Race Rundown: Miami & Montreal

Race Rundown: Miami and Montreal

Round 4: Sprint Weekend - Miami

Miami is always an exciting race weekend, especially for Lando fans.  This year was no exception.  

Sprint Race:

The Sprint Race started with Lando Norris starting on pole, Kimi Antonelli starting from P2 and Oscar Piastri starting from P3.  Nico Hulkenberg did not even start and Arvid Lindblad was supposed to start from the pitlane but ended up being the second DNS.  Lando, Oscar and Charles Leclerc all had amazing starts, meanwhile Kimi Antonelli had a slow start.

There was possible contact between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen but no damage.  Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc battled and Charles dissed Kimi over the radio.  Max was having problems with his brake and axle according to his radio.  Then we had some yo-yoing between Russell and Antonelli.  George overtook Kimi for fourth then Kimi overtook George again.  Max overtook Lewis but they both went off track during the overtake.  To avoid any possible penalty Max gave Lewis the place back and then overtook him yet again.

There was a black and white flag for Kimi Antonelli.  Meanwhile Alex Albon pitted for a new front wing.  Isack Hadjar overtook Franco Colapinto for ninth.

Lando Norris won the race and got the fastest lap.  Oscar Piastri got P2 and Charles Leclerc got P3.  Kimi got a penalty for track limits after the end of the race and went from P4 to P6.  Gabriel Bortoleto was also DSQ.

Grand Prix:

The Grand Prix started off with a very interesting fly over - a B2 Bomber - which I thought was insanely cool!  Then the race started - pure chaos - Kimi Antonelli went off the track, Verstappen spun but recovered (dropping to ninth), Hamilton and Colapinto made contact and Leclerc made an amazing move from the center to inside.  Hulkenberg pitted to change his front wing and Russell overtook Piastri. 

Leclerc and Antonelli battled for first with Kimi coming out victorious.  Leclerc then retook first - due to the yo-yo effect that has been plaguing the season.

Isack Hadjar went into the wall, Lando overtook Kimi, then Pierre Gasly went into the barrier.  He was quite literally diagonal on the barrier due to a collision with Liam Lawson.  Lap 6 they deployed a Safety Car.  Both Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas pitted under the safety car.  During this time Hulkenberg, Lawson, Gasly and Hadjar had retired.  The Safety Car ended Lap 11.  

Piastri overtook Russell after the restart and Lando Norris became race leader.  Kimi and Charles yo-yoed once again, Kimi ended up the victor.  Max Verstappen overtook Alex Albon.  Piastri overtook Leclerc, then Leclerc retook his position.  Albon and Alonso both had yellow flag infringements noted.  Verstappen pulled out yet another overtake on a Williams’ car, overtaking Sainz.

Russell pitted Lap 21, with Leclerc, Stroll, and Bottas pitting on Lap 22.  After the pit stop Alex Albon overtook Charles Leclerc, then Charles took his place right back.  Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton.  Lando Norris pitted on lap 27.  No matter how many good pit stops Mclaren pulls off, one of my worst fears will always be Norris’ Radio, “Box Box”.  This fear came with an example in Miami when Antonelli overtook Norris as he was exiting the pit lane.  Piastri then pitted on Lap 28.  

Kimi Antonelli overtook Max Verstappen to become the race leader.  Then Lando overtook Max for second.  Charles and George were battling for fifth.  Then George and Oscar were battling while Lando and Kimi were battling, it was Mercedes vs. Mclaren.  Charles overtook Max for third - this is where we let the yo-yoing commence - eventually Charles comes out in third.  Piastri overtook Verstappen, then Leclerc on the last lap for third.  

The last lap, the race was coming to a close, suddenly, tragedy struck.  Charles spun.  He recovered enough to finish the race but not in fourth, behind him there was a battle between Russell and Verstappen, both of whom overtook him on the last lap.  He unfortunately finished P6.

Kimi Antonelli won the Miami Grand Prix, with Lando Norris finishing P2, and Oscar Piastri finishing P3.

After this race, they had all of May off until the 22nd, when the Montreal Sprint Weekend began.  

Round 5: Sprint Weekend - Montreal

All I can say is this Sprint weekend had for the most part calm starts and some chaotic moments throughout.

Sprint Race:

The Sprint grid had George, Kimi, and Lando in the top three and they all kept those positions for the start.  Meanwhile, Lewis overtook Oscar at the start.  While the top three were still in their original positions, Kimi was applying pressure to George and battling.  Due to this battle between the Mercedes, there was contact and Kimi went off the track but recovered.  He went off again after contact and Lando took second.  Kimi took to the radio to say “that was very naughty” of George.  This may only be Kimi’s second season in F1 but he is on fire and dare I say, he has that Italian confidence.  

While this was happening though, Isack Hadjar was having engine issues and had to retire.  Lando started pushing for George while Lewis was right on the back of Kimi.  Isack Hadjar UN-retired?  Which is apparently a thing this season as well?  We think a driver is down and out, then they pop back up like, “NOPE”! 

Kimi started chasing Lando and Alex Albon took a trip to the pits.  Hulkenberg got a 10 second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.  Fernando Alonso retired, and Pierre Gasly went for a pit stop to change his tyres on lap 20 of 23.  Hamilton and Piastri battled.  Kimi tried to overtake Lando but went SO FAR off the track.  Hamilton then got overtaken by both Leclerc and Piastri in the last lap. 

This Sprint Race started and ended with the same top three, just in a different order.  George Russell won the Sprint, Lando Norris got P2, and Kimi Antonelli got P3.

After the sprint ended, Sergio Perez got a 10 second penalty for forcing a driver off the track.

Grand Prix:

The Montreal Grand Prix started with slight rain and drizzle as well two extra formation laps.  Arvid Lindblad’s car also stopped working and he unfortunately had to retire before the race started.  Mclaren took a risk - starting the race on inters.  Despite this gamble not paying off in the long run, Lando had an AMAZING start and took the lead from third, meanwhile Russell lost two places.

When I said that Mclaren’s gamble did not pay off in the long run, I meant that they pitted Oscar and Lando almost immediately.  Piastri went from fourth to 21 and Norris went from first to 14.  Luckily, Hulkenberg, Sainz and Perez soon followed suit and pitted.  

George Russell retook first, but Kimi locked up and almost hit him.  Kimi went off the track but did recover.  Lando overtook Albon and Alonso, then Bearman and then Gasly.  Antonelli took the lead from Russell, but George wasn’t giving it up that easily and retook the lead.  The Mercedes were really battling out there. 

All of sudden Piastri was in the pit again, this time though he changed his front wing along with his tyres.  Alex Albon then retired.  These two drivers apparently had contact.  There was also debris in the hairpin.

Norris then pitted AGAIN.  As I mentioned earlier - this is one of my fears, so I was reasonably nervous.  Hulkenberg and Alonso both pitted. 

Kimi Antonelli took race lead and Oscar Piastri got a 10 second penalty for contact with Albon.  Russell then tried to retake his lead, Kimi tried to retake and they made contact.  Russell almost went off and Kimi had to give the place back.  Then it happened, George Russell went off and came to a stop.  George Russell DNF’d.

Due to George Russell retiring, they deployed a VSC.  This was one of the chaotic moments I mentioned earlier as the all of the following drivers pitted during the VSC: Franco Colapinto, Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson, Pierre Gasly, Ollie Bearman, Carlos Sainz, Kimi Antonelli, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Isack Hadjar, and Charles Leclerc.  Fernando Alonso also retired at some point during the race, most likely when he pitted earlier.

There was a battle between Isack Hadjar and Charles Leclerc for fourth, Charles overtook Isack.  Lando overtook Pierre Gasly but then had to retire - cue my heartbreak.  I think my heart just broke again writing this but I digress.  I also came to the conclusion that Canada is cursed but that is discussion for another time.  

There was damage to Sergio Perez’s car and he had to retire.  Then Isack Hadjar received a 10 second penalty for more than one change of direction.

There was another VSC and the pit lane was closed.  Hamilton and Verstappen battled and Hamilton overtook Verstappen.  Poor Isack Hadjar then received a stop-and-go penalty for a yellow flag infringement. 

The race ended with Kimi Antonelli standing on the top step of the podium with two of his heroes, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.  Kimi Antonelli won the Montreal Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton got P2, and Max Verstappen got P3.

This season has changed many things about F1, but one thing many fans can look forward to is the Monaco Grand Prix!