Mercedes not the top force
For the first time this season, Formula 1 offers more than one surprise (although some were partially announced). The biggest unexpected fact is undoubtedly that Mercedes was not the benchmark in terms of performance in the Miami Sprint qualifying. With the high temperatures, the perfect balance of the Brackley car seemed to seriously falter, especially on the flying lap. The soft tire clearly tended to overheat and an almost impossible balance to find made the task very difficult for the drivers. But a Kimi Antonelli who appears increasingly unlocked and able to show his talent found an amazing front row, thanks to a last lap truly worthy of a champion, able to get the most out of a soft tire not even tested during practice and with only one attempt available. Russell, sixth and a full four tenths behind, can only take a hard hit and try to turn the weekend around as soon as possible, probably using the Sprint as an experiment.
McLaren the best car on track
If Mercedes was not the top force on track, its place was taken (surprisingly, but in this case not too much) by McLaren. The Woking car arrived with a decidedly revised aero-mechanical setup, a true version B of the car, and, as often happens with the team led by Andrea Stella, the package definitely paid off. The increase in downforce and the performance jump in the slow sections are evident from the data, also showing a good suspension setup compromise, given the high and tricky curbs of the slowest and most winding part of the Miami track. The warm temperatures then made tire balance one of the key points, and over the years we have had more than one occasion to celebrate Norris’s ability precisely in terms of maintaining tires in the perfect window. Not surprisingly, the reigning World Champion appeared clearly in better shape than his teammate, although the latter was still very close to securing the entire papaya front row. McLaren is poised to return as a championship contender in the short term, both because of the significant development steps taken and because the Woking engineers seem increasingly able to decipher and optimize the Mercedes Power Unit, as they see it on track, also used by the parent company. For McLaren, race pace and especially tire degradation remain to be verified, since the simulations done in practice were carried out with a much higher fuel load than the direct competition.
Disappointed Ferrari, between soft tires and deployment, but updates work
At the Maranello team, there was undoubtedly a certain atmosphere of disappointment. With medium tires, until the end of SQ2, Leclerc seemed in control, with a pole position within reach, or at least a guaranteed front row. But in the third segment, in the only available attempt, some things did not work: the soft tire gave much worse feedback to both drivers, who struggled considerably in their last flying lap. Not only that, we noticed a strong power deficit on the first of the two longest straights of the track, with the gap line indeed growing linearly for Leclerc, a typical situation of power shortage. It is hard to say whether it is a matter of missing power and energy, or something deriving from the greater difficulty with the soft tires, but the 3 tenths lost by Leclerc in the middle sector are almost all due to this situation on the straight. It does not seem a coincidence that Vasseur also spoke about the straight-line deficit in his interviews. However, this should not take away the fact that if confirmations were sought on the updates, they can only be considered obtained: Leclerc was the fastest in the high-speed corners of the first sector, highlighting a good aero-mechanical setup, with an SF26 decidedly more stable than at the start of the season and with a remarkable level of downforce. In the slow and winding section, the Monegasque was unable to beat Norris but by just a few thousandths, confirming the positive nature of the Ferrari package, fast both in slow and fast corners. Clearly, the Power Unit front remains, but it must wait for the ADUO, meanwhile the race pace shown in simulation was very good and the Sprint will certainly be an interesting opportunity to evaluate the overall potential of the car.
First session with uncertain outcome
Also good was RedBull, which significantly improves its package, although shining more in the slow than in the fast, where the impression is that there is still more than one problem, but it seems to be easily the fourth force, having left the rest of the group behind. The Sprint will be particularly interesting to watch, to have first feedback on the real hierarchies on track. The remarkable fact to underline is that Miami will be the first seasonal occasion where the winner does not already seem obvious, between a fast but to-be-verified McLaren, a Mercedes that is very close (with Antonelli) and a Ferrari that on pace and thanks to starts, can try to have its say in turn.
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