by Flavio Vanetti
Verstappen can be beaten and a young driver like Norris who has never won a GP can triumph with the right strategy dictated by the engineer who followed Raikkonen and Alonso at Ferrari. Leclerc
The invincible Max Verstappen is actually beatable, even without the contribution of external events (as happened in Melbourne, when Max had a breakdown and the Ferrari took off towards the Sainz-Leclerc double). Honor and glory to Lando Norris, therefore, for having at least questioned the theorem of the infallibility of the Dutchman and Red Bull. The third GP in Miami crowns the English boy who never managed to win: “finally” is the right adverb that accompanies his feat.
Lando Norris: 10
It’s never too late, Maestro Manzi said in Italy in a RAI at the dawn of broadcasts that contributed to fighting illiteracy. In England, 24-year-old Lando made the motto his own to break the absurd situation that caged him: he had become the driver with the most podiums and the most points who had never won a GP, but he was also someone who at McLaren had not yet been able to hit the mark happened after 100 or more runs. A negative record among Woking drivers. He is inspired by Valentino Rossi: a good example for indisputable qualities to flourish. Did the safety car help him? Yes, but he deserved the help, making up for the messes of the sprint race and qualifying, among other things.
Andrea Stella and McLaren: 10
First victory as team principal of McLaren for the engineer who followed Raikkonen and Alonso at Ferrari and who incidentally experienced the spy story that overwhelmed the now governed team. Last year he found the key to overturning a bad car, now he has ensured that the updated MCL38 (only Norris’s, however, was already completely updated) can be a solid rival of Red Bull.
Miami crowd: 10
Well, this GP may be an American affair, which for the third time landed in the place of worship in Florida, but there were 275 thousand spectators in the stands over the weekend, a new record compared to the 270 thousand in 2023. Let’s not the difficult ones: does anyone remember the gaps in Indianapolis or should we remember them?
Adrian Newey: 8th
Having announced his farewell to Red Bull, he should have celebrated Verstappen’s victory by climbing onto the podium together with Max as a sign of gratitude (perhaps not entirely genuine, if it is true that relations with Christian Horner have deteriorated) for what he has done in these years. Everything postponed, Norris played spoilsport. However, we liked the sober farewell of the great Adrian from the team, according to his style: it is unlikely that in the future “fireworks” will come from him regarding what happened in this last part of his experience in Milton Keynes.
Charles Leclerc: 8
He starts off worse than Sainz, then his teammate teases him by prodding the tail of the car for a long time and even goes so far as to suggest to the wall that he should ask him to give way. Charles didn’t care and did well, finding his way to the podium. In his GP he also made a great overtaking on Hamilton: a message for the future colleague in Maranello.
Max Verstappen: 7
This time he was on track, the defeat – which is a second place… – was not due to uncontrollable events. Winner of the sprint, he imagined a new lavish banquet. Instead in Florida there was only bread and salami for him: already in the first part it was understood that he would not be empty as usual; after the safety car, chasing him became impossible. Human, at least for a day. He must have understood what his opponents feel when they chase him with no hope of catching him.
Oscar Piastri: 7
Brilliant for a long time, then ruined by both the safety car and the clash with Sainz and knocked out of the top ten. But the handle is there and you can see it.
Ferrari: 7.5 (and 8 to the blue)
Given that Miami’s SF-24 was not yet updated, the result of the weekend was positive. But the upgrade is now essential, at least to get back ahead of McLaren or be at its level. In Florida the Red was also dyed blue in some parts (and in the uniforms of the drivers and staff), in deference to the historical link between the Cavallino and the US racing world: we liked the chromatic mix and the light blue looked particularly good on the tracksuits.
Yuki Tsunoda: 7,5
After Ricciardo’s great awakening in the sprint race (the Kangaroo GP however was insufficient: rating 5.5) he couldn’t help but react: so take out the samurai sword and move forward towards the points zone with a Racing Bulls that is improving.
Carlos Sainz: 7
Having escaped Perez’s torpedo at the start, he then got into a tough duel with Piastri which also cost him a posthumous five-second penalty. No longer fourth, therefore, but fifth. Let’s say that events did not work in his favor.
Lewis Hamilton: 7
He spent the weekend messing around with the Haas, a highlight show for a Mercedes that dominated and still hasn’t found the right path. But the old lion is always there and scratching: he just deserves to drive something better.
Nico Hulkenberg: 6,5
The incoming hire from Audi –— which will take over Sauber –— is working like Gerovital: nice to see Nico always on point and combative. It’s a shame, however, that his Haas slowly faded away, condemning him to narrowly exit the points zone (eleventh).
Esteban Ocon: 6.5
His is the first point – yes, only one – in the World Championship for an Alpine team that must give a headache to anyone who tries to tame it. Gasly also fights and duels with his teammate, but in the end the Frenchman from Milan is left dry again.
Fernando Alonso: 6
It in turn deserves to have a more high-performance machine under its backside. He does what he can: rather than thinking about this Aston Martin that isn’t growing, it’s better to take a trip to South Beach. Ps: even with little, however, Fernando ridicules the increasingly embarrassing Stroll (5), once again lost in the rear.
George Russell: 5,5
As bland as a bowl of soup they serve in a hospital. It must be said that Mercedes really doesn’t help him, but George is once again beaten by his “grandfather” (Hamilton).
Red Bull: 5
For the first time it gives the impression of having some cracks in its perfect dimension. And we’re not just talking about the single-seater, which appeared vulnerable, but also about the organization of a team that in recent months has probably tried to hide under the carpet the dust of the internal slaughterhouses that are tearing it apart. But someone has lifted the carpet and the question is consequent: is the empire starting to falter?
Sergio Perez: 5
An anonymous race again, with that kamikaze-like opening that made Verstappen say, once he saw the replay of the start, “is this guy crazy?”. If he had struck, with hell would he have any hope of getting confirmation.
Kevin Magnussen: 4th
He collected penalties left and right, almost as if they were stickers to be glued onto an album. Now if you find it, it’s best to go far away.
Valtteri Bottas: 3
Caught red-handed: he faked (with artificial intelligence?) the referendum on the driver of the day, finishing second behind Norris. A nice humorist. But the track said he would have been faster if he had raced the beloved bikes.
Zack Brown: 0
Granted, he saw the victory of the team he owns and that Norris who is under his wing, but in his celebration he looked like an ogre, with a transfigured face. A little restraint, dammit.
6 maggio 2024
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2024-05-06 15:51:19
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