Liam Lawson at the Miami Grand Prix: what you need to know
Photo:Miami Grand Prix
Starts: 8am Monday 5 May
Miami International Autodrome, Florida
Live updates on RNZ Sport
Formula 1 has moved stateside for the first time this season, with this weekend's action taking place in Miami. Liam Lawson is yet to score a point in 2025, and with the Red Bull replacement saga now a month in the past, now is as good a time as any to make a statement in the Driver's Championship.
Elsewhere, Max Verstappen has had even more reason to celebrate after becoming a father earlier in the week.
The Red Bull driver has claimed pole position after fending off an outstanding effort by Kimi Antonelli. The 18-year-old Mercedes driver finished pole in the sprint race and will start third in the main race behind Verstappen and McLaren's Lando Norris, with Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri slipping back to fourth on the grid. Piastri has a nine point lead over Norris in the overall standings, with Verstappen 19 points back.
After a promising practice, things were looking great for Lawson when he finished eighth in the sprint race, which earned him his first point of the season. However, his old mates the stewards
handed Lawson a five-second time penalty
for colliding with Fernando Alonso. The incident caused Alonso's Aston Martin to spin out, so the penalty dropped Lawson to 13th in the final classification.
Then an underwhelming qualification saw Lawson line up in 15th overall, which is about exactly where you'd think he'd be after this season's results of a DNF, 12th, 17th, 16th and 12th.
Liam Lawson driving the (30) Visa Cash App Racing Bulls VCARB 02.
Photo:Starting to sound like a broken record but it's pretty much all about getting in the points yet again. Lawson is now literally one of the 'also-rans' in every Grand Prix and unless he can start overtaking people, he's in the same category as the likes of Nico Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll. One thing his mechanics can have a look at is his batteries, which were a major source of frustration during qualifying.
"We were dropping power through the run, just trying to fight it and fix it," Lawson said after coming in 15th.
"I don't know what the issue is, but it is frustrating, and we made a good step with the car balance, so it is a shame the issue cost us."
Yuki Tsunoda
Photo:
photosport
While Lawson was stung with a penalty in the sprint race, he wasn't alone. Yuki Tsunoda was promoted from ninth to sixth after Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman were stung too, which was a good start to the weekend for the Japanese Red Bull driver. He then qualified in 10th, one ahead of Lawson's team mate Hadjar. Speculation still abounds regarding just which car either man will be driving by the end of the season.
The battle between Verstappen, Antonelli and the McLaren drivers will be the obvious focus in this one. Verstappen is after his third win in Miami in four years, meanwhile it's not been a great day for Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton. He was bounced out of the second qualifying session after a good sprint race, dropping down to 12th and with a lot of work to do to make something out of this race. His teammate Charles Leclerc is starting eighth.
An aerial view of Hard Rock Stadium, the Miami Grand Prix is held here at The Miami International Autodrome which is a purpose-built temporary circuit.
Photo:First Grand Prix: 2022
Number of Laps: 57
Circuit Length: 5.412 km
Race Distance: 308.326 km
Lap Record: 1:29.708 Max Verstappen (2023)
The second street circuit in a row, Miami doesn't exactly have the greatest reputation among drivers. Hamilton this week described it as "bottom of my list" of preferred circuits, and Verstappen has claimed that one part of the track would be better to race in go-karts. However, the track has been re-laid recently, which may improve things.
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 2. Lando Norris (McLaren), 3. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), 4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren), 5. George Russell (Mercedes), 6. Carlos Sainz (Williams), 7. Alex Albon (Williams), 8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 9. Esteban Ocon (Haas), 10. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull), 11. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls), 12. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), 13. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber), 14. Jack Doohan (Alpine), 15. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), 16. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), 17. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), 18. Pierre Gasly (Alpine), 19. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), 20. Ollie Bearman (Haas)
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- Otago Daily Times
Thrills: ‘I just love being in the kart'
Mosgiel resident Jack McGrath races along the KartSport Dunedin club track yesterday. PHOTOS: GERARD O'BRIEN Motorsport is not just a sport for Jack McGrath, it is an emotion. The 13-year-old Mosgiel kart racer could not put into words how it felt when he was swerving around corners at high speeds on the track. It simply did not compare to anything else in his life. Jack McGrath. "I just love being in the kart and the feeling of going at that speed." Jack went for a spin around the track at the KartSport Dunedin club day yesterday to test out his kart for upcoming races in the South Island this season. He said there was not much grip on the track because it was wet but it still felt "pretty quick". Jack said he had been competing in the sport for about seven years and had recently upgraded karts to a Rotax Junior from a Cadet Vortex Mini Rok. Nerves were not a factor for him on the track and his mindset was simple — to take one corner at a time while he was racing. "I just make sure I don't mess it up or else the guy behind me will get me." He liked finding a rhythm in his races and gliding along the track. His dream was to race Formula 1. Dunedin Kart Club captain Les Campbell the sport was growing in Dunedin and club member numbers were climbing.
NZ Autocar
16 hours ago
- NZ Autocar
Ferrari should replace Lewis Hamilton with a rookie
So says Bernie Ecclestone after even Lewis Hamilton admitted he should be replaced following the Hungarian GP. Hamilton was eliminated from Q2 over the weekend, in a lowly P12 which is where he finished. By contrast, Charles Leclerc, Hamilton's teammate, managed to put his car on pole. Immediately reacting to his qualifying position, Hamilton stated that he was 'useless' and told his Ferrari team that they should get another driver. It was sad to hear from someone with so much self-belief throughout his career. Ferrari put Hamilton on a one-stop strategy in Hungary, starting him on the hard tyres. The seven-time champion found himself stuck in his first stint. He did engage in a battle with Max Verstappen but eventually drove off the circuit to avoid contact with the Red Bull driver. Questions have been asked about the relationship Hamilton has with race engineer, Riccardo Adami. But Hamilton left Adami in no doubt, apologising for a dismal display over the weekend. It was Hamilton's worst result since the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Ecclestone suggested Hamilton needed a 'total reset' from F1 and should consider retiring. 'They get tired' he said. 'Lewis has been doing this forever.' He needs a rest from it for good, said Ecclestone, who suggested the Brit will soon get used to doing other stuff away from motor racing in retirement. 'I think he should have done it a while ago' he added. Ecclestone, who led F1 between 1987 and 2017, suggested his place should be taken by Isack Hadjar or Gabriel Bortoleto. 'Both are talented and sensible' he added. The pair were runner-up and champion in 2024's Formula 2 season. Hadjar, Lawson's teammate, sits P13 in the Drivers' Championship, while Bortoleto, driving for Kick Sauber, picked up his first points of the season with a P8 in Austria, before adding to that total with a P9 at Spa-Francorchamps and a handy P6 at the Hungarian GP. Being picked by Ecclestone as options for one of the most prestigious teams on the grid demonstrates their obvious talent.
NZ Herald
6 days ago
- NZ Herald
Formula 1: The reason behind McLaren's rise to dominance
The McLaren F1 team heads into the summer break on a high after another dominant display at Hungarian Grand Prix with another one/two finish. You'd be in the minority if you think McLaren isn't going to win another constructors' championship and either Oscar Piastri or Lando Norris isn't going to
