Ferrari Driver Charles Leclerc turns during the second practice session before Formula One Miami grand opening. (AP)
MIAMI GARDEN, Fla. – Red Bull rolling became the first of three unprecedented Formula One stops in the United States undefeated — and with its challengers practically waving checkered flags about the championship.
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez performed so strongly in the first four races that rival drivers openly wondered if any other team would win this year’s race.
Tasteless? That’s the story after that F1 to the Miami Grand Prix, a highly anticipated event a year before its debut, is now working with a bit of a hangover. With F1 races scheduled later this year in Austin, Texas and Las Vegas, the first phase Red Bull The dominance has created the perception that F1 will have a snooze season that could dampen growing interest among Americans.
“What if you go to the cinema and after 15 minutes the movie is (crap), but the last hour and a half is amazing?” asked Alpine driver Pierre Gasly. “I don’t think it’s fair to make such a request. I think you need to give the season more time.”
Complaints spread to every corner of the training ground last Sunday after the lackluster Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where Red Bull finished 1-2 for the third time of the season. As Perez and Verstappen drove away from the competition, the rest of the pitch struggled to get through.
Charles Leclerc said Ferrari will do its best to perform well on Sunday.
“I’ll do my best not to make it boring, but in the end it’s a sport,” Leclerc said. “Like in every sport, sometimes one team is better than the other and at this moment that is the case with Red Bull. We are working hard just like everyone here is working hard to try to close the gap with the Red Bulls.”
There was an early promise on Friday when George Russell and Lewis Hamilton First practice tempo for Mercedeswhile the two-time defending champion Verstappen is fourth and Perez 11th.
Hamilton, a seven-time F1 champion, said: “For me, it’s not boring, I’m challenged every day trying to get back to the top. “But as a racing fan, I can understand because there’s probably not as much competition as they’re used to with the NFL and NBA. They tried to bring the teams closer together, but it never seemed to work.”
Russell suggested audiences simply focus on the action behind the Red Bulls.
“The rivalry we have at the moment between Ferrari and Aston Martin, in every race we’ve been in, the distance between us in qualifying is really close, the pace is really close in the race,” said Russell. “It is a pity that there are two more cars ahead. So forget those two and just watch the race for P3. It could be a little more interesting.”
Actors Michelle Rodriguez and Vin Diesel filmed a segment before the Miami Grand Prix. (AP)
Welcome to Miami
The inaugural Miami Grand Prix is one of the hottest tickets in sports A year ago. Chairs and suites sold out almost as soon as they were made available. Former first lady Michelle Obama was among those who came to see the car and the stars and fake marina
Although F1 has said it expects 270,000 spectators in this week’s three-day event, seats that were sold to thousands last year can be found for around $300 on the secondary market. An additional 6,000 seats have been added this year.
The celebrity guest list is extensive: actors Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez have circled the track, Bad Bunny is expected to return Sunday for the second year in a row, while Becky G, Jake Paul , Mike Tyson, Serena Williams and Martin Garixx were all present listed as expected attendees.
The campus layout has been adapted for the event to be held at Hard Rock Stadium, where this year’s training ground was moved into the stadium from its previous location behind the holes.
The entire track has also been rebuilt after the driver complained last year that it was broken in several places — most of the layout including the parking lots around the stadium — and there were repairs done. Minor changes to some track areas.
Lando Norris’s McLaren. “I think everyone likes it here. It’s just good fun.
Hamilton contract
The day after Hamilton revealed he wanted to try NASCAR and other sports car racingMercedes boss Toto Wolff said a contract extension would be completed with the seven-time champion.
Hamilton, who turned 38 in January, said he wants a multi-year contract. Wolff said there’s no rush to finish the extension.
“We’ve been together for 11 years and every time we talk about Lewis’ contract it’s six months, ‘Where are we and what’s going on?’ and we keep saying the same thing that we keep saying,” Wolff said Friday. “It wasn’t any tough contract negotiations, we just put different timelines and a few different numbers into it and that’s what we do. It’s a work in progress. progress, emailing back and forth. Eventually, we’ll sign him.”
Hamilton’s contract with Mercedes is set to expire after this season. He is the most winning driver in F1 history with 103 victories.
Hamilton on Thursday was asked if he would ever consider racing and NASCAR and he recall a 2011 auto swap he did with Hall of Famer Tony Stewart at Watkins Glen.
“I would love to try it at some stage. For me, racing another series is not a dream, but I am a fan,” he said. “I am a fan of racing and other sports. So I wanted to try it.”
Hamilton also expressed interest in swapping with Valentino Rossi and trying out MotoGP and possibly even IndyCar, the US-based open-wheel racing.
“I watch IndyCar sometimes and would love to try one of those things out at some stage,” he said. “But at the moment I’m only focused on Formula 1 and I have no plans to leave anytime soon.”
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