The Late Braking F1 Podcast - 2024 Miami GP Sprint & Qualifying Review

Episode Date: May 4, 2024

The LB boys review today's double action at the Miami GP. First, the sprint race where two old champs caused some lap 1 chaos and KMag went on a penalty rampage. Then to Qualifying for tomorrow's race, where two familiar faces took the front row, the field struggled to improve on their times, and one particular driver was knocked out of the top 10 for the first time this season... FOLLOW us on socials! You can find us on YouTube, Instagram, X (Twitter) and TikTok SUPPORT our Patreon for bonus episodes, historic race reviews & more! JOIN our Discord community JOIN our F1 Fantasy League: SIGN UP & create your team, and JOIN our league (join code: C3PHEQHPU04) BUY our Merch SEND us something! We have a brand new PO box - address: Late Braking Podcast, PO Box 821, TRURO TR1 9PE EMAIL us at [e-mail] & SUBSCRIBE to our podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This podcast is part of the Sports Social Podcast Network. Thank you for listening to the Late Breaking F1 podcast. Make sure to check out new episodes every Wednesday and every Sunday. And a very warm welcome to the late breaking F1 podcast presented by Harry Ead, Sam Sage and me, Ben Hocking. As we have two sessions to review today, the sprint race that happened earlier on, and the qualifying that as we're recording has just happened in Miami. Sam, we need to make sure we do this in the correct order. Yes.

Just so you know the difference between the two of them, one of them, Kevin Magnuson was the biggest manage you've ever seen, and in the other one, he basically didn't feature. So that's how we're going to talk about them. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Good stuff. Oh, hi. Hey, hey, guys.

Folks, you know, we did the Sprint Shootout review, and Harry wasn't here. Harry, do you tell them why you weren't here? There may have been a slight possibility and it's a very slim possibility that I was asleep. And then I... Where did you fall asleep, Harry? On the sofa.

Good. The F-1 was on. And it's not because it was boring. I was just very tired. And then I woke up and everything had finished, including the podcast. What time did you wake up? I woke up in the, it was in the night.

But you guys had already finished doing the podcast. And then I was like, well, I'll explain this in the moment. morning to them because they won't believe me now. For reference, we finished the podcast at about midnight. It was when we came offline. So good, good stuff from Harry there. Glad to have you. But you were pleased to know, folks, I am awake.

I just thought it might be a protest against sprints generally. Protest against sprint quality. I'm not reviewing that rubbish. I ain't got time for that. We've got two sessions to review, of course, though. We will go in chronological order. We'll start with the sprint that happened earlier today. and as we rarely do on these episodes,

we're going to start at the start. We're actually going to look at turn one, lap one, to kick us off because a lot of action happened there. Two retirements, Lance Stroll and Lando Norris, not seeing the end of the first lap. Fernando Alonzo essentially no longer a factor in the race. The only person involved in the incidents, plural, I guess you could say, is Lewis Hamilton.

But he ended up not getting any points either due to a pit lane infringement. Sam, how did you review the, how did you view the first corner? Bit messy. You know, bit of a spillage went on there, wasn't there? Yeah, no, it was scrappy.

Poor Lando absolutely flummoxed himself around the outside and found himself caught up in something that he, well, nothing to do with, no bit. No, thank you. Not today, I'm not interested. Bam, Wanban, thank you, ma'am, no tires for you, sir.

This is a classic case of, if you get your qualifying lapping, you don't get caught up in the midfield drama and he would have been well out of the way if you actually got that. What I feel like could have been at least a top four, arguably should have been a front row start

for that McClellan in the spring shootout, didn't get it, ends up starting much further back, caught up in the drama. Yeah, right? So, you know, you get that lapping, you're not near any of that kind of midfield calamity that's going on. Equally, though, he was not at fault for anything.

Now, a lot of people try to blame this solely on Lewis Hamilton. Now, we've got some proper British bias on this podcast, of course. You know, I was always so biased. But I do feel like Lewis Hamilton was separate from the initial incident. I do think that it was, you know, Alonkso was trying to pinch Lance Stroll.

Lantzroll was actually the one that caused the, yeah, just a little pinchy, pinchy, oh, pinchy! Simpson's reference comes in there. You know, takes out Lance. And then I love that Lewis Hamilton just goes, I saw a gap, and I went for it, really chanelling his hero there that was Ayrton Senga.

You have got to slow down a bit for turn one, Lewis. And I do believe that he's at fault for hitting, I think it was a long-soe on the outside of him there. But I don't think that Hamilton has got anything to do with the actual taking out of Norris. I do think that's on Stroll. I think Alonso and Norris are kind of innocent bystanders in this and kind of just got hit by their respective partners

on the incites of themselves. So Stroll, I think, is at fault for Norris. He was a little bit sandwich, but I do think he was at fault. Hamilton is at fault for hitting a long-so, and I do think that those things are a bit separate. But yeah, really mucky for the start of the Grand Prix. Also, no, red flag. Why couldn't we have had one?

I mean, three, I've got one session left to happen. That I've let me down there, quite disappointed. Harry, how did you view it if you were awake? I was away for this one. I do think Lewis Hampton may have just started breaking for term one now. I think you're lying. I don't think yet. No, look, it was a messy, a messy,

turn one and I agree with you Sam it wasn't it wasn't solely on Lewis Hamilton to this one because as you say Alonzo and Strohl were connecting before Hamilton rocked up I do think Hamilton was the cause of Norris being punted off though

I think as messy as it was becoming between Alonzo and Stroh I think they all three of them probably probably and this is where it's quite a marginal thing to call probably we're going to make it through the corner I mean it might have been a bit of rubbing rubbing and racing but I think what I made it through

but then obviously Hamilton came along was like no guys, not today and then chaos ensued so yeah I'm given where the stewarding is I'm surprised there was no investigation at all, nothing or at least no penalties given out

because it was chaotic and I know they have this view that LAP one's a bit different but there are at least a couple of jobs I think Alonzo probably went in slightly too hot. Hamilton was in there, way too hot, which is surprising, given the experience both of those drivers have. Again, I'd go back to sprint races. I don't think they'd give a flying monkeys about it. Alonso does not care. It's like, turn one, let's have some chaos. But to be

honest, and I back that for Alonzo, I think Hamilton was the same attitude for this race, because we'll go on to what happened later on. But he was just like, like saying, that radio message was I saw a gap. I went for it. I was like, you saw a gap, Lewis. Like, the gap. was 20 miles in front of you. The gap's a coter, right? Exactly. But yeah, so that was quite funny given their experience that they were the two really

causing that sort of carnage there. But yeah, MS. We were quite surprised there was no penalties at all given out. And yeah, Norris, admittedly, he shouldn't have been that far down, but he did, he left all the space. All the space.

And more than he needed to. Yeah, yeah, yeah. way too much, to be honest, and still got taken out. So it was a harsh one on him. I, if I ever get in trouble with the law, I'm going to ask Lewis Hamilton to be my defence attorney because I do not understand how he's managed to get away with this. So the crime being committed, so I dig it.

How was he avoided a penalty? He's just flowed up the inside. And honestly, I think the Alonzo Stroll contact, you can see on board Alonzo as he's coming up to the first corner, he looks in his mirror twice. And I do believe that Lewis Hamilton has a part to play in the contact that Alonzo and Stroll has. Because Fernando Alonzo can see him coming. You can see based on what he's doing with his mirrors. He can see Lewis Hamilton flying up the inside of him, at which point Fernando Alonzo's kind of in a,

what do I do, what do I do, turn in and know that Hamilton's going to hit me? or do I at least try and avoid that, but potentially have contact with my teammate? I don't think there's much Fernando Alonzo could have done about it. So I think Lewis Hamilton was the first domino in everything that happened there. And look, him not getting a penalty is one thing.

As you've already said, not being investigated? I thought I was miss here. And to be fair to the commentary team, at least in the UK, they were a bit flabbergasted by this as well. I just don't understand. seemed fairly, I don't know. I didn't have to think much about it. It was like, okay,

yes, he's gone in there at 100 miles an hour and just hit two cars. I think that's a penalty. Might be a bit controversial. So I don't know how he escaped it. I thought that was 100% on him. I, in my mind, I'm mentally viewing it now as one of those scenes where someone is kind of standing on the cliff edge and someone runs into them but manages to stop right before they go over the egg. And somebody else runs into the back of them and they're all kind of like, whoa, thank God, we didn't fall over the edge. Hamilton just comes in. Bam!

And they're all flying. Yeah. And, you know, it's kind of like, well, we all managed to survive it, and then that guy turned up. And Fernando Alonzo's statement after the race was that Hamilton would have got a penalty

if he was Spanish. Oh, my God. That's so, Fernando. Those two are still playing their games, honestly. Go on. Say it's about being Spanish. Go on. Lewis, mate, I dare you.

do a real reckless turn one and then don't get a penalty and I'll say it's because you're not Spanish. I just can't wait for Lewis to turn up wearing like a sombrero or something and being like, Ola, alongside. Now who's Spanish? That's the next move. I mean, the actual, to move away from term one, the rest of the sprint race, at least out front, was fairly pedestrian. But the real action happened lower down, at least in terms of the last point available, eighth place. Lewis Hamilton's action field day wasn't over as he and Kevin Magnuson were embroiled in a right little battle over that eighth place.

Sam, what do you make of the battle that they had and the, and I'm not lying on this, 35 seconds worth of penalties that Magnuson was able to accumulate? I'm not sure it was a battle, more kind of a war that started to go on between the two of them. Kevin Magnerson, we've seen it time and time again at this point. Once he's out the points and a penalty is on the cards, the man just does not give a flip. He has got, you know, he's like, bring it on, mother flippers. I'm holding you all back.

Don't let them through. Don't let them through. He's literally KMAG, you know, holding out the waves of cars behind him where Holgerberg drives off into the distance. I kind of respect on one level, he's recklessness, reckless level of abandonment when it comes to sacrificing himself and all safety

and anyone else to make sure that hars get a point. Kaya has a weird honour to it and I respect it. At the same time, man, you've got a race to some degree of sensible sportsman-like behaviour. You just take a break for the heavy turns, going to what turn eight or nine, that it is. You just didn't stop the car. Lewis Hamilton's like, oh, I'm going to have to just turn it right on a left hand

or otherwise I'm not making it into that corner. Yeah, the red miss came down. He cut call as a gang. The annual penalties as he got now over the last four or five races, about 50 seconds, I think it is. It's hilarity. And they're having to tell him off now, aren't they, for being quite unsportsman.

Like he's been called in a gang for being a bit, a very naughty boy. Because that behaviour was, fun. Fun, yes. Bit too far. Also, yes. Yeah, I think that now puts him on eight of the 12 points that you need for a one race ban.

Harry, what did you make? of Magnuson's behaviour. A lot of banter. Lot of banter. Box office. Have you seen the interview he's done with Sky after the sprint race? Yes. Where he said, they said, Natalie Pinkham interviewing him said,

you've got these penalties what they deserve. And he's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I haven't seen it. It's so good. It's so good. I was watching it. I was shocked. I was like, all right.

he's just saying I'm guilty He knows he's an ass but he's done it for the right reasons But the thing is For the team the right reason And his argument is in the interview He's saying While it was working right

I had a good start I was up to 8th Nico Hagerber was in front of me I was hanging in his DRS Then Hagerber makes a mistake and cuts that Shakin in the Twiddly bit And actually gains time on him So Magnuson falls out the DRS

And his argument then goes on to say and so then I started defending like that for the team. And no point does he say the team asks me to. He was just like, well, I've got no choice now. I must sacrifice myself. Yeah, exactly. He's just like, I must be an ass. But it's a no-brainer, right?

What else is he going to fight for? Like, you might as well. Oh, God. Well, I understand it, but the way he seems quite furious in the interview. And he makes it sound like, he's like, oh, well, I did this for the team, like, as if the team asked him to do, but they didn't. He was just like, well, I've got no other option now. So I must, I must sacrifice myself.

Murder. Murder is the next logical step for me. Now I cannot score a race point. I mean, Ben, you said this in our group chat. He said the sprint race would be much better if it was just 20 clones of Kevin Maglinson. And quite frankly, it would be. Because that's all we watched all race.

And he was, I don't agree. I think he was beyond the limit on that one. But I do feel like, I do feel like we miss that sort of not that far, but the sort of hard racing aspect of Formula One is slightly lost because drivers are so afraid of getting penalties. And thank God for Kevin Manxon, who apparently isn't afraid of just getting penalties and we'll do it anyway.

As Phoenix Ravens and Chris said, he just likes a good old fight. Doesn't want fastest laps, race wins, points, just wants a good old scrap in the midfield. And that is Kevin Magneton. It's like your dad at the end of the digger time. You're not finishing that. I love that. Don't want that penalty.

I love that. I love that one. Got an awful left over there, have you? You know who wants it. Daddy K-Mag. I'll take it. Thank you very much. It's like a minute penalty.

You score. I feel full now. I feel satisfied. I really enjoyed, so when it started to kick off with Hamilton, like Hamilton goes up the inside of him. And we're on that on-board camera,

but it's to the left of Hamilton. You can't really see what's happening to K-Mag. And they go through the corner. And I literally said I was like, Mags is still going to be there. And at that point, there's like a bump. and my man could become straight through.

I'm like, of course he did. There he is. There he is. Yeah, it was, look, entertaining. It was beyond the line of what was acceptable. But quite frankly, it's worth it. We said box office didn't really happen much this last year. He's making up for it.

He is back. So I need to word this correctly, but I have no problem with the way that Kevin Magnuson went about today. in the, as soon as he got that first penalty for cutting the chican which, a 10 second penalty, I thought, a little bit harsh for that. A bit damage.

But anyway, he got the 10 second penalty for doing that and keeping the position ahead of Lewis Hamilton. And like you say, at that point, he's already lost the IRS. I have, why wouldn't he approach the rest of the race the way that he did?

Like, there's no reason for him not to apart from the accumulation of penalty points. The time penalties mean nothing to him at that stage. He knows as soon as he gets that 10, second penalty, and he's got like six cars directly behind him, he's not getting any points. So at that point, the only, he might as well retire if he's not going to be there to essentially hold up everyone else, so Holkenberg can race off into the distance. And I've got no problem because everything he did bad after that point was penalised, right? So the stewards did their job.

They gave penalties accordingly. But this is almost, it's a bit of a symptom. I know we've sort of discussed this before, it's a little bit of a symptom of the way that penalties in F1R. So if we're using like IndyCar as a sort of comparison point here, if it was IndyCar and he did any of those things, he's probably either getting a drive-through or being told to get back to the back of the field, at which point like he can't defend anymore, right? But because of these time penalties that were always given out, either five or ten seconds, there's no incentive for Magnuson to do anything else other than just, okay, I'll take him at the end of the race. I'm not going to get any. points and I'll help my team out. Like, it's just common sense, right? And as you've already referenced,

Harry, then had the interview afterwards and he was very honest and said, yeah, I deserved all those penalties. But until anything changes in terms of the way penalties are given out, I struggle to blame him for the way that he went about the race. Everything was penalised and it still made sense for him to do it. So crack on. I think the other thing that's so annoying about that situation is he was penalised, as you've, I think both rightly said, harsh for 10. 10 seconds for cutting that little chican. He didn't really gain massively. Lewis Hamilton commits potentially, you know, fly-by murder on turn 1, as we're debating.

Nothing. Okay. Fernando Alonso, having a wheelchair battle in China, nudges another car going Wilsonville around the corner. Yeah, okay, there's a little bit of contact. But three penalty points, 10 second penalty. Like, where are we with what is a penalty and what is a... Lewis Hamilton, speeding in the pit lane under safety car, drive-through. Like what?

Which turned into a 20 second time penalty. That's only 15 seconds less than what Magnuson got for the sprint. What is bad? What is good? What is the consistency? I can drive into someone and get severe damage. And I've got less of a time penalty than I have for cussing a chicane where I'm still just in front of the car I was already in front of anyway.

I don't know what's bad now. You know who's got it right. Not Hamilton, not Magnuson. Esteban Ockon's got this, right? Get your penalty before the race. then you can take it under a safety car. Oh my goodness. Man say a 3D chess.

Le plan. You said like, you know what, guys. I know there's going to be a safety car. Yeah. I'll take it then. He knows it. He can see the future and he saw that Alonzo was going to be involved in a lap one incident

and would be at the back with him so they could just fight together for 19 laps. It's like rematch. We go again. That's all they did. You watch the timing town. They're just swapping the whole time. Yeah. Who's defending like a lying now, Ferando?

you let that Aston Martin, no, I'm going to overtake him. Who was your driver of that session, Sam, before we go to break? Of the sprint. I'm going to give it to Daniel Ricardo, who did a great job of passing Peres at the start, holds on to fourth, defends brilliantly against science,

and that was the best thing he's done all season and the best thing he's done all weekend, and it's going to quickly come tumbling down after the advert break. Harry? yeah Danny Rick was driver of the sprint for me I think

again we'll come on to quality but it felt like Danny Rick involved watching him today I know he was he was doing a lot of defending and not like the classic overtaking he used to do but it was it was a very measured drive and I think he defended from

the Ferrari which is easily a quicker car and obviously the McLaren of Piastri as well defended that very very intelligently yep Daniel Ricardo for me, superb effort, deserves a lot of respect for what he did. Shoutouts as well to Pierre Gazley and Logan Sargent, who, if this was an actual race, would have scored their team's first points of the season, but instead, ninth and tenth

gets you nothing in a sprint voice. Sorry about that. There was me running my hands together thinking that Gassie might snatch away teammate wars for me. No, no, no, no, no. Ocon's got it in the bag, don't you worry? That was the highest position finished in buying Alping anyway, so he is technically leading. I don't matter though, does it? No, no, still go, Matt.

We'll take our break at this point. On the other side, we'll review the qualifying session. Okay, so after a Max Verstappen win and a Charler second in the sprint, there was a bit of a shake-up in qualifying as Max Verstappen finished on pole, and Charles LeClau was second. A couple of Ferraris, though. Carlos Seid did a better job than he did in the sprint qualifying, as he'll be third starting tomorrow.

So a Ferrari 2-3, Charlie Clare was fairly close to Max Verstappen in the sprint itself, Sam. Is there any chance that Leclair and Sines can team up strategically to at least give Vastappen a headache? Before we get onto the analysis, I just sometimes I have to laugh because with our dry humour, I do wonder if anyone ever comes onto this show and thinks, what does he mean there's been a shake-up? They're exactly the same order.

Yeah, what a moron? What is this podcast going that that is actually a joke? I do wonder if anyone sits and goes, what is he? valid point. Can I just say, interrupt this with that also humor, poor humor.

As I went up for the last Q3 runs, Crofty said, the land has gone soft now and I actually... I knew one of you was going to laugh at that. I actually didn't.

I actually didn't. Sorry, anyway, carry on. I was too fed up of his parish notice board references that were going on the entire session. Good God!

We're going to scream. So, okay, we've got a Ferrari 2-3. Perez is in fourth, Vastapel is in first. Yes, in theory, there's every chance that those Ferraris could do a bit of a double whammy over Vastapel and try and kind of out-stratiise them.

And the timings were a lot closer than I expected. Lecler being less than two tenths away from pole, I think it was 0.113 or something like that that he was away from pole position, which is promising. The issue is the sprint shootout that we had was equally quite close, and there was no catching in sight,

even though you've got Vastan complaining about failed tire grip, the car is struggling. He even had a clutch problem, at one point in qualifying itself. That Red Bull was clearly not 100% happy here at Miami. The Clergas couldn't get any closer. And even though Perez was stuck behind Ricardo for a while

and playing a bit of a bizarre game in the sprint race, he was even closing down LeClair massively come the end of the Grand Prix. So whilst I'd love to think that Ferrari could strategically do something against the Stapen and maybe take the wing, one, it's Ferrari. Let's not get a lot of hope and faith

into the fact that they might. might do something strategically brilliant. Let's not get our hopes up here. Just a more, more race is good for them. Two, I think for staff, has still got this in the bag. It still seems quite difficult

to overtake around this Miami circuit. That Red Bull is potent. And I do think if Perez is on his A game, I think he could clear science off the line and I think he's got the clear right in front of him to attack. I do see this falling towards Red Bull. I'd love to see it, but I still think Red Bull are favorites,

possibly for a one-two finish. What do you think, Kerry? yeah I don't know again this the sprint often gives us a snapshot of what the race will be like and this happened didn't run away with it this Saturday this morning just over three seconds

yeah three seconds which again celebrating those small wins he only won by three seconds great it was a small win it was a small win but compared to the lights in China for example it's definitely a small win so yeah I don't know

but Ferrari seemed like they also were struggling as much, like that was as much as LeCler had and he could keep up, but it just seems like Vestappen could still edge, edge out a bit of a gap over, as the laps continued. So it's encouraging. And clearly, Vestappen's sort of making the,

once again, making the difference versus what Perez can do because Perez is being outdone by the, or it wasn't qualifying outdone by the two Ferraris and obviously LeCler in the sprint. So they're in the they're in the game, Ferrari, which you know,

given what we have had this season, it's kind of the best we can hope for at this point, I think, for a tight battle. So if they can give the Stappen a headache tomorrow, if it's two versus one in that sense, I know Paris will be behind. But if they can, then maybe there is something that can be done.

But even with Jensen Butter's had this after, on the sky commentary after the sprint race, even the guy, the guy that won the sprint race was complaining. That's pretty demoralizing for literally everyone else because you've still won Max and you think your car's terrible.

So that's what about everyone else? So yeah, I don't know, we'll see how it goes tomorrow. I'm not massively confident that Faro can actually beat him, but they might give them just, they give us something to think about. Yeah. this is going to sound

it's not going to sound like a compliment but it really is Max just happened like when was the last time he was driving as scrappily as he is and still winning like I don't know

he's he doesn't seem very in control but as you say Harry that's not very encouraging for the rest of the field because it's still enough I don't don't take this the wrong idea people the wrong way people

because Vastappan is the heavy, heavy favourite tomorrow. I do think Ferrari there is a route for them to give Vestappan a headache. And again, I'm not out here saying, Ferrari 1-2, tomorrow, Gratsi-Rugatsi, that's going to happen. But I think given where they're starting, if they can claim two, three, you know, that's where they are on the grid, if they can stay that way through the first few laps, if they can split their strategies and, you know, one car pits at the same time as Vastapen, but the other. one goes longer, if that other car goes longer and can take advantage of a safety car to the point where they are out in front, could that cause them a bit of trouble? I think it could, because whilst

I think Vestappen has enough pace to comfortably win when he's out front, as really happened in the sprint, you know, he was a three-second win, but he was never really under threat by LeCler. If it was the other way round, and let's say LeClau was leading Vestappen halfway through the Grand Prix, do I think Vestappen would have the outright pace to overtake Charler. I don't know. I'm unconvinced based on what I've seen so far. No, it's not like we've already referenced China, right? The China sprint, he walked away with that after a couple laps and he just extended and extended.

Miami, you know, it was around two to three seconds for pretty much the entire sprint. Perez didn't really make much of an impression on LeCler. I think race pace-wise, it might be quite similar. So if it's a standard race, I think Vostappan will walk it. But if there is something odd that happens and Ferrari can maybe split strategies, I don't think it will be a walk in the park for Vestappen. I am looking forward to Vestappen winning by 40 seconds, by the way. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's definitely going to happen now.

And complaining the whole way. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. GPs absolutely furious on the pit wall because shut up, Max, you're still winning. Grip is awful, purple sex. Oh, like today in qualifying, the clutch doesn't sound good, GP. Yeah, the clutch is fine. Get on with it.

What did you make, Harry, of the medium tyre being used by Lando Norris and the two Mercedes as well in their second run in Q3? It's a bit of a rarity that we see anything other than the soft run in sort of the dying stages of qualifying, but we've seen it here. What do you think? Yeah, it was a strange one. Obviously, Norris yesterday, I understand the McLaren one with Norris running it in Q2. because they obviously yesterday in SQ2 it worked well for them

and they did a quicker time that they managed on the soft tire I get why they gave it another go at the end of SQ2 was like a test from what Norris did in SQ, sorry, what Norris did in Q2 on that median tire. I don't know what evidence they saw that made them run it again at the beginning of Q3 to be honest, but fair enough, they thought maybe we'll give it one more go and then they can revert to the soft tire, didn't cause them any harm.

Mercedes running it on their last runs is utterly utterly baffling what are you doing like what show me show me the ever they're just throwing stuff of the wall

and hoping it sticks because they've got no idea what's working Hamilton did a great lap at the end of Q2 and the things looked up and did perhaps maybe

the worst lap he's ever done in the world in the beginning of Q3 and look this is not I'm not how it hated on Hamilton it's just the car and drivers were struggling from run to run,

but that was absolutely horrendous to watch. Like the car didn't want to turn into any corner. So Mercedes think, yeah, we'll put on the medium tire? Sure. But again, just show me the evidence. And they pointed out in commentary that the Mercedes on the median tire in SQ2, in sprint qualifying, they couldn't get through to the last part of the session.

So why would they be better? why would this be better? So the Norris one I can forgive, like they gave it a go, they had enough pace in the car. The Mercedes, well, I find it utterly bizarre, but whatever.

They're just, like I said, they're just throwing stuff of the wall and hoping it sticks, and if it doesn't, well, we'll give it another go. They said,

Hamilton said on the radio, he wasn't really sure why his run were so good in Q2, and that is, that just summarizes where Mercedes are. They've got not a Scooby-Do about what's good about that car or what's bad about it.

Well, they're bad through high-speed corners, apart from, no, that's now their strength. Okay, Michelle. What do you think, Sam? Medium tie is used by the two Merck and Lando. Yeah, Harry, your analogy of throwing stuff at the wall and hoping it sticks is correct,

apart from, they didn't stick. So see I've going to get something new, they walk back to the wall and scooped it up off the floor again. And they went, why if we throw it again? Can it stick this time? No, that's not how it works. You know, try it once. Okay, I'm making a mistake.

Try it twice. you're a bloody fool. You knew how bad it was in SQ2. Both cars out. The conditions are almost identical between the two sessions. And you go, Lando Norris is really good on the mediums.

Okay, cool. That's moment A, data A. We were really bad on the mediums. Data B. Maybe now we'll be really good on the mediums. What evidence are you using to make that decision? And I think these two sessions have summarized and saying is,

journey in this new regulations perfectly. They've gone, okay, this hasn't worked for us. Okay, let's look what everyone else is doing. Oh, that thing works for them. Let's just try something similar to that. This thing also isn't still working for us, and we still don't understand why this isn't working for us, and we didn't go anywhere near the thing that maybe kind of did work for us.

They ain't got a Scooby. They've done what they're doing, and I imagine that when they crossed the line in, what, seventh and eighth again, at the end of Q3, they all slapped their thighs and went, oh, fiddlesticks. We were so close to progressing. That was, we were on to something there. No, you weren't.

You are literally riding high on your two drivers being excellent. And that car is an absolute bag of dog poo that you found down the road. Honestly, sort it out. What a joke of a decision. Who's making these calls? Me? Me, it may as well be me because that's how idiotic they are. Sam, if Toto Wolf was slapping his thighs and saying fiddle sticks, how would it sound?

Ah, fiddle sticks. Wasn't close enough to the mute button. You know what, Harry? It was a very sensible showy. Yeah, I don't think there was one Toto Wolf impression. Incredibly dull. First thing I want to say about Mercedes, you're pretty lucky.

Actually, I say you're pretty lucky. It didn't actually impact anything in the end. But George Russell crossed that line with about two seconds to spare on that last lap. Can you hurry up, Lewis? When I saw them come in, Lewis. When I saw them coming out the pits, I was like, oh, I don't know about this. This seems a little late.

And, yeah, Russell was about two seconds to go, managed to start his lap. Maybe not the best way to prepare a lap. But anyway, that happened. The medium tire decision I was actually all right with because Lewis Hamilton is difficult to judge because, as you've already said, his first lap was so bad that his improvement on the mediums the second time round doesn't really mean anything. You could have improved on wits. Well, precisely.

Precisely. So there's not too much point reading into that. George Russell basically set an identical lap time on the mediums compared to the softs, which in normal Q3 conditions, you'd say, well, if you haven't improved from first run to second run, that's not a great decision because usually you're improving at the end of Q3. But we didn't really see that today. We had, Vestappan didn't set his best lap time on the second run. Both Ferraris, I think both Ferraris would have only been about sixth and seventh if they

used their second run. They were both well off the pace the second time around. So the fact that George Russell was essentially able to match his lap time on mediums the second time around, I thought was a fairly good result, in which case, I don't actually think it would have mattered too much whether they were on the softs or the medium. So I was okay with the decision. They were just so comfortably fourth, they were so comfortably behind McLaren and Red Bull and Ferrari that I don't think the softs would have got them anywhere. I don't know, but it's better than Friday, I guess, Mercedes. It feels like then your analytics wrapped up is the tyres don't matter because the car is crap.

Well, George Russell's time was almost, I can't remember what the difference was in his two runs, but I think it was less than a, it was less than a 10th. I think it was maybe about half a 10th or so. I don't think anyone properly improved, did they? Like the track could clearly fail to improve as a, you know, it didn't rub a ring as Mark, Mark, sure the temperature dropped. I didn't even know if it was the track. I just felt like watching the Clur's lap.

They, as soon as they, everyone ramps up for a final Q3 run, they hustle their last run. And when they tried to hustle, the ties were like, not today. Don't think so. No. I'm not like a break, mate. Yeah.

Not saying anything about this track as like a race track, but as a qual-I-I really like Miami as a qualifying track. I think it really works. Races, whatever, but qualifying. I really like qualifying around. Miami. Yeah. No, I'm, I'm cool with that. I think that's great. But this was, it is anti-climactic when the last run, no one has a go. That is a bit of a letdown. I think, I think the issue was they had too much of a go. I think they were, I think they were, I think they were, oh gosh, you know what,

we're going to try too hard. They were going. Yeah. I got to have a little bit of dinner, actually, so I better get the slap over and done with. Yeah. I think Sergio Paris might have just improved on the second one. But it was, yeah, I don't know there was, there weren't a lot of improvements. Out of the back for you, Sergio. Well done. You got that George Russell meme where he puts the medal on himself.

On our sprint quality review, we spent some time on both Mercedes being knocked out in Q2. Not a great result. So Aster Martin thought, ah, that looks fun. Let's do that on the actual qualifying. Fernando Alonzo starting just 15th. Lancho, very nearly getting three, to Q3 but ended up qualifying 11th, which means we've had two qualifying sessions in two days

where Lance Stroll has been the lead Aster Martin driver. But Sam, well, what did you make some of the Aster Martins? Hold on, I'm just looking at the window because there's some pigs flying past. Literally, what is going on? What's happened? As Lance Stroll collided with Daniel Ricardo and China have been knocked into a new level of driving ability, as he woken up as a different person? Because he's sadly all right?

and I don't really, I don't get it. But yeah, the car clearly not happy in qualifying spec around Miami. I wonder if it's the heat and the softness of the tyres are just not working well with how the Ashton Martin is set up. But this is the first time all season that Alonkso doesn't make it into a Q3 appearance, which tells you that something is wrong. He doesn't just make it into a Q3 appearance. He's all the way back down in 50th place, as you said.

So this is a big jump. It's not like he's a 10th away or half a 10th way. He's far off the pace. Now, that's worrying because if Lank's, stroll is the closest of the Ascom Masters in both sessions and, you know, Lance's, Lance's Lance's Lance. You've got to worry if your big gun alongside is unable to produce a result out of nothing. And he's let himself down there.

I don't know if it's here more if it's just the fact that the car looks like a nightmare to drive. He missed three apexes on his last run. The car felt like it was all over the place. It just, that track, something about it seems to really lack the car gripping to the crap. There seemed to be sliding all over the place. So really disappointed from Aston. What do you think, Harry?

Yeah, it was a weird one. They just didn't look. I know they're not quite at the same level they were at this time last year, Asthmatin, but this weekend in particular, their car's just not looked hooked up at all. I don't know Alonso's been out driving it, I think, a bit.

So it's exaggerated what the pace of that car is. But yeah, even even Alonzo couldn't do anything with it. Like you say, he couldn't hit an apex if it had smacked him in the face at the end of Q2 it just didn't look hooked up at all and obviously Strull was the one that I qualified him kind of quite comfortably in the end so

it was a weird one actually I think Stroll, if his stroll had done his is it his lap from Q1 or something or he might have actually made it in because Q1 lap was quick on his Q2 lap so there was a chance Strull could have still snuck into Q3 I mean obviously not because

Nico Hockerberg was there because that's what he does just picking up Q3 for fun. But yeah, the Aston Martin just not looking, not looking hooked up at all. I know he joked about Alonzo

not caring about the sprint, but I think where he ended up at the end of the sprint, I know he was at the back, but you're expecting to make some progress. He made no progress whatsoever. So, yeah,

it's going to be a tough, tough day for them tomorrow. There was a stat there that came out that Lance scroll for like maybe four or five sessions in a row or something, or in the last seven Grand Prix, hasn't improved on his Q1 time in Q2.

It's quite worrying that he's unable to kind of continue to step up by the rest of the drivers. Just a Q1-Murchant. Q-W-1-Murchase, is it? Perfect, cool. A Q-1 and Lap 1 merchant, and that's what he does. Yeah, he's great on day one. You know when you start a new job,

and everyone loves you, then you're like, oh, this isn't for me. Yeah. Just sit in the corner quietly. You know, Fernando, my... with Fernando Alonzo, my, I just think he has like two race weekends per year, which are just nath.

Like, Fernando Alonzo is great, like 95, 97% of the time. And he just has one or two, three maximum weekends per year where just from the very off, he's just not on it. And this just seems to be one of them. I can't remember immediately what the races were last, maybe the Spanish Grand Prix wasn't very good at last year. if you remember, and then also the Belgian Grand Prix. It just seems like once every, once every like eight or nine races, he just has one and it's like...

Man's tired, he's old. It's just recharging. Yeah. I don't like this race, so I'm out. I'm in harvest mode. I'll be back next week. But it's always like, he's either like all completely on it, brilliant or just like this. There's never really any in between with Fernando Alonzo.

I don't know. Even with like, like you say, the sprint race itself, he didn't make any. progress. To be honest, I think anyone outside of maybe the Red Bulls and possibly the Ferraris or Lando Norris would struggle to make it through at this track, I think it's pretty difficult to actually recover. You know, we didn't see the Mercedes. George Russell didn't really make any progress in the Merck in the sprint race. And I have to admit, I don't think the Astor Martins are going to make much progress unless carnage ensues in front of them tomorrow. But yeah, tough weekend for Lester Martin, as you've said,

just doesn't seem very hooked up with this track. Simple as that. A driver of that session, Sam. Well, it's got Daniel Ricardo, who could have got out of Q1. I swear to God, man. He's done it to annoy you, Ben. He's done it to annoy you.

And you know what? If I can't get three red flags, Daniel, I'm here for it, mate. You put it around in 17th. Just to clarify, this is relating to my bold prediction, where I've said that both R.B. Menardi, Al fatali drivers will score points in the main race. Now, of course, both drivers did score points in the sprint race.

And I made very sure to specify the main race where, you know, two more positions are given points. And then Daniel Ricardo is going to have to do a lot of work to get there tomorrow. If that doesn't happen, this might be your fourth prediction this year where you're about a session out for getting something right. Honestly, I am. It's not done yet, but fuming. Maybe you should be my driver at the session for doing that. I'm going to go with, I'm going to go with Max for Stappen. just when you're struggling that much and the car's not on it

and you still pull out a tenth over everyone else. I think I'm starting to wonder how much better that Red Bull car is than the rest of the field or if it is just Max Verstappen being ridiculous, an absolute monster. He makes the difference again to go

it could easily have been a one to for Ferrari and they kill up in three four. So yeah, drive the session. Harry? I'm going to give Nico Holgerberg some love. I know he's just doing it all the time but Holkenberg for just being there again in Q3.

He outqualified Sonoda. I think that actually that despite what today, sorry, what this afternoon slash this evening showed, I think that Visa Cash App, RB is actually a pretty decent car around there and they did not utilise it enough. I know Sonoda got into the top 10, but I don't think it's quicker than the house. So, yeah, I'll go for Halkabberg. Yeah, I would give both of those driver shoutouts out. Again, Nico Halkabberg, it's just important not to completely normalise what he's doing.

It's just, he's great qualified. He's in a haste, but let's not forget. Yeah, he's in it and he just does it all the time. Both of those drivers deserve respect. I'll give a shout out to Pierre Gasley as well. He did a great lap in Q1. Sausages! Yep.

Well, on Pierre. First time you've out qualified Esteban Okon all season. Enjoy it well at last. That was great. Remembering QBits to beat Russell because that one race, if he was one teammate was, that's what's going to happen. And I can't wait. It was a good effort from Pierre Gasly.

I think he's been more on it this weekend. So a good starting position, at least for the Alpins in 12th and 13th. I'll give it to Charlerclair. Maybe he should just only do three laps in practice from now on because apparently that's a recipe for him doing quite well. Just finish his second in the sprint race. Finns just second in qualifying. Man had three laps of practice.

So, yeah, and he was right on it with Max Verstappen. There wasn't much to separate the two of them. I've got a little conspiracy theory. Go on. I wonder if Carlos Sines has signed a contract and now he can't be asked. You think Carlos Sines has signed a contract with someone else, therefore he can't be asked with Ferrari anymore.

I think he's just gone, I haven't got to put the ultimate performance thing, like deal's done. So now he's like, he qualified third. Like it wasn't. Oh, yeah, no, I'm not saying he's doing a bad job.

He's just not smashing LeClair out the park anymore. It's like, yeah, whatever. It's interesting. I ain't buying it. Can someone buy it, please? I got you guys. someone for actual money, I need the cash. Right, I guess that will do it for today's review.

Of course, we've got another one tomorrow, Sam. We have another one tomorrow. And if you want even more action, then subscribe to our Patreon. Because on the top tier, you get power rankings. And we'll be doing those the day after the Grand Prix, where we rate every single driver's performance. And often, there's quite a few disagreements. Someone might give someone a four, someone might give someone eight.

And then we have a little debate. Oh, it's a rhyme. That was good, doesn't it? You can follow us on social Late Breaking F1 and if you want to get involved in the show for the race

we do submissions where you guys can tell us your moment of the race join the Discord for that and look to the description you'll get a notification from us as the race ends asking you to submit

your moment of the race and you might just hear your gorgeous tones across this podcast in the meantime I've been Samuel Sage I've been Ben Hocking and I've been Harry Ead

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