a second of the fastest lap all through this event so far.
20:17And suddenly it looked like his car, and it seems to me his setup looks like it's a little bit
20:22kinder on the tyres as well.
20:24We're not at halfway point yet through this sprint.
20:27So, I expect that Mercedes battle to come back together again.
20:33Yeah, if George has gone for a benign setup that just keeps those rear tyres a little bit cooler, watch
20:39him in the closing stages here as Lawson gets past Perez on the hard tyre of the Cadillacs and up
20:45into 16th.
20:46And the two Aston Martins ahead of the other Cadillac of Bottas.
20:49And here goes Max Verstappen down the inside at turn 17 and repasses Lewis Hamilton.
20:55But this time it's on the track.
20:57So he's not going to have to give the place back.
20:59Lewis has got to try and earn it.
21:00And can he earn it on the run now down towards turn 1.
21:04The rear wings opening up the big gaps with the active aero.
21:07Verstappen stays ahead.
21:09None bigger than that Red Bull.
21:10Oh, yeah.
21:12Extraordinary how wide that opens up.
21:14Like a big sort of sharp coming in to eat you, that one.
21:18But, yeah.
21:19Max seemed a lot happier with this car.
21:21He says, I think we've halved the deficit that we had.
21:23I think the car's starting to do what he expects it to do next.
21:27That's the important thing.
21:29Might not have the pace that he wants, but it's behaving.
21:32I think he's starting to trust the car now.
21:35And then you can find even more time yourself.
21:38Then you find even more time because you're not hurting your tyres quite so much.
21:42So Red Bull easing themselves sort of back into the fray.
21:47On board with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton currently.
21:50These are the two closest battles in the top seven.
21:53Russell chasing down his teammate and the man he trails in the World Championship.
21:59And any kind of swing in that will certainly help George's move going into Grand Prix qualifying and the Grand
22:05Prix tomorrow.
22:06As for Lewis Hamilton, well, he's got Max, his old adversary ahead of him.
22:10Can he get past?
22:11Looks very loose.
22:12The back end sliding around for Lewis.
22:14Looks like his tyres are overheating.
22:17Ted's got news for us down in the pit lane.
22:19Just looking down at the pit walls.
22:20Because Ferrari look like they're sort of stuck in position, really.
22:24That gap that Leclerc has got to Piastri, just enough to hurt the tyres.
22:28Whereas Norris and Piastri just controlling it.
22:31We've got a replay here, Crofty.
22:32Take it away.
22:33Esteban Ocon in the Haas.
22:34Losing part of his car through no fault of his own.
22:37It just flew off in the wind.
22:39Probably more the force.
22:40Looks like a bit of the barge board.
22:42Oh, is it from Behrman?
22:45Or did Behrman actually need to collect the barge board?
22:47Yeah, we did collect it.
22:48I think we're going to have to get a safety car.
22:50They're going to have to clear that away.
22:52Although it's now off the racing line, critically.
22:55So that contact might have actually saved us having to put a safety car out.
23:00Because that's quite a big piece.
23:02We cannot have that coming at drivers or flying over the fence towards spectators or marshals.
23:08Very true.
23:09Ted, back down to you, mate.
23:10Well, we'll see.
23:11I was going to say that McLaren got this completely under control.
23:14But a safety car would mean they would all have to pit probably onto a soft tyre just to defend
23:19from anyone who did take a cheap pit stop.
23:21I'll let you know if we see any action there.
23:23Thank you very much.
23:24Action out in front.
23:25Lando Norris going faster.
23:27And lapping in the 131s currently and extending his advantage over Oscar Piastri.
23:32The two McLarens are looking pretty good so far.
23:35Leclerc within a second, though, of Oscar Piastri.
23:38We're on board with Esteban Ocon.
23:40His teammate is the car ahead of him.
23:43Maybe it's a bit lighter now that barge board's come off.
23:47And that will help him a touch.
23:49But it won't certainly help with the airflow.
23:50And he's got the two Williams very much in keeping him company.
23:54Sainz and Albon in 14th and 15th.
23:56Boto Ayo come out to the boss of a team principal at Haas.
23:59He said, what's going on?
24:02And so Antonelli now with a warning for track limits.
24:06Karim mentioned that earlier on.
24:08He said, our upgrades didn't look like they were going to be good enough to make a difference.
24:12And we expected to struggle here a little bit as well.
24:15So you've got two Haas there and then two Williams in close formation.
24:20A bit of a Noah's Ark going on there at the back of the field.
24:23Quiet. Alex Albon trying to find a way past.
24:25Nothing doing there.
24:26So three strikes with track limits.
24:28You get a black and white flag.
24:30After that, you get a penalty.
24:32Here comes Alex Albon into the braking zone of Turn 1.
24:35Nothing doing in terms of a pass on Carlos Sainz.
24:38It's a bit bumpy going into there.
24:39Not the easiest place to overtake.
24:42But you can get a move to stick.
24:44And Charles Leclerc is within one second now of Oscar Piastri.
24:48Has been gaining on him a touch.
24:50We can pick him up as he makes his way through Turn 12 and 13.
24:55You can see the McLaren car ahead of him.
24:58Zach Brown, CEO for McLaren, is watching on from the pit wall.
25:01And whilst Lando's got this under control, it seems,
25:03I think Oscar is about to be joined by a Ferrari, Zach.
25:06Is that fair?
25:08I know Lando's controlling well.
25:11Oscar's under some pressure.
25:13Let's see.
25:13A little bit of racing coming.
25:14Any feedback from the drivers?
25:15I'm imagining they're not chatting way too much, are they?
25:18No, all pretty quiet.
25:19I think Lando's very comfortable.
25:21I think Oscar's struggling a little bit with grip.
25:24So I think he's going to have some work ahead of him here for the next five, six laps.
25:27And how are those rear tires?
25:29Are they keeping cool enough?
25:32I think we'd like them a little bit cooler if we can.
25:35So I'm struggling a bit with those.
25:36But it seems to be a little bit more on Oscar's car than Lando.
25:39Thanks ever so much, Zach.
25:40We'll be back with you for qualifying later on.
25:43Three seconds, the gap between Norris and Piastri.
25:47Three tenths, the gap between Sainz and Behrman down towards turn 17.
25:53Is there room for Carlos Sainz to go around the outside?
25:55He thought so.
25:56There just wasn't enough straight still left for him to make that move stick.
26:00But on the run now, down towards turn one, Sainz has got very much Oli Behrman in his sight.
26:07Sainz even.
26:08Nothing doing, though, in terms of a pass into that first corner.
26:11Yeah, Sainz obviously knew he could trust Behrman in that situation.
26:14You soon learn which drivers you can and can't trust.
26:17This will be good for Williams, though.
26:19Many that I raced against, but there were some that you...
26:20Right.
26:21You, like, got very nervous when you were around.
26:24This will be good for Williams, though,
26:25the fact they're actually managing to race against the likes of Haas.
26:29They've shaved a little bit of weight off that car,
26:31and it looks a bit more competitive in this trim.
26:34Ted, down to you.
26:36Well, it's not great because they're readying one of their cars for a nose change.
26:40So either it's because they hit that debris from the Haas,
26:45or they've hit each other, Sainz and Albon.
26:48So they're ready.
26:49You can't see either of them in yet.
26:50There you go.
26:51You can see it on your screen.
26:52We certainly can.
26:55They're a fair way away from the pit lanes.
26:58That nose has come out early,
26:59and those mechanics are going to have to hold it for a little bit longer
27:02than I'm sure they would really have wanted to.
27:05Under a second, the gap.
27:06Piastri to Charles Leclerc.
27:09Charles Leclerc, the lead Ferrari.
27:12Lewis Hamilton, after being passed by Max Verstappen,
27:15maybe is, as you say, Martin, struggling with those rears a touch,
27:18losing ground on him,
27:20and not able to come back and put any pressure on the Red Bull.
27:24Well, this is interesting in a way.
27:26I mean, we've made some changes by committee.
27:29Everybody has got an idea, but it looks like it's taken away some of their overtaking capacity.
27:36Yeah.
27:36With the new power units, whether you thought that was artificial or not, entirely up to you.
27:42But what it has done, on this track layout anyway,
27:46has certainly taken away the big differences between cars at certain parts of the racetrack.
27:52There's that nose change that Ted predicted.
27:55It's Alex Albon who's come into the pit lane.
27:57He will come out, potentially, ahead of Valtteri Bottas.
28:01But that nose change is taking a lot longer than you would expect.
28:05Bottas is a minute behind the race leader, Lando Norris,
28:09and Alex Albon will be slightly longer behind Lando Norris.
28:14But he's been in for a pit stop.
28:1620 seconds it took to get that nose changed.
28:19Here comes Charles Leclerc, around about 10 seconds.
28:22It takes you to go all the way from turn 16 to turn 17,
28:25and he's still behind Oscar Piastri, but continuing to gain on the McLaren.
28:32He took three-tenths out of Piastri's advantage in the middle sector alone.
28:36As they cross the line, the gap between Piastri and Leclerc, nine-tenths of a second.
28:41As soon as the drivers are comfortable, they're slightly ahead of the car.
28:45You just could see it on their steering wheel, with their hands on their steering wheel.
28:48It just all calms down.
28:50And they're half a second ahead of the car, instead of half a second behind it.
28:55And they just do lovely sweeps of the wheel.
28:58They load the surface of the tyres.
29:00And they get the weight distribution where they need it,
29:03in terms of when they're going over curbs and all that.
29:07And as soon as you're not confident, you start moving the steering wheel a lot.
29:11Isaac Hadjar started ninth.
29:14He's chasing Franco Colopinto to get back up into ninth.
29:19It'll be one spot outside the points.
29:21But after dispatching Bortoletto a few laps ago,
29:24he's continuing to make progress through the fields.
29:28This is turning into a very comfortable sprint race indeed for Lando Norris out in front.
29:34This has been a perfect afternoon so far for McLaren.
29:39Would you say this is one of, if not the most impressive weekend so far for Colopinto?
29:44Yes.
29:44I would say in his F1 career.
29:46Well, out-qualified his teammate.
29:49Reached the top ten of the sprint for the first time since 2024 in Austin.
29:53So, yeah.
29:53Yeah.
29:54I would say it's his most assured-looking performance, I think, as a Formula 1 driver, Franco Colopinto.
30:00That is very true.
30:02I think he's got potential, Franco Colopinto.
30:05He's not the worst driver we've ever seen in Formula 1.
30:08It's just he's got into some silly moments.
30:10Four laps to go here.
30:12Charles Leclerc seems to be coming back for a renewed attack at Oscar Piastri.
30:16Remember that nine-tenths of a second gap?
30:19It's gone down to half a second when they cross the line.
30:21This is fantastic to hear in a Formula 1 car as he's making a change to his steering wheel at
30:26150 miles an hour.
30:28Just sweeping through it.
30:29Then it, oh, he had to do a correction in the middle there.
30:33Then it just tightens such a frustrating little left-hander turn eight.
30:36Then he's arrest any slide on that curb and just pin the throttle.
30:41And the acceleration would be, or is, relentless.
30:44You get a little beep in your ear or whatever to tell you to shift gear.
30:48And off they go down the track.
30:49And you think, if I don't lift my foot off the throttle soon, I will take off.
30:54It's a super circuit here, given the confines of what they had to play with, Herman Tilke and his team,
31:01when they came to design a track.
31:03I think it's used for about 100 days a year of racing now.
31:07It's a semi-permanent racetrack when the NFL finishes business in early February.
31:13It's wrapped around a stadium, isn't it?
31:15A Hard Rock Stadium.
31:16It's extraordinary how they've made so many fast sections.
31:19That are through the car parks of a stadium.
31:21If they'd have done this sort of thing in Las Vegas, we'd never have left Caesars Palace in the early
31:2680s.
31:27We'd have been racing there all the time.
31:29But that car park racetrack wasn't great.
31:31It was a bit twitchy from Charles Leclerc going into the left-hander.
31:36I think Piastri's got him covered.
31:38It seems that way, but you never know.
31:41One slight mistake from a car here, and suddenly your opponent is right on you.
31:49Lap 17, three to go.
31:51Piastri's in second.
31:52McLaren won two in the sprint, as they were last year here.
31:57And they became the first constructor to finish one-two in a sprint race and a Grand Prix in the
32:03same weekend.
32:04So once he got in the dirty air, Leclerc behind, got a little bit closer to McLaren, he lost three
32:09-quarters of a second up to Piastri.
32:12And a Formula One car goes an awful long way in three-quarters of a second.
32:15It certainly does.
32:18Vando Norris, fastest man on track.
32:21Now lapping in the low.
32:231.32s, there's Isaac Hadjar.
32:25Oh, we picked him up late.
32:26And that was a very opportunist move from Isaac Hadjar going through Turn 4.
32:31What a brilliant piece of driving to get past Franco Colopinto.
32:35That was F2-style overtaking.
32:38That was very unorthodox, but very effective.
32:42You don't often see a car getting past there.
32:45And, well, full bravery from Isaac Hadjar.
32:50It gets him one place.
32:50It doesn't get him one point.
32:52He has to defend against Colopinto, who's coming back at him at Turn 11.
32:57He's got that one covered, though.
32:59Yeah, he needs to be careful about moving in the braking zone.
33:02He did leave a car's width, so no problems there for Hadjar.
33:06Well, Franco Colopinto now down in 10th place.
33:10Isaac Hadjar gets a decent exit out of Turn 16.
33:15There goes that Red Bull active aero, the rear wing,
33:19opening up with a big, enormous gap that Ted says he can get his head through.
33:23And onwards, down the straight.
33:25A little charge.
33:26You can see the rain lights are blinking away.
33:30Very difficult.
33:32The two cars have got full batteries going down that back straight.
33:36Very difficult for the car behind to have any influence in terms of a boost to make an overtake stick.
33:44Norris has just been supreme out front, hasn't he?
33:46He's currently four-tenths quicker than Leclerc, eight-tenths quicker than his teammate,
33:50who's also running in clear air.
33:52So Norris beautifully dialed into this racetrack.
33:57Smiley Lando Norris, you said at the start of this race.
34:00He's going to be grinning from ear to ear at the end of this.
34:02And that is going to put a smile on Oscar Piastri's face.
34:06Charles Leclerc going too deep at Turn 11.
34:09And that might just have cost him any chance of getting second place here.
34:13He'd have picked up a load of rubbish on his tyres.
34:15He'll be half a dozen corners cleaning that up with Charles Leclerc.
34:18There, and you kind of tippy-toe a little bit, you know you're going to have less mechanical grip.
34:24The right front tyres marked up a little bit.
34:27Look, on the outside, and usually on the outside, given the amount of camber,
34:30the amount of lean in at the top.
34:32But Leclerc, he's kept it in play, hasn't he?
34:35But again, he's running wide, so his front tyres look ugly.
34:39They look marked up, and he's struggling to slow the car down.
34:42Yeah, he's got the advantage of nearly four seconds over Kimi Antonelli,
34:47so he might as well try something that he wouldn't normally try.
34:51It shouldn't cost him a place in that respect, but it really didn't come off Oscar Piastri.
34:57What a record this year.
34:59When he starts a race, he finishes second, right?
35:02He didn't start the first two, came back in Japan, finished second in the Grand Prix,
35:06and he started this race, and he's going to finish second here today
35:09for the second year running to his team-mate, Lando Norris.
35:13He's going through turn nine currently and on his way to another sprint victory.
35:19Look at Debris, the marbles on the racetrack in the heavily loaded areas
35:22where they're putting a lot of G-force.
35:24But Lando Norris then, rear wing closes as he hits the brakes,
35:29and the front wing, of course, too.
35:30A little bit of a slide through there.
35:33Probably just enjoying himself as much as anything.
35:35He knows he can discard these tyres in about half a lap's time.
35:40Just dancing it through the chicane into the tight 16.
35:44Do not hit the wall there.
35:46And basically, he's got one decision to make.
35:50Where to brake at 17.
35:52A swing of the steering wheel he could do in his sleep.
35:54And then a glory drive to the line in terms of another victory.
36:0019 laps of a sprint race here at the Hard Rock Stadium,
36:04the Miami International Autodrome.
36:07Lando Norris in what is sprint race 26 is going to pick up.
36:10Sprint race victory number four.
36:13Lando Norris crosses the line.
36:14A very comfortable winner here.
36:16And once again, McLaren triumphant with a 1-2 in a sprint in Miami.
36:22Oscar Piastri comes home to take second.
36:24Charles Leclerc third.
36:25Kimi Antonelli, championship leader fourth.
36:28Beating his teammate, George Russell.
36:30Good old scrap they were having earlier on.
36:32Max Verstappen.
36:35Liam Lawson has struggled early on in 15th.
36:38Here comes Oli Behrman.
36:39Is he going to go last of the late breakers with Esteban Ocon?
36:43Into turn 17.
36:44He's going to try to switch back at the hairpin.
36:47But Esteban Ocon has got that covered.
36:49Hajar ninth.
36:50Carlo Pinto, Bortoleto.
36:51Ocon finishes 12th.
36:53And then comes Oli Behrman and Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson.
36:56Sergio Perez has been overtaken by Fernando Alonso down into the hairpin.
37:03Can Alonso stay ahead to the line?
37:07Good up, mate.
37:08Well done.
37:09Yeah, well done.
37:10Nice sprint.
37:12Great job.
37:13Let's do it all over again.
37:16Antonelli noted again for track limits then.
37:20That could be a five-second penalty for Kimi Antonelli if they found that he's gone over for a fourth
37:27time in this race.
37:29And that would mean that George Russell and Max Verstappen would go ahead of Kimi Antonelli in the final standings.
37:36Checkered flag.
37:37Nice job, Oscar.
37:38Strong P2.
37:39And McAllen 1-2 as well.
37:42We're really happy with that.
37:43Good job.
37:44Yeah, well done, everybody.
37:45Good job.
37:47Nice to see the pace was pretty good, obviously.
37:50I'm sure there's a couple of things to work on.
37:52But nice to be able to hold off everybody else.
37:56So thank you.
37:57Let's go again this afternoon.
38:00Yeah, I think strong P2 is probably a bit of a stake through his heart when his teammate had a
38:05stronger P1.
38:07But they can now change the cars before qualifying this afternoon.
38:11Lewis Hamilton 21 seconds behind in a 19-second lap.
38:15Fade at the end.
38:16Yeah, he'll be wanting to make a lot of changes in that Ferrari.
38:19So they open up.
38:21They're out of park for me as soon as they start that race, basically.
38:25And as they said, they go again.
38:28Fernando Alonso did hold off Sergio Perez all the way to the line.
38:32On the soft tyres for the Aston Martins working for them.
38:35Paris 17th, Stroll 18th, Albon 19th, the Bottas plumb last 20th.
38:40Hülkenberg didn't start.
38:43Third time this season we've had an Audi not start a race.
38:46And Arvid Lindblad didn't feature in this race either.
38:50This man did feature in the race.
38:53Perfect start from pole.
38:54Kimi Antonelli once again dropped places off the line.
38:59Oscar Piastri swooped through to take second.
39:01And McLaren from then on in looked pretty good for a 1-2.
39:03And that's how it ended.
39:04Yep.
39:06Even after all the times he's got out of these cars,
39:09there's not really a super elegant way to do it.
39:12It's so clumsy to get out of.
39:14Well, we'll bring you details of anything that might affect Kimi Antonelli
39:22as soon as we get it.
39:24But he was shown the black and white flag.
39:28And I'm...
39:28And I'm...
39:29And I'm...
39:29And I'm...
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