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00:00Leclerc, that's a replay off-board, we saw it on board as Leclerc then goes past him.
00:07Albon did absolutely nothing wrong there, so bollard would be the word.
00:13Summed up in one word, Martin Brunel for you, ladies and gentlemen.
00:17Right, Ted, down to you.
00:18I'm looking over at the Ferrari pit wall and they're discussing things.
00:22It looks like Leclerc's tyres are just going, Crofty.
00:25We saw that McLaren has kept their great advantage in keeping tyres alive.
00:31These tyres, medium tyres.
00:32And we expect a shower in two to three laps and we want to survive it.
00:37Potentially coming first on sector to sector.
00:40Yeah, it's just skirting the north of the circuit and as the radar suggests it will only be a shower.
00:46But the tyres are just giving up on the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and Norris and Piastri keeping their tyres
00:51in great condition.
00:52Sector 2, by the way, from Turn 8 to Turn 16, if you are trying to visualise the racetrack here
01:01in Miami.
01:01And that's Turn 8 you're looking at now, Karun.
01:05They've just told Lando, they expect the rain to come later now, lap 40.
01:09Will Joseph has said, we're going to try and extend on these medium tyres until then.
01:14So don't expect pit stops anytime soon, they've just got to manage it.
01:18Lando says it all feels good in the car.
01:20Well, not surprised, he's done a 32-2 first sector.
01:24That's half a second or more faster than the four drivers behind him.
01:28He's absolutely flying out there, Lando Norris.
01:30Yeah, it's not going to be hurting Kimi Antonelli much being behind him either because he's got some clean air
01:35given Lando Norris' pace.
01:37And Charles Leclerc has dropped off by nearly four seconds to the front two as we watch Portoleto getting past
01:45Arvid Lindblad.
01:46Whoa, that was very, very close indeed.
01:49But I think he's made that move stick down at Turn 12.
01:52And he's up in the 13th place as we watch from the rear of Charles Leclerc's car, Oscar Piastri, starting
02:00to get that much closer to him as well.
02:03Yeah, Karun reminding me that Sky Race Control track temperature 13 degrees cooler than pretty much at any time we've
02:10seen in practice qualifying and sprint and what have you.
02:14The incidents involving Max Verstappen, who is being investigated for failing to cross the line at the pit lane exit,
02:22is going to be investigated after the race.
02:24I'm just going to say this, I don't understand why.
02:27There's a race going on, it's like showing someone a red card after the 90 minutes has ended in a
02:32football match.
02:33If there's a penalty, do it now so that the driver and the team have a chance to recover and
02:38everyone knows what's going on.
02:39Because it's not like a wheel-to-wheel contact, he either did cross it or he didn't cross it.
02:45Absolutely, and if and when Verstappen gets involved with any fights later on or for the podium or what have
02:53you or tangles with another car,
02:56then I thought the FIA had got remote control facilities looking at these in depth and able to, unless it's
03:05just not crystal clear from the images they've got,
03:09he flicked across the end of the line, but it's really hard from the on-board camera.
03:14You have to look at those things from the off-board camera, but I agree with you, you know,
03:19if you're leaving the player on the pitch and he's done something wrong, you really ought to address it.
03:23And also, what's Max going to say if he goes to see the stewards?
03:26Did you cross the line? No, no, not at all.
03:28That's not going to add or detract any way from the investigation.
03:32Come on, let's get decisions like that decided.
03:35Here comes Max Verstappen on Franco Colopinto.
03:38Eighth place for Verstappen currently, but I doubt for much longer because he's got much more pace than Colopinto has.
03:47Boxes the call to George Russell, who's in for a pit stop from fifth in his race.
03:53And there goes Max Verstappen down the inside on Franco Colopinto.
03:57And while that happens, the stewards are also looking at the Verstappen-Albon move a few laps ago
04:03that Albon thought he was being squeezed and then squeezed into the bollard.
04:06So it's like a Max Verstappen season ticket at stewards HQ at the moment.
04:11But Albon was comfortably clear.
04:15So Outlap Critical says his team to George Russell.
04:19I guess they're not reacting to...
04:22Are they reacting to Verstappen here?
04:24Potentially.
04:25Yeah.
04:25So it's important that Russell comes out and gets into some clear air.
04:32He's ahead of Bortoletto.
04:34He's got a lot of work to do there with traffic.
04:35I think what they're also saying is you might be a bit vulnerable to maybe Hamilton, who was behind you,
04:41or others.
04:42You might want to stop.
04:43The undercut is slightly more powerful here than the overcut.
04:47So they've triggered it first and hoping that George Russell, not in terms of trying to gain a place,
04:53preserves a place by stopping a bit earlier for fresh tyres.
04:56George is going to go straight into two Hasses and two Williams that are having a good squabble.
05:02And, of course, rain skirting the track as well.
05:05They obviously think, like, McLaren is further away.
05:07But Leclerc is reacting then.
05:09Ferrari reacting to that pit stop.
05:11Well, I hope the weather radar is working right for these teams.
05:16Because you're taking a slight chance.
05:18If it is going to rain in, you are going to need intermediates.
05:21But Charles Leclerc comes in.
05:22It's Norris, Antonelli, Piastri and Hamilton now the top four.
05:25Max Verstappen moves up to fifth.
05:28Neat stop there for Charles Leclerc.
05:303.7 seconds.
05:31Now, right front was slow off.
05:32So that's why that was in the threes and not the twos.
05:36Well, that then might just help this car here in the bottom of your screen.
05:40George Russell.
05:41Has George Russell managed to get past Charles Leclerc here?
05:44He has, you know.
05:45And it was only by a couple of tenths of a second.
05:48And that 3.7 second stop has not helped Charles Leclerc, who has lost out in the pit stop to
05:54George Russell.
05:55Yeah, they were covering off Russell.
05:58But, yeah, if you watch it again, the right front was very slow coming away.
06:02And then the rest of the pit stop was okay.
06:04But that's cost him track position.
06:08But they seem to be, it seems odd, doesn't it, to pit now?
06:11If they think there's going to be rain any moment now.
06:13It could be a wasted pit stop.
06:15So Verstappen then 16 seconds off the lead now, lapping in the 1.33s.
06:22And no further investigation between Albon and Verstappen at turn 18.
06:27I think that's absolutely right.
06:29Russell gets past Ocon.
06:31Why did we stop?
06:33What is the rate?
06:34Yeah.
06:37No answer.
06:38We'll find out an answer a bit later on.
06:40That was a good move from George Russell at the right time.
06:43He's put a bit more distance between himself and Charles Leclerc here.
06:46Because Esteban Ocon is holding up Charles Leclerc a bit.
06:49Going through that tight, twisty section before turn 16.
06:52Leclerc will finally get past.
06:53But look how many car lengths he has lost, Martin, in that particular moment.
06:57No, but this is the traffic I said that Russell was coming out into.
07:00Two Haases and two Williams.
07:02They won't fight like crazy.
07:03But you've still got to get past them.
07:05And they know it's not their race today.
07:07As you wear the radar, looking at those green splodges and the yellows and the reds to see where the
07:13rain is.
07:14And George Russell has now got himself tucked up right behind Oli Behrman in the hat.
07:20So he's down in 10th place, having made his pit stop.
07:22Behrman in 9th.
07:23We're on board with George Russell.
07:25That's an easy pass on fresher tyres from the hat.
07:28So obviously Mercedes think he's not going to be slowed down too much.
07:31But he's lapping at the moment.
07:33George Russell, 1.32.6.
07:35So possible rain in the next couple of laps.
07:38Should have fixed turns 7 and 8 first.
07:41Could get heavy.
07:43We need to know before you tip it into turn 7 if it's wet.
07:47There's not much space on the outside there.
07:50Down near the marina.
07:52The fake marina, that is.
07:53But it does look lovely down there.
07:56Yeah, you absolutely do not want to arrive in turn 7 to find it has already started raining.
08:01Just making his way through the traffic, Karun.
08:04He is still pumping in the lap time, George Russell, compared to our race leader Lando Norris and the likes
08:11of Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton.
08:12Yeah, his race engineer Marcus Dudley has just given him a bit of a cheer-up.
08:18Next time you take the chance, please speak with me.
08:20I'm here as well.
08:22I want a committee here.
08:24Yeah, and if you look at it, Russell with those quick outlapsed off, he's cleared Piastri by a second, they've
08:30just told him.
08:31So he will end up potentially in that podium position.
08:35It did seem curious that they pitted him.
08:39I mean, what he's angry about is he's lost position and he's in traffic and they're struggling to get through
08:43the traffic.
08:44And still then, George Russell has not cleared the Williams of Alex Albon.
08:51This is costing them a lot of time.
08:53I think it's also costing Charles Leclerc more time.
08:57That 3.7 seconds that he was stationary, that really has cost him in terms of places on the track
09:04and time lost trying to feed your way through it.
09:07And because of all this, you can understand why McLaren are staying out.
09:11You know, you're leading the race and in terms of Piastri, you're also third.
09:14You don't want to give up too much track position from there.
09:17No, you don't.
09:18So you've got to assume that, look how dirty it is offline.
09:21And still Russell's not able to make it happen.
09:24Can he steam up the inside here on the brakes with the extra grip he's got?
09:28Yes, he can.
09:29But it just is losing them time.
09:31It's using up their tyres.
09:33And it's really, I mean, the Williams are going quite nicely in the race.
09:37Ted's got an update for us.
09:40Is that some team radio, sorry?
09:41I just heard the beats.
09:42No, no, no.
09:42Just a text.
09:43Okay.
09:43What did it say?
09:44It said there's a small rain cell above us, but it's only light.
09:47Yes, it is.
09:48So whichever engineer said lap 25, spot on.
09:51Crate of champagne to that engineer because there is a little, a few little spots of rain
09:56here in the pit lane.
09:57I can just see it coming down and it does seem to be coming from the southwest, downtown Miami
10:03and it's just going to pass over us.
10:06So that's not to mention the rain that's coming later in the race.
10:08But for now, those people staying out, Norris, Antonelli, Pierre Piastri, Hamilton, right
10:12move so far.
10:14Cheers, Ted.
10:15Charles Leclerc has cleared Alex Albon up into ninth currently.
10:20Lando Norris has a gap of about two and a half seconds out in front.
10:23And then there's a gap from Antonelli to about eight and a half seconds back to Oscar Piastri
10:28who's losing about six tenths to his teammate lap by lap.
10:32He hasn't got the speed of Lando Norris here in Miami this year.
10:36Lewis Hamilton currently runs in fourth and he's lapping in the woman at 34s.
10:41Max Verstappen is in fifth and is gaining on Lewis Hamilton.
10:45Yeah.
10:45So Max is, it might be 17 seconds off the lead, but he's a dozen seconds ahead of Russell and
10:51Leclerc.
10:52That's what it's cost him getting through that traffic.
10:54Max, of course, pitted and he's now 18 laps into his run on those tires.
10:59But no wonder Charles Leclerc is angry.
11:02He's losing time.
11:03He's in traffic and he, at one point, it appeared to me almost comfortably leading this race.
11:10And here he is down in ninth.
11:13It all might turn around though and the rain might turn things around a bit.
11:18They got the tires up to a nice temperature.
11:20Will that fresher rubber with a decent temperature be better than old tires that have done 25 laps
11:27so far in the case of Norris and Antonelli.
11:30And still watch Verstappen here because he's made his pit stop and he's only 17 seconds off the lead.
11:35And as I say, gaining on Lewis Hamilton while Charles Leclerc is keeping tabs with George Russell.
11:41Antonelli just starting to catch Norris as well a little bit.
11:44Norris in completely clear air.
11:46So that fight is not over, but it's beginning to be a two-horse race this one.
11:52So is that a bit of rain that we can see around the circuit?
11:56I think it is.
11:57And moving in towards the S's section after this long, long left-hander here.
12:06So lap 26 of 57, Lando Norris leads the reigning world champion
12:14who hasn't led in any format this season before the sprint race yesterday, is out in front.
12:20But Kimi Antonelli has been closing him a bit.
12:23There goes Max Verstappen down the inside on Lewis Hamilton.
12:26He's got that damage from the earlier contact, of course, with Franco Colopinto.
12:30That is halting his progress a little bit during this race.
12:33I'm sure those rear tyres will be overheating by now.
12:36They definitely were in the sprint race yesterday, but Verstappen is right on him.
12:40Fortoleto has been told this light rain will last for about five laps.
12:43The drivers were not hearing complaining too much about the conditions on the track,
12:48but flippy flappy wings on both the Ferrari and the Red Bull
12:52that spin around 180 degrees, reducing the drag.
12:56Watch this lunge.
12:56Red Bull in a straight line has the power to make the lunge
13:00and Verstappen lunges down the inside on Lewis Hamilton.
13:04And for the second time this weekend, close battle from those two
13:06and Verstappen comes out in front.
13:08Antonelli has pitted.
13:10Antonelli pits from second place, comes out behind Verstappen.
13:14But of course, Verstappen 20 laps in to those tyres.
13:17Yeah, he will come out just ahead of Franco Colopinto
13:21and that will be important to Kimi Antonelli.
13:24But they've decided, now they think they can guess or best guess what the rain's doing.
13:30It's a good time to make some pit stops.
13:32Oli Behrman's coming into the pits as well.
13:34Will Lando Norris respond straight away to at least protect his position ahead of Kimi Antonelli?
13:41Because what he doesn't want is to wait a few laps here, Martin Brundle,
13:45and come out behind the Mercedes.
13:46He doesn't want to pit just as it starts to rain either,
13:48but it's certainly, you wouldn't even, there's nothing out there
13:51that suggests you'd even dream of putting intermediates on.
13:54Forget the wets, they will not use those at any point today.
13:57At any time the wets are necessary, it'd be a safety car anyway for visibility.
14:01So they're almost passengers on any given weekend.
14:06But box, box.
14:07And Norris is, yeah, Norris is going to respond.
14:09I think he has to respond, Karun.
14:11Yeah, they've said to him, now give it all you've got on this lap.
14:14Max Verstappen could end up with the lead of this race
14:16because at the moment, 17 seconds, as you say.
14:19Do McLaren double stack, though, Crofty?
14:21Watch out.
14:22Piastri's 13 seconds behind.
14:24They do have time to double stack if they want.
14:26Yeah, he's 10 seconds clear of his teammates, so that's plenty of time.
14:30I don't see another set of tyres there, though.
14:33It looks like, oh, Lando, they did a good job there
14:35because Lando went long.
14:37Piastri stays out.
14:39Hamilton pits.
14:40But, yeah, he went a little bit long there, Lando.
14:43But these are key moments, very key moments for the Grand Prix.
14:47Yeah, Lewis Hamilton coming into the pits.
14:49Lando Norris making his way out onto the track.
14:52And he is very...
14:53We're watching Lewis Hamilton in the pit lane.
14:55But it is so close.
14:56There we are, Antonelli.
14:57And Norris and Antonelli, with his tyres up to heat here,
15:02might just have been...
15:03Got ahead, he has got ahead of Lando Norris.
15:06That was the key battle there.
15:08They responded straight away, McLaren,
15:10but Antonelli put in a decent outlap,
15:12and it was quick enough to get that track position
15:15ahead of the man who was leading the race.
15:17There we go, then.
15:19So, yeah, it was, you have to say,
15:24Mercedes blinked first and came in,
15:25and it's put them, given them great track position.
15:28Hamilton's pitted, Oscar.
15:29We're going to pit and cover him.
15:30Use the pace now.
15:31Use the pace.
15:34So, get a move on, Oscar,
15:36who finds himself leading this race currently.
15:41But right behind him,
15:42Verstappen, Antonelli and Norris,
15:44who have pitted.
15:45The key, the key thing to ask here is
15:47how long can Max Verstappen go?
15:50Can he go to the end on these hard tyres?
15:51Will he have the pace at the end of the race
15:54on these hard tyres?
15:55Because he will, in a moment, be leading this race.
15:58He will, but look at this pair right on his tail.
16:00I don't think he'll be leading it for long, frankly,
16:02because they're, you know, on their fresh tyres,
16:04they ought, and with overtake mode that they get
16:07as they cross the yellow line,
16:08gives them a little bit more speed and power
16:11for the next lap.
16:13I don't think Max will have too many answers to this pair.
16:17Look at how quickly...
16:18Antonelli's under pressure here.
16:20Norris, a bit of boost button coming into that first corner,
16:25almost alongside him,
16:26and this will protect Verstappen's lead
16:29while these two are battling away.
16:31Yeah, you can just see the differences
16:33in how they sort of use their energy
16:35in any given straight or lap,
16:37but while they squabble, you're right,
16:39Max is out front,
16:41feeling the extra grip of the fresh air.
16:44Nobody's disturbing here in front of him,
16:46but he's really punished those tyres for 22 laps,
16:49hasn't he, coming back through the fields.
16:51And he still might have a penalty coming his way,
16:54don't forget, for crossing the line
16:56at the ends of the pit lane.
16:58That's going to be investigated after the race.
17:00He's not leading this race anymore.
17:02Kimi Antonelli gets past him.
17:03He might be third, coming out of this next corner.
17:06No, he protects that line against Lando Norris.
17:09Antonelli making the move before Turn 11.
17:12Norris is now going to be frustrated for four corners.
17:14Yeah, that's painful for Norris.
17:16He needs to get passed down the back straight if he can.
17:19He should have better traction out of here
17:21than the Red Bull in front of him.
17:23And then a bit of slipstream
17:25and a bit of extra power
17:27but the Red Bull Ford motor
17:29has been pretty genius.
17:31But look at the McLaren coming at him.
17:33There's nothing Verstappen can do about that.
17:35He moves to the middle of the track,
17:36tries to make it as hard as he can.
17:38Will he try to lunge back?
17:39Yes, he will.
17:40At which point Norris will tuck underneath him
17:43and then presumably in Turn 17 and 18
17:47grabs the high ground and does exactly that.
17:51But we've still got to pay attention
17:52all the way down into Turn 1.
17:55And Lando's wise enough these days
17:57to know that Max was going to come back at it, wouldn't he?
18:00Yeah, he's learned a lot in the last couple of years
18:02as Lando Norris since he won a world title as well.
18:04And he was very patient.
18:05And we're on board now with Charles Leclerc,
18:09who's just been passed and repassed by George Russell.
18:12So Russell in fifth, Leclerc now down in sixth.
18:15He just got ahead of Russell for a brief moment,
18:18but Russell's now passed him.
18:20And these two are going to be trading positions,
18:23I think, between now and the chequered flag.
18:27Antonelli leads from Norris, from Verstappen,
18:30from Colopinto, who is yet to pit, to remind you.
18:34Then comes Russell and Leclerc and Piastri,
18:37who have all pitted Hamilton in eighth.
18:40Ocon and Bortoletto ninth and tenth.
18:42They have not made a pit stop yet.
18:44This is a replay of Oscar Piastri's pit stop.
18:48And that front right took a couple of goes to get off,
18:51and he will have lost half a second at least because of that.
18:56Valtteri Bottas has got a drive-through penalty,
18:58to let you know, for speeding in the pit lane,
19:00one of the few decisions that seems to be being made
19:02during the race today.
19:04Ocon, Albon and Alonso, their yellow flag infringements,
19:07will be investigated after the race.
19:09Charles Leclerc on George Russell now.
19:11Down the back straight we go.
19:13You can see Oscar Piastri in the distance behind these two.
19:17It worked well, didn't it?
19:18Mercedes did well to get Russell in early
19:20and give him the track position.
19:22It's brought him a little bit back more into play
19:25as Valtteri Bottas gets a drive-through penalty
19:28for speeding in the pit lane.
19:30So that's about 20 seconds pain he's going to take there.
19:35Leclerc's coming back at Russell.
19:37There you go.
19:38George Russell thought about defending that one for a moment.
19:41Absolutely no chance because Leclerc was blasting past him.
19:45And yet another overtake here as Leclerc moves up into the top five.
19:49It's a net four with Colin Pinto still needing to pit.
19:51Fastest man on the track is Oscar Piastri.
19:54George Russell is now getting back on terms with Charles Leclerc
19:58whilst his teammate is about a second and a half out in front.
20:02Lando Norris has cleared Max Verstappen by about two and a half seconds.
20:0624 laps old, Verstappen's tyres.
20:08And his teammate Isaac Hadjar has come back to the pit wall.
20:12He clipped the wall and then went straight on into the next wall.
20:16And he was the first driver to retire from this race.
20:19We've lost Gasly as well and Lawson and Hülkenberg.
20:23Yeah, actually that's a stonking lap from him into the one minute 31s there.
20:27And that's a second and a half quicker than Leclerc.
20:29And Russell ahead of him, Colin Pinto, who hasn't pitted yet, as you say, up there in P4.
20:36But as soon as Antonelli and Norris were past Verstappen,
20:40their best part of two seconds a lap faster.
20:44It was a gamble by Red Bull, Verstappen was down in 16th when they pitted behind the safety car.
20:50It's a gamble that doesn't at the moment seem to be paying off.
20:53Well, let's remember he was 8th though before he pitted, wasn't he, because of the spin.
20:57So he was 8th, pitted and went back to 16th.
21:00Oh, yeah, that's true, yeah.
21:00So, because of the spin, he was already sort of down a bit and Colin Pinto finally pits.
21:09Which I'm sure he will be very, very glad of on board with the McLaren of Lando Norris.
21:17What does he do here?
21:18Just sit patiently, wait for any potential mistakes or at some stage think,
21:24right, I'm going to have to go for this because Kimi Antonelli, once he gets in front, has looked pretty
21:30handy.
21:31Has certainly had pace this weekend, but then, yeah, so have I when I've been in front.
21:35I think that McLaren's got pretty good longevity on its tyres, hasn't it?
21:39We saw it in the sprint, we've seen it so far in this Grand Prix.
21:42Lando is going to be sitting there feeling mildly confident, actually.
21:45He's been able to catch and pass the Mercedes.
21:48I don't know how many times, there's been so many overtakes, but, yeah, I said before the pit stop started,
21:56it was sort of becoming a two-horse race and it still very much is between these two.
22:01We've had five different leaders of the race today.
22:04We've had Leclerc, we've had Norris, we've had Piastri, we've had Verstappen and we've currently got Kimi Antonelli.
22:10Zach Brown watching as his man, Oscar Piastri, gains on George Russell and hoping the other man can gain on
22:17Kimi Antonelli.
22:18Lots can play out between now and the chequered flag, I think, Zach.
22:22It's been a very exciting race so far and I think this race is far from over.
22:27In what way, Zach? What do you think mean by that?
22:30I think Lando's got the pace of Kimi, Oscar's got some great pace here, so I think we've seen, what,
22:37five different leaders.
22:40I think we've got a race on our hands.
22:42Any more rain forecast that could interrupt things?
22:46Could be, but it looks like it's starting to diminish.
22:49Now that is the best news us neutrals could have heard.
22:52Thanks ever so much, Zach, back with you in a little while.
22:55George Russell very much under pressure here from Oscar Piastri, whose tyres are about eight laps fresher and he's now
23:03within about four-tenths of the Mercedes.
23:06Whilst Lando Norris has just reduced the arrears by about a tenth of a second on Kimi Antonelli on this
23:12particular lap.
23:13Look how close Piastri is now to George Russell.
23:16The McLaren seems really good on the hard compound white marked tyres, doesn't it?
23:20It seems really well balanced, it's flying along.
23:22Look at those marbles on the outside, there, you wouldn't want to be going off there in a hurry.
23:27How do you think there's not been a lot of, there's not been a lot of degradation, but there's clearly
23:31quite a lot of wear, isn't there, on the tyres?
23:34Ah, it's one gearbox, I have a problem with the paddle.
23:40Problem with the paddle, I think is what Kimi Antonelli was saying there, on the gearbox.
23:46And Lando Norris is continuing to reduce the gap slightly, just by a tenth here or a tenth there, back
23:54up to 1.1 seconds now as they make their way out of that hairpin, here comes Oscar Piastri though,
23:59on George Russell and he is definitely gaining on George Russell as the back marker gets lapped going into turn
24:0517, but we kind of get the feeling this is not where you want to make the overtake today, you
24:09want to stick light glue to the rear wing of the car in front and chase him all the way
24:14down the main straight.
24:14Towards turn one, braking zones have been lent to the bit in 2026, is it long enough for Piastri to
24:20make the lunge? No it is not, and whatever was going on in the gearbox with Kimi Antonelli seems to
24:26have been fixed on this lap, because he's extending that advantage over Lando Norris.
24:31One McLaren chasing another, here's another McLaren chasing a Mercedes, and Toto Wolff watching on.
24:38Whoever emerges triumphant in those two battles, at least he's going to be in charge of the engine that's powering
24:43them.
24:43Oscar Piastri looks all together happier now on these tyres in this phase of the Grand Prix.
24:49Antonelli's been back on the radio again saying a problem with the throttle as well, apparently.
24:55So, yeah, it looks like it's sort of beginning to turn towards McLaren's favour, doesn't it?
25:02Certainly at the moment, Kimi Antonelli's favour, the youngest driver, first teenager ever to lead the World Championship,
25:10is pulling away from George Russell at the top of those standings.
25:15We did wonder how he would handle the pressure of being a championship leader when he returned to racing.
25:20So far, so good, Martin.
25:21Absolutely.
25:23So, you can see Leclerc, he came through the picture in his Ferrari.
25:26He is ahead of these two, but George will be wise enough to know how to use his XS or
25:32any battery,
25:33but he has to go defensive this time around and keep the McLaren on the outside.
25:39Piastri will duck underneath.
25:41Will he have better traction?
25:42No, he won't.
25:43Well, he's got fresher tyres by about eight laps.
25:47George made a very good fist to getting out of that corner,
25:49but he is closer this time, Piastri, to George Russell, and he's definitely going to go for it into turn
25:53one.
25:54Oscar Piastri gets past the Mercedes,
25:57and there's no chance to duck under from George Russell and retake that fifth place Piastri's through.
26:02That's exactly what you want to see.
26:03You want to see whatever tools they've got, whether it was DRS or we used to have overboost on our
26:08turbos, whatever.
26:10Bring the overtake into play, but the driver's got to finish it off.
26:15That's what you want to see, and that's what we saw there.
26:17And he finished with aplomb.
26:19Lando Norris has taken four tenths out of Kimi Antonelli's advantage in the first sector of this latest lap.
26:25While he carries on, Ted's got news from the pit lane.
26:28But I've asked Mercedes, and they say they think it's okay now.
26:31They think it is the gearbox and the paddle, Martin, even though it sounded like throttle.
26:36Two seconds, Ted. George Russell's going for it at turn 11, and has re-got that position from Oscar Piastri.
26:43So he's getting wise to the tactics in 2026, and Oscar Piastri's going to have to try again and find
26:50another route through.
26:51Quickly back to you, Ted.
26:51But Mercedes saying, don't worry about it. It looks okay for now.
26:54So don't worry about Kimi. That looks all right, whatever this paddle problem is.
26:59Normally, paddle problem for a Formula One driver is not being able to find a court so that you can
27:03practice the new sport they all like.
27:05But, yeah, it's not a paddle problem Kimi Antonelli wants.
27:08But here goes Oscar Piastri on George Russell once more.
27:12And this little battle continues on.
27:15He's decided, Piastri, we can go for it down at turn 17.
27:19Will he keep ahead?
27:20Lando Norris is still gaining on Kimi Antonelli.
27:23He's the fastest man on the track, setting a new fastest lap during the course of this race.
27:29Piastri's got seven tenths advantage over George Russell.
27:33Antonelli's got an eight tenths advantage over Lando Norris.
27:36Yeah, Norris is, as you say, fastest lap.
27:38He's also within a second now.
27:40He's within the overtake facility.
27:42But the measuring point, as I've told you before, is on the exit of the hip and at the end
27:47of the back straight.
27:48Bit of traffic coming up.
27:51Stroll and then Perez coming up for the two, challenging for the lead.
27:55And this is a pretty technical, tricky little section.
27:59Stroll gets out of the way of both of them.
28:02Stroll's teammate, Fernando Alonso, by the way, the only driver still who hasn't pitted in this race.
28:07He's run his mediums for 34 laps now.
28:10They're waiting for some rain, maybe, or a potential safety car to make that stop.
28:15Russell and Piastri getting very, very close.
28:18But this time Piastri stays ahead whilst we ride on board with Lando Norris.
28:23And he can see the blinking lights of Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes ahead of him.
28:27But it stays ahead of him and it's too far for Lando to make a move.
28:31You can see Lando turning in really early when he's in the turbulent era of the car in front
28:35and to try and stay out of some of that problem.
28:39And, yeah, again then, they're nine seconds clear of Verstappen in third place now.
28:45He's starting to hurt a little bit with his tyres.
28:48Leclerc will be coming at Verstappen, dragging Piastri and Russell with him.
28:52I would imagine if Verstappen tries to hang on to these tyres,
28:57that's going to be a good fight towards the closing stages of this Grand Prix.
29:01Lewis Hamilton, 26 seconds behind now, down in seventh place.
29:05Carrying that damage.
29:06He said in the beginning of the race,
29:08I don't think I can race like this, but he's hung on to it, hasn't he?
29:11He stayed with it.
29:12Yeah, he's got that 11-second gap back to Franco Colopinto.
29:16So he should be okay to preserve that seventh place.
29:18But it's 20 or so laps to go in this race.
29:23Behind Colopinto, Carlos Sainz.
29:25And behind him, Alex Albon Williams on the course at the moment.
29:28He's scoring double points.
29:29And, well, that will be a decent morale boost for everyone down at Grove.
29:33Car's shaved a bit of weight and has looked much handier here in Miami.
29:37It did.
29:37Look, when we saw Verstappen trying to pass the Williams,
29:40they were really going along nicely, weren't they?
29:43Why are you so gone, man?
29:45Like a traffic way to bits.
29:47Again, it's just temp, Kimmy, just temp.
29:50Get the temperature under control.
29:52You should be okay.
29:53They've only been on for 10 laps.
29:55Yeah.
29:55So that's Bono saying, look, just squeeze the throttle.
30:00Don't let the rear of the car move around too much.
30:03The problem he's got is that orange car in his mirrors.
30:07But that's Bono like, calm down, calm down.
30:10You know what you need to do?
30:11You've just got to control the surface temperature of those tyres,
30:14of the rear tyres, which, of course, are transmitting all the power.
30:18Same power unit in these two cars, the Mercedes power unit.
30:22And Lando, we know, is very good in these situations of looking after your tyres.
30:28He's got so much more experience than Antonelli in that respect.
30:31But Antonelli has track position and has clear air in front of him.
30:35Yeah, which does make still a massive difference,
30:38especially in temperatures such as this.
30:40It's not as hot here as it was yesterday, for instance,
30:43but it's still 28 degrees air temperature.
30:46And it's still a lot of heat going through these air intake boxes
30:51when you're behind a car in front.
30:54And I think Lando there just pulled out to demonstrate that point
30:57to the left-hand side to get a bit of cooler air through his car.
31:00Yeah, absolutely.
31:03Otherwise, you're driving through the hot air,
31:04discarded off the car in front as well.
31:06You've got to be so careful not to clip that wall like Hajar did.
31:09It's very easy to do, like clipping a barrier in Monaco, actually, through there.
31:13And again, they're now, so they're well clear, this pair.
31:17If it's dry to the end of the Grand Prix, they won't need to stop again.
31:21This is a straight fight for this Grand Prix
31:24between the teenager and the reigning world champion.
31:27Car number one against car number 12.
31:31Kimi Antonelli out in front.
31:34And Lando Norris staying through that overtake mode detection zone
31:38within that one second.
31:40And that is helping keep him in touch a little bit as well.
31:42Talking of keeping in touch, Oli Behrman is starting to gain now
31:46on Alex Albon, or has continued to gain on Alex Albon
31:49in the battle for the last points place.
31:51Lando moves out of the slipstream every chance he gets now
31:54with the looks of it to just keep his car cool.
31:57No fans on these cars.
31:59They're only cool by going through the air.
32:01So if you're constantly travelling in the hot air of another car,
32:05your car overheats.
32:07Yeah, the fans are all around the side of the racetrack.
32:10It's a sell-out crowd here today at the Miami International Autodrone.
32:15They've been treated to an absolute thriller, it has to be said.
32:19This is the battle for first place.
32:22Verstappen currently in the podium spots.
32:25His last lap was a 1.33.1.
32:27Charles Leclerc was a couple of tenths faster,
32:30but only a couple of tenths faster.
32:32Piastri continues to gain on Charles Leclerc.
32:35He was four tenths faster on the previous lap
32:37and four tenths faster in the first sector of this current lap.
32:41Behind Piastri, George Russell has just dropped back a bit
32:44from the McLaren.
32:45Ted, down to you.
32:46So a couple of things.
32:47First of all, Verstappen's tyres holding up very well.
32:51If they were going to make a second stop,
32:53I think they'd probably do it in the next few laps.
32:55I think they probably could stretch it to the end
32:57and showing how resilient these tyres are,
33:01still Fernando Alonso.
33:03Alonso's teammate, Lance Stroll,
33:05has done two stops before Fernando's even done one.
33:09So Fernando really looking after those tyres very well.
33:13Yes, nursing him like he's paid for him.
33:16Seven Mercedes-powered cars in the top ten at the moment,
33:20telling you that with these regulations
33:23and with the changes that have just recently been made
33:26before this event,
33:27Mercedes are still very much acing it,
33:29but Verstappen going along nicely too
33:31with his Red Bull powertrain.
33:37Concentration in the cockpit of Lando Norris.
33:41Rather likes this circuit.
33:43Won the sprint race yesterday.
33:45Won the Grand Prix here in 2024
33:47where he started fifth on the grid.
33:49Today he started fourth.
33:50He's currently running in second place.
33:52McLaren, with some big upgrades,
33:54have come back to take the fight to Mercedes,
33:58but Mercedes are very much still out in front,
34:01still holding on to their advantage
34:03as the top constructor and team in Formula One.
34:06And their big upgrade is to come in Montreal next time out.
34:09And that could be worth that upgrade.
34:10Anything between kind of half a second,
34:12six tenths of a second,
34:13if the reports are to be believed.
34:17So is Lando biding his time,
34:20sitting there working out where Antonelli's fast,
34:22where he's not quite so fast,
34:24or is he hanging on?
34:26I just don't know.
34:29He's certainly gapping back,
34:31but we have seen him trying to cool his car down a little bit,
34:34so maybe there's a long way to go yet.
34:36Maybe he's happy being a little bit further behind.
34:39Still a back marker,
34:41needs to be lapsed.
34:44Antonelli on Fernando Alonso,
34:47and he gets that move done before turn one,
34:50and Alonso, I think,
34:51keeps out of the way of Antonelli
34:52into the first corner.
34:54But Norris gained about four tenths
34:57in that particular move.
34:59Yeah, Fernando,
35:02he knows what handporn it is
35:04to win races and to win championships
35:06and not have it spoiled by backmarkers.
35:08He's not in a fast car.
35:10He is absolutely not going to bother
35:12and not going to get in anybody's way.
35:13It's exactly what you'd expect
35:15of a true pro, isn't it?
35:16Absolutely.
35:17It's just where you come across the backmarker sometimes
35:19that can influence things
35:21by a tenth there or a tenth there.
35:23Last lap,
35:24we saw Lando Norris
35:25make up a fair amount
35:28during the final sector.
35:30In the middle sector,
35:31Antonelli seems to be holding his own,
35:34if not bettering the McLaren.
35:38Elsewhere, behind these,
35:39who's making moves?
35:41Who's got the pace?
35:42Hamilton comfortably holding off Franco Colopinto
35:45in terms of lap times at the moment.
35:47In fact, Hamilton was about three tenths faster
35:48on the previous lap.
35:50Oli Behrman's about a tenth quicker
35:52than Alex Albon
35:53in that battle for the last points.
35:55Sainz is well ahead
35:57of his team-mate Albon.
36:00Bortoleto is gaining on Esteban Ocon.
36:03He's not within a second as yet.
36:05And Fernando Alonso still waits
36:06for that pit stop.
36:09Right, Lando,
36:10we haven't had a lead change for a while.
36:12Do us a favour.
36:13Let's be having you.
36:14Let's get some
36:17wheel-to-wheel action
36:18going at the very front
36:19of the Grand Prix.
36:20but Antonelli seems to have sort of...
36:25Update of Verstappen
36:26done 34 laps on the hard.
36:29Still doing 33.5 at the moment.
36:32We are forecast to catch him
36:33by the end of the race.
36:35Four tenths of the difference
36:37between Verstappen and Russell
36:39on lap 40.
36:41And as Russell crosses the line,
36:44he's just gone
36:45significantly quicker, actually,
36:47by about nine tenths of a second,
36:49Sir Max Verstappen.
36:50I wonder if those tyres
36:51have gone off the cliff
36:52a little bit, Martin.
36:5335 laps he's done.
36:54As I mentioned earlier,
36:56it was about 36 laps,
36:57the biggest stint we had
36:58on those hard tyres last year.
37:00Well, we've seen how feisty
37:01Max has been all day
37:02in attack and defence.
37:04I'm quite looking forward to
37:05Leclerc, Piastri and Russell
37:07catching him.
37:08Karun's got more information.
37:10Yeah, I think he's gone
37:11off the cliff a bit,
37:12hasn't he, Max?
37:13He's lost three seconds
37:15to Leclerc in the last four laps.
37:17So he's done a lot of tyre
37:19whispering, Max,
37:20in the 35 laps.
37:21But it might start
37:23to be a challenge now.
37:24Let's remind our friends
37:26at home what
37:27off the cliff means.
37:28Of course, it means
37:29it gets to a point
37:30where the tyres are starting
37:31to degrade in a progressive way,
37:33but eventually it gets to a point
37:35where they start losing
37:35chunks of performance
37:37and lap time.
37:38And that allows your challengers
37:39to catch you
37:40at a higher rate.
37:42Beautifully explained.
37:43Thank you very much,
37:44Karun Chandok.
37:46Another lap goes by,
37:48another lap closer
37:49to the chequered flag
37:50for Kimi Antonelli
37:51aiming for Grand Prix history.
37:53Here in Miami
37:55this afternoon,
37:57he's taken his first
37:58three poles
37:59in consecutive races.
38:01He's won two
38:02of those races from pole.
38:04A bit more
38:05more sliding everywhere.
38:09whilst his teammate
38:10is getting all the sliding,
38:12Kimi Antonelli
38:13is slithering his way,
38:15slinking his way.
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