Formula 1 News: 2024 Miami GP Post-Race Quotes
Quotes from all ten Formula 1 teams plus tire supplier Pirelli after the 2024 Miami GP won by Lando Norris.
Oracle Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen (2nd): “It wasn’t our best weekend and it really shows that everything needs to work well to win races and it is not as easy as people might think. Ultimately today we were not quick enough; the safety car did not help us but we still had plenty of opportunities to win the race and unfortunately we lacked pace. When we took the car back to the garage, we also found that the floor was damaged and had a hole in which could have been picked up from hitting the cone. We also struggled with the tires and balance of the car all weekend and I never felt too comfortable in the car. In the high speed I was understeering and we also struggled a lot with the grip with the tires. It wasn’t our best weekend and it really shows that everything needs to work well to win races and it is not as easy as people might think. However, I am happy for Lando. Your first win is always emotional and he drove a great race: it was a long time coming and he deserved it today.”
Sergio Perez (5th): “We were struggling on both mediums throughout the race, we came back a little bit towards the end but I couldn’t get into the rhythm until late in the race. Overall it was quite a tricky race, especially at the start when I went down the inside and ended up narrowly avoiding Max. There was no grip at all, which we hadn’t expected and I ended up losing a place to Piastri and damaged my tires for the first stint. Basically, everything was running a little too hot and I was struggling to get through the people ahead as we lacked pace today. We were struggling on both mediums throughout the race, we came back a little bit towards the end but I couldn’t get into the rhythm until late in the race. We knew Mclaren were very, very strong this weekend, and we just didn’t have the pace of the Mclaren today at the front. We made some changes overnight, that in hindsight were not in the right direction, so we’ll need to debrief from this weekend to come back for Imola.”
Christian Horner, Sporting Director: “We were also a little unfortunate with the safety car today but that’s racing, we still scored the most points in the Drivers’ Championship and in the Constructors’. Firstly, congratulations to McLaren and Lando. They ran a great race and it’s a well deserved victory. Max was a little unfortunate to sustain floor damage when he hit the bollard around the 21st lap, he did well to maintain his position, but it was difficult for him to recover from there. Checo was also struggling with his tires, he came back a little to the end but it was hard to find a rhythm. We were also a little unfortunate with the safety car today but that’s racing, we still scored the most points in the Drivers’ Championship and in the Constructors’ so can take that with us back to Europe and the fact that it’s still been a strong weekend.”
Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team
Lewis Hamilton (6th): “I am so happy for Lando and McLaren. They have both been doing a great job and they deserve today’s victory. It’s great to see McLaren so competitive. I also know how special it is to get your first Grand Prix victory so a big well done to Lando. In my race today, I had some enjoyable battles out there. I was giving it everything I had to make progress and made a couple of good overtakes. We were challenging the Red Bull at the end so to be able to race them felt great. Today was probably the best day of racing I’ve had this year, so we just need to keep pushing. We’ve got some more small upgrades coming for Imola. Others are developing too but we will keep working hard.”
George Russell (8th): “A massive well done to Lando and McLaren. He truly deserves it, and all told, he probably deserves to have more than one victory already by now. We’ve been racing each other for a long time; he’s put so much hard work in, and I had no doubts that he would win in F1. I’m very happy for him. My race today was difficult. I lost a few positions at the start and then in the final stint, I had no pace on the Hard tire and was struggling a lot. We will go away and assess why that was. Our lack of speed was quite unexpected, whilst Lewis had a strong race so there was definite speed in the car.”
Toto Wolff, Team Principal: “Firstly, well done to McLaren and Lando. He has long been overdue his first win and today he drove a very strong race. McLaren have been on a big upward trajectory since last year and that is good for us to see; it shows what is possible. Congratulations too to everyone involved in designing, manufacturing, and operating the Mercedes Power Unit at High Performance Powertrains in Brixworth. The good news in our race today was that, like-for-like on the Medium tire, we showed that we had good speed. Lewis was faster than Perez in the Red Bull ahead on the same compound but wasn’t quite able to make the overtake. George struggled a little more on the Hard tire but overall it was encouraging to see the improvements we made from Friday and that we had solid pace compared to others.”
Andrew Shovlin: “Firstly, well done to Lando and McLaren. It was a very impressive performance from the team and driver today. They have done a great job and are fully deserving of victory. We know we’ve got work to do to catch them, but it offers encouragement to see how much of an improvement they have delivered in the space of 12 months. Our race today was relatively straightforward. We knew it was going to be hard to move forward; the car hasn’t been handling well around this track and we’ve struggled in the slower corners particularly. Lewis had a tough stint on the Hard but after the restart was much happier with the car on the Medium compound. Unfortunately we didn’t quite have the straight-line speed to get past Perez, but it was good to be able to race him at the end. It was a frustrating afternoon for George meanwhile. He was sliding around and struggling to get the tires to bite. We’ll look into that over the next few days. Our focus is of course on making the car faster. We have some good developments in the pipeline and will push hard to get them to the car as soon as we can.”
Scuderia Ferrari
Charles Leclerc (3rd): “A tough race today. The first lap was a close call and thankfully we got away without any damage there. We held second place, focusing on tire management. We stopped rather early, which unfortunately cost us after a Virtual Safety Car and Safety Car were deployed, giving others the opportunity to pit. We struggled on older tires, and had to fight to keep the pace. We have our upgrades coming shortly, so hopefully we can join the fight for victories soon. Congratulations to Lando (Norris) for his first victory, I hope he enjoys it fully.”
Carlos Sainz (4th): “Congratulations to Lando, I’m truly happy for him! He deserved a win for a long time and today was his day. Looking at my race I would say the opposite, it wasn’t my day. The start was very good but I went from P2 at turn 1 to P4 after having to avoid Perez. From there I was in a DRS train for some laps and decided to open the gap, take care of the tires and extend my first stint to try something different. Unfortunately, the Safety Car came out the lap after I pitted and we lost a chance to lead the race. It is what it is. However, I’m quite happy with my race because the pace was very strong and at the end of the day we scored good points for the team. On to the next one.”
Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal: “First of all I want to congratulate Lando and McLaren because it’s a first win for a driver who is very popular in the paddock and we are happy for him. It was also a good result for Formula 1 as a whole. From our side we had a strong race and we were able to stay with Max (Verstappen) all race long. We were a bit unlucky with the Safety Car with Carlos but it is what it is and we have to stick with the positives, especially the fact that the pace was there all weekend. Charles had a pretty straightforward race. However, for Carlos the start was not ideal because of Perez’s mistake at turn 1. Today track position was very important, as it was very difficult to overtake and he lost two places through the first two corners. However he had very good pace and was able to come back at the end. The next Grand Prix is in Imola, which has been the scene of some really exciting racing in recent years. Before then everyone in Maranello will be working hard to ensure we get a better result than we did today.”
McLaren Formula 1 Team
Lando Norris (1st): “What a race. It’s been a long time coming, but we’ve finally managed to do it. I’m so happy for the whole team, and what we’ve achieved together. We’ve had a few little setbacks across the weekend, but today we managed to put it all together. The car was great, the strategy was perfect, and I’m over the moon. I’m proud of everyone in this team today. I’ve always believed in them, and they’ve always had faith in me, and today we’ve really justified that. A huge thanks go to them for the hard work they’ve put in that made this possible.”
Oscar Piastri (13th): “A great day for the team, but a disappointing afternoon on my side. I feel like we did a lot of things right in the first half of the race but a few things didn’t go our way in the second half. The car felt the best it’s been all year, so I don’t think my result should take away from the performance by the rest of the team. Well done to Lando and everyone at McLaren. The race was won on merit today and it’s really promising for what’s to come.”
Andrea Stella, Team Principal: “Victory today in Miami is meaningful for many reasons. First of all, for Lando and his first F1 win. I am happy from the bottom of our hearts for him. We’ve often said as soon as we give him winning material, he’s going to win. He did it in style. Beyond that, it’s a very important day for the team. We’ve been on a journey for some time, after an incredible turnaround last year. We’ve kept momentum, and today is another very important step and hopefully the starting point for greater success. So, I’m very happy for all the people at McLaren, I hope they enjoy this moment because I know how much work has gone into delivering these upgrades. It’s not just design or just manufacturing, it’s an effort across every department at the factory and from the trackside team. This goes beyond just the people at McLaren: it goes to our power unit partners at HPP and our technical and commercial partners who are vital to this success. It’s teamwork in the widest possible sense. The car was very good this weekend – and it’s worth noting Oscar was in a very strong position to be on the podium as well, as he drove a very good race. Lastly, my final word is for Gil de Ferran, to whom this victory is dedicated to by the whole team. Gil, this is for you.”
Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team
Fernando Alonso (9th): “After a difficult day yesterday, it was good to come away from this weekend with some points for the team. We got a bit lucky with the timing of the Virtual Safety Car and then the full Safety Car bunching the field up. We then took this opportunity to fit the Medium tires. This changed our strategy a little bit and allowed us to have some good battles out there. I enjoyed the racing and it seems we showed a little more performance in the race than we did in Qualifying. We do have some work to do to improve our performance in the next couple of races. I am happy for Lando [Norris]. It’s always special to secure your first win.”
Lance Stroll (17th): “It wasn’t a great race today. We went for an early stop and then a few laps later the Safety Car was called, so the cars that had stayed out benefitted heavily from that. That really compromised our strategy. From that point I managed to pass a few cars and crossed the finish line in P13, but was then penalised for my pass on [Alex] Albon. We’ll go through the onboards later, but it feels like a strange penalty. We’ll be working hard over the next couple of weeks to find some more pace in the car for Imola.”
Mike Krack, Chief Operating Officer: “Two hard-earned points from a race that was dominated by track position and traffic. Our starting positions hurt us today. Fernando’s race was a straightforward one-stopper and the timing of the Virtual Safety Car proved helpful as he was suffering with some flat spots on his Hard tires. He eventually was able to progress to P9. With Lance, we maybe pitted a bit on the early side, trying to undercut Tsunoda, and we never really recovered from the track position we lost. We will learn the lessons ahead of the start of the European season.”
BWT Alpine F1 Team
Esteban Ocon (10th): “It is good to score a point today and get off the mark for the season. In the past few races, we have been getting closer and finally this weekend we come away with a reward, which is what the team deserve given their efforts in recent weeks. It was a very intense race from start to finish, and good battles throughout. We cannot be fully satisfied with the result because it is only one point, but it is an important point for our season. From where we were in Bahrain on the last row, to where we are now – it is credit to the entire team at Enstone and Viry for keeping the belief and motivation and continuing to improve the car. Hopefully, it is going to be the first points of many for the rest of the season.”
Pierre Gasly (12th): “We had a great race today even if we missed out on scoring points. We did everything we had to do in order to put ourselves in the best possible position to score points. We had good pace, we battled hard at the start to keep position and then, as with our plan, we pitted early. The VSC timing did not go in my favour but that is the way it is sometimes. From a team perspective, we scored the first point of the season and that’s most important. Whether it’s me or Esteban does not matter and I’m just really pleased for the team today. It’s great for motivation and confidence for everyone at Enstone and Viry. We need a lot more to fight for higher positions. We are in the mix, it’s been the best weekend of the season from a performance point of view, so it’s good to show progress.”
Bruno Famin, Team Principal: “It’s our first point of the season today, so from a sporting perspective, that is satisfying for us. We had a clear plan where one car would try to pit early and undercut the cars around us while the other car would take a gamble by running a longer first stint in hope of a VSC, SC or red flag scenario. On this occasion this is how it unfolded and it was Esteban who scored the point in tenth place. It was a faultless race from everyone in the team – strategy, race management, pit-stops – and we did enough to put ourselves in a position for the team to benefit. It’s been a much more positive weekend here in Miami and we must keep striving for more if we are to keep fighting for higher positions. The hard work will continue as we eye up returning to Europe next time out.”
Williams Racing
Alexander Albon (19th): “We’ve struggled with grip all weekend and then tried to do a long run on the tires which didn’t work. It’s probably one of the most challenging races I’ve had with the team, so we need to go away and understand why it was so difficult. It’s true, we didn’t have bad pace but the cars behind us were all on new tires so I was the backstop for everyone else and you can’t really hold off cars on 20+ lap newer tires than you. If we weren’t that last car, we might’ve been okay but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. When I locked up, I was trying to defend, and we now know some floor damage from a previous corner caused this. A really tough weekend but we’ll look to Imola where the team brings some small upgrades.”
Logan Sargeant (DNF, Accident): “A very disappointing way to end my home grand prix. It was decent race up until the incident. From what I could tell Alex [Albon] and I were both missing a little bit of pace today but still fighting on. Nonetheless, it’s been a positive weekend from the moment I got into the car in FP1. I’ve been able to get almost everything out of it. There are still little things to improve on but generally I don’t feel like there was much left in it this weekend. I’m feeling fine and ready to move on to a stint of European races.”
Sven Smeets, Sporting Director: “It’s been a really tough Sunday for everybody. We started the race well with both cars close to each other. We stopped both cars early to be on the aggressive side as we knew it was going to be a very close fight. In one of those fights Logan was taken out by [Kevin] Magnussen, while very frustrating we are happy Logan was completely fine and discharged. The accident caused a safety car that came at the completely wrong moment for Alex’s race. Alex did a great job trying to defend on older tires, but it was impossible to keep position as in his fight he picked up floor damage. This caused his off a few laps before the end of the race. A day to quickly forget but we are looking ahead to Imola where we should bring some performance to the car.”
Visa Cash App RB
Yuki Tsunoda (7th): “Very happy, what a great job by the team! It’s been an incredible week in which we scored in both races. We kind of expected we would have a good performance here but the most important thing is that we achieved it. As a team, we stuck to our plan and didn’t make any mistakes today. As for me, overall, I’m happy with my driving even though I made a mistake at the start. I reset myself and kept going, and especially in the last stint where I was just driving by myself, I was pushing and able to achieve similar lap times to the cars in front. The team developed a great car and I appreciate them a lot. The amount of push from the factory is incredible and in the end, we were able to score well-deserved points. We were able to progress quickly from the start of the season, so I’m looking forward to the future. The next race in Imola is kind of another home race for me, so I hope we’ll be able to continue our rhythm and achieve a good result in front of our home crowd, especially people from the factory. Everyone is doing a fantastic job and we’ll definitely keep pushing!”
Daniel Ricciardo (15th): “Entering the race you always have some optimism, but yesterday’s quali hurt, and unfortunately, I think was the shape of today’s race. We were stuck in traffic in the race and were simply not quick enough to come through the field. When we were surrounded by the other cars and fighting with them, we struggled a lot to use our pace compared to what we did yesterday in the Sprint with the clean air. Compared to other cars, I think that with our setup we were quite down on straight-line speed. I couldn’t do anything and was stuck behind them. We’ll definitely be looking into it in our debrief, but generally, we know that we have to qualify better, like I did on Friday, which has also been the mirror of yesterday’s Sprint. Taking the positives, the team leaves Miami very happy; I had a good Sprint-qualifying and Sprint in the previous days, and Yuki also got some points today. I’m also genuinely happy for Lando, big congratulations to him, he is a rival but also a friend. I know how talented he is and I knew it was just a matter of time for him to take his first win.”
Laurent Mekies, Team Principal: “In its third year, the Miami Grand Prix has established itself as a great event and the popularity of our sport continues to grow at an amazing rate in the USA. Here, alongside exciting track action, the fans are treated to a whole range of shows, concerts and events. We enjoyed contributing to the scene with our one-off livery, which was well-received by the fans. We came here with a few updates and they lived up to our expectations; our drivers played a huge part, in extracting the car’s performance with a P4 for Daniel and P8 with Yuki at the end of the Sprint race yesterday. It was a great result for the team. I want to thank everyone once again in Faenza and Bicester for their continuous effort, striving for performance. It was particularly gratifying to see Daniel back in great form, demonstrating the skills and determination we know have always been there. Unfortunately, he started on the back foot today from P20. In the second stint, he got stuck in traffic and could not move up the order and had to settle for P15. As for Yuki, his fourth Q3 appearance out of six races this season underlines how consistently he is performing and today, he underlined his maturity with an intelligent, yet aggressive and super quick drive from tenth on the grid to seventh at the flag. Excellent work! Next up is our home race in Imola, a 20 km drive from our Faenza headquarters. Having the support of a home crowd, not to mention all our factory-based staff, does give the team an additional boost. We are very much looking forward to it, especially as last year’s Emilia-Romagna GP was cancelled, and we hope to keep the momentum and to keep scoring more points.”
Guillaume Dezoteux, Head of Vehicle Performance: “Yuki drove a brilliant race and added six points to the bag for a total of 12 here in Miami! This is an amazing result, which rewards the huge amount of work the entire team put together since the start of the season. We arrived here with a good update for the car and we have been able to make the most of the opportunities which appeared in the course of the weekend, in the Sprint with Daniel and the race with Yuki. We went long with Yuki in the first stint and decided to not react to Hulkenberg, who pitted on Lap 12. When the Safety Car came out, we were in the ideal position to take it and attack the second part of the race with a new set of hard tires. A couple of laps after the Safety Car restart Yuki lost position to Hamilton, but he was able to keep Russell behind and create a comfortable gap to finish seventh. For the entire race, he was able to match Mercedes’ pace, which is encouraging and shows the progress the car is making. Daniel’s race was difficult as he spent most of it in traffic. Starting from the back would never be easy and despite being able to pit during the Safety Car period, he remained in a DRS train for the entire second stint. This is frustrating after the fantastic Sprint race he did yesterday and again, it shows how difficult things become when you end up in traffic and fights with many cars around. We will enjoy this fantastic result with our colleagues back at base and push hard to confirm our progress in our home race in two weeks’ time in Imola. Forza VCARB!”
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber
Guanyu Zhou (14th): “Today we tried everything we could. It was a tough race that felt quite similar to yesterday’s sprint session, with a good first stint. Unfortunately, I found myself stuck behind Alex [Albon] and, while I was able to leverage our corner speed advantage, we simply couldn’t match the top speed of his Williams. Even with DRS available to me, I couldn’t close the gap enough to overtake fully. We still keep working hard: unlike some of our rivals, we haven’t introduced any major upgrades in the last two races, but the team is putting in significant efforts, and we remain positive that our next developments, starting from next time out in Imola, will perform as expected, hopefully allowing us to fight for points.”
Valtteri Bottas (16th): “It was good to try something different with the strategy today, given the position we were starting from; unfortunately, the timing of the Safety Car didn’t quite work out for us. We didn’t have the pace we thought we would have, so, eventually, there wasn’t much we could do to progress through the field. Still, we learned a lot this weekend. We’ll have a chance to go for it again in two weeks’ time in Imola, on a completely different track layout. We’re also set to bring some new parts there, which should further help us: as we’ve seen this weekend, the battle around us is extremely tight, and even the smallest margin could make all the difference.”
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative: “Today, the team tried everything to get a result: you could see it in the tire compound selection, in the different strategies that we chose to allow Valtteri and Zhou to find the extra bit of performance we missed throughout the weekend. We were able to make progress and fight in the mix but, unfortunately, we didn’t have that extra edge needed to be in the top ten. It’s been a tough weekend for the team: now we need to reset as we enter the European season in Imola. We will have upgrades coming from Hinwil to help us on our quest for points: even though the first quarter of the season hasn’t brought us any point, nobody is losing motivation. We saw today that all can happen: we just need to work hard to place ourselves in a position to make the most of every opportunity.”
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team
Nico Hulkenberg (11th): “It’s been a good weekend. Obviously, the icing on the cake would’ve been another points finish today. Unfortunately, the first half of the race – the first stint and the first part of the second stint – weren’t strong enough. I was struggling for grip, and we weren’t quick enough in that part of the race. The VSC wasn’t great, and when the Safety Car came out it became a three-stop race but that put us back on the map, and there was some good racing. I enjoyed the race, I don’t think we could’ve done anything differently.”
Kevin Magnussen (18th): “It wasn’t a good day, again. Hopefully I can get some clarity on things going forward. What happened today, of course it’s not good, but nonetheless, we try to move on and have a better weekend next weekend.”
Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: “Bit of a tough day today but ultimately, especially the first half of the race when the car was heavy, we didn’t quite have the pace, especially on the hard tire. That hurt us, but after the Safety Car, we put on the medium tire trying to get back into the points and we got close – Nico finished P11 so that’s positive. It’s disappointing today but overall, we’ve scored points at four out of six events, and that’s the positive we need to take away. For Imola, we have more things coming so we’ll see what we can do there.”
Pirelli
As easily predicted, the one stop strategy was the only plausible one, but first the Virtual Safety Car on lap 22 and then the real one on lap 28 obviously upset the plans, giving those who had not yet pitted the chance to do so while losing significantly less time than those who had already changed tires. This reshuffled the pack and then the order remained relatively static in the early stages after the restart, at least among the leaders.
On the starting grid, the most popular compound was the C3 with 15 drivers going for what, on paper was the quickest strategy, namely a first stint on the Medium and a second on the Hard. Hamilton, Alonso, Ricciardo and Magnussen opted for the C2, hoping to run as long a first stint as possible, while Bottas gambled on the C4.
A total of 1110 laps were completed with only Sargeant (Williams) failing to finish the race. The C3 did the most work (562 laps, 50.6%) with a slightly higher mileage than the C2 (504 laps, 45.4%). The C4 was only used by the two Sauber drivers, by Bottas for the first 11 laps and by Zhou from his pit stop to the checkered flag and it proved to be up to the task both in terms of degradation and performance.
Apart from the sight of a brand new Formula 1 race winner on the podium in the shape of Lando Norris, there was also a novelty when it came to the Podium Cap which Pirelli provides to the top three finishers in the Grand Prix, as well as the representative of the winning team, who today was McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella. For the Miami event, Formula 1’s Global Tyre Partner prepared a special cap in turquoise, a color suggesting the waters in front of the city’s beaches, along with stylized palm trees on the peak, an emblematic element of Miami, alongside the flag of the United States of America
Mario Isola “First of all, I want to congratulate Lando Norris on his first Formula 1 win. I am sure he will never forget the emotions he felt in the final kilometers and then on the podium!
Strangely, despite the surprises thrown up by the Safety Cars, first the virtual and then the real one, it was a very linear race in terms of tire behavior: just the one stop and tires that, whatever the color of their band, degraded relatively little, partly due to the absence of graining and there was also very little in the way of a performance difference between the cars.
That said, we saw that the two compounds most used, the C2 and C3, allowed the drivers to push flat out for almost the entire race, as can be seen from studying the chronology of the lap times, which made for a very interesting race, even if on paper it seemed to be constrained by strategy. Obviously, the VSC and SC ruined the plans on several pit walls, while others were luckier or cleverer, but that’s all part of racing.
As always, it will be important to analyze carefully all the data acquired over the three days of this Grand Prix, because they will produce indications that could be useful for us in terms of compound selection and when it comes to understanding the interaction between the tires and the various types of track surface. In fact, that’s why Formula 1 is a fascinating sport because every day you can learn something that can lead to progress.”