Miami Grand Prix: Post-Race Comments

      Pirelli

      Dario Marraffuschi, director of Pirelli's racing programs: "From a strategic point of view, the race turned out to be simple, despite the uncertainty with the weather. The only real change was the safety car coming out on the sixth lap, which allowed some drivers, including Verstappen, to change their strategy and make a pit stop. This brought certain dividends for the Dutchman.

      Almost everyone chose Medium tires for the first stint and changed them in the predicted period. The cooler weather compared to previous days further reduced tire wear. A striking example of this was the final stint of 51 laps that Verstappen drove on Hard tires.

      The same trio of compounds will be used at the next stage in Montreal in three weeks."

      Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team

      Kimi Antonelli (1st): "The start was not as bad as yesterday; it was a bit better. I didn't expect Charles Leclerc to brake so early, so I had to dodge him, and I locked up the brakes.

      Then I got a bit lucky in the situation that occurred at the second corner when Max Verstappen's car spun, but then I made a small mistake using the hybrid system's energy while trying to overtake Charles, after which I lost position to Lando.

      After that, the pace was decent; I could keep close to him. The team executed the chosen tactic excellently; we successfully applied the 'undercut' by pitting early, after which we managed to finish first, although it wasn't easy.

      And this is just the beginning! There is still a long way ahead; we continue to work very hard, and the team is doing a fantastic job. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have been able to achieve this, so thank you to all of them, thank you to my family! Today I plan to enjoy this moment, after which we will get back to work."

      George Russell (4th): "A tough race, although the start, to be honest, went quite well. In the early laps, I could fight for positions, but then, when I switched to hard tires, they didn't provide normal grip. I have some thoughts on why this happened, as everything got much better in the last ten laps when I made significant changes to the differential settings and adjusted the brake balance.

      These settings were comparable to those Kimi had been using since the beginning of the weekend, but the effect turned out to be much greater than I thought. Overall, not my best weekend, and I know that my performance at this track has always been poor. Let's see how things go at the next stages.

      But I must admit that my teammate is a great driver; he has shown exceptional speed from the very beginning. Kimi has achieved great success in the junior series, which is impossible without speed."

      McLaren Formula 1 Team

      Andrea Stella, team principal: "If someone had told me before the weekend that the results would be like this, I would have gladly accepted it. Let's not forget that the start of the season was relatively poor, but we managed to respond correctly to that.

      But within the team, we always said that we know what we are capable of, regardless of what results we start the season with. I believe we are demonstrating this fully, and for that, everyone at McLaren deserves a huge thank you. We have upgraded the car by implementing improvements in various areas, which has increased competitiveness.

      But in such fierce competition, much depends on the clarity of actions, on how the racing crew handles their tasks, and on many different nuances. I think Mercedes still has a slight advantage, but we have managed to improve, and that's good, and there is still a long way to go in the championship.

      Undoubtedly, today we had a chance to win. We were pursued by a car that was a bit faster, while we were monitoring the weather conditions, but Kimi Antonelli had a fantastic first lap after the pit stop! We couldn't replicate that, and we probably lost a bit of time in the pit stop.

      Although we could have executed better, we are still very satisfied. This weekend had a lot of positives, and we will take all of this into account. We have returned to the leading group and are preparing several more innovations for the next races, so interesting times await us!"

      Lando Norris (2nd): "The race results are mixed. I was subjected to an 'undercut,' and there are no other excuses.

      We should have been the first to go to the pits, but Kimi executed excellently, so I tip my hat to him and Mercedes. They ran a great race. With these generation of cars, it's easy to make a mistake under braking, but he didn't make any serious mistakes that I could take advantage of.

      I should be satisfied with such a result, as should our entire team. But I'm disappointed that I missed out on the win in Miami. I think that result was possible, but closer to the finish, I didn't have the pace to overtake Kimi. So we accept the result – a good weekend.

      Today, it was all about who made fewer mistakes. It was necessary to choose the right moments to attack, but I think the race looked good from the outside. If everyone enjoyed it, then I'm happy too, although it wasn't easy, as we still need to tactically use the battery. It's easy to make a mistake, for example, to start too aggressively and ruin everything. Other than that, we worked well this weekend, and I'm proud of everyone."

      Oscar Piastri (3rd): "Not the easiest weekend. Qualifying was unfortunate for both of us, but the race pace today was more promising. I made several overtakes, especially a big push in the last laps.

      The race was challenging, especially in such conditions, so thank you to the team. It's clear that we made a step forward in terms of speed, and that's great.

      This weekend showed that if we occupy a high position on the track, we can fight for high positions. We were close to winning in Japan and made a step forward here. I hope we make another one in Canada, so I'm looking forward to the next stages."

      Red Bull Racing

      Max Verstappen (5th): "At the start, I lost control of the rear wheels in the second corner and then tried to minimize time loss with a 360-degree spin. Then we decided to switch to Hard tires early, but the decision didn't work – I had neither pace nor grip on that compound.

      In any case, I don't think we could have fought for the win. Maybe I could have battled Oscar Piastri if the race had gone normally. But it's easy to say when everything is over. The team made significant improvements this weekend, but unfortunately, the car still lacks speed in the race."

      Isaac Hadjar (DNF): "I was too eager and excited about the opportunities to overtake, but I messed it up. Today it was easy to overtake, but I should have been more careful. There was no point in risking at the limit in that corner, so I'm very angry.

      For the first time, I had issues with pace during the weekend. This is new for me. I need to analyze everything and figure out the reasons because I don't want a repeat of such a weekend."

      Scuderia Ferrari

      Charles Leclerc (6th, 8th after penalty): "The blame lies entirely with me – I have nothing more to add. I'm very disappointed with my mistake, which shouldn't have happened. I was actively attacking on the penultimate lap and thought it would be a good idea to let Oscar Piastri pass me to then overtake him on the last lap, as I knew it would be very difficult to keep him behind.

      However, that was a very bad decision, and I ruined a strong race in the fourth corner. I'm very disappointed, and I have nothing more to say.

      I don't know what decision the stewards will make. I can only say that I tried my best to stay within the track limits in the corners. It was probably much harder to do than it seemed from the outside, but what's done is done."

      Lewis Hamilton (7th, 6th after Charles Leclerc's penalty): "An unfortunate weekend. Seventh place is seventh place. In both the sprint and the race, I found myself in a deadlock, especially today – with a damaged car, I couldn't do anything. It's a shame because the team worked hard to get at least some points. We need to move on.

      The incident on the first lap? I was in a good position on the track, but then I had to move to the right. As a result, I lost position, and Franco benefited."

      Alpine F1

      Franco Colapinto (8th, 7th after penalty): "I'm happy to finish eighth and earn points. Overall, the week was interesting – from the show in Buenos Aires to today's meeting with my idol Lionel Messi, and now points in the race – I'm very satisfied.

      Today we did everything we could. My race was lonely – the top teams were far ahead, but we worked well with strategy and pit stops; we did everything right. I didn't start very well, losing a few positions, but quickly made them back.

      There was a small collision with Lewis Hamilton; fortunately, there were no serious damages, and we both managed to continue the race. The pace was high; I handled it well and ultimately finished eighth. Thank you to the team for their hard work; we'll try to maintain this form in Montreal."

      Pierre Gas