2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Preview

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Lando Norris and McLaren-Mercedes surprised a number of people at the Miami International Autodrome, becoming the 114th driver in Formula One history and the 21st British driver to win a world championship grand prix by winning the 2024 Miami Grand Prix after benefitting from a mid-race safety car, which allowed Norris to make the pit-stop he was required to make in order to use two different compounds of tyre (as per the regulations) and still maintain the lead of the grand prix, which he gained only a couple of laps earlier, and in addition to this, the safety car initially picked up Max Verstappen, who wasn’t the race leader at the time and subsequently was forced to follow the safety car at a much slower speed, while Norris was able to go at a slower but faster speed (if that makes sense), follow a prescribed delta time, and as a result, was guaranteed to return to the race lead after making his pit-stop!

While there are some provisions in the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations which might allow this kind of thing to happen under certain circumstances, and Norris may have been able to pit and still come out ahead of Verstappen even if there weren’t such provisions in the regulations in regards to the safety car and the way it is used, but I would like to know (and get clarification as to) why Verstappen was (initially) picked up by the safety car (instead of Norris), instead of waiting just ahead of the second safety car line (or the line after the pit exit which blends the cars coming out of the pit lane back onto the track) for Norris (should he have come out of the pit lane ahead of Verstappen), or for Verstappen (should he have arrived at the second safety car line ahead of Norris)?

If I was commentating the grand prix, I would have said something about this straight away at the time, and questioned why the safety car picked up Verstappen instead of Norris, and then myself and my co-commentator (whoever that might have been) could have been able to talk through and about the regulations surrounding the safety car, and give context to the situation that was happening on the track (and why Verstappen was picked up by the safety car when he wasn’t the race leader, and why Norris was able to maintain the lead of the grand prix easily) and give the viewers a simplistic understanding of what are complex and complicated regulations (as it necessarily has to be)!

However, regardless of this, it was a superb performance by Norris in Miami, and his first grand prix race victory was very well-deserved, and as the grid arrives back in Europe for the first grand prix on the continent in 2024, and heads to the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari (also known as the Imola Circuit) in Imola in Italy, about a 50 to 60 minute drive from the city of Bologna, Norris and McLaren-Mercedes will be looking to continue their strong vein of form and put together a consistent challenge towards Verstappen and Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT at the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Round Seven of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship!

Verstappen (136 points), despite not winning the Miami Grand Prix, has extended his championship lead over teammate Sergio Pérez (103 points) to 33 points after winning the sprint before finishing the grand prix in second, both from pole position, with his grand prix pole position meaning that he became the first driver since Alain Prost back in 1993 (who took pole position for each of the first seven grand prix) to take pole position for each of the first six grand prix of a season, and has now taken pole position for each of the last seven grand prix, one behind the record of eight set by Ayrton Senna, while Pérez finished third in the sprint and fourth in the grand prix in Miami!

Charles Leclerc (98 points) is third in the standings for Ferrari after finishing second in the sprint and third in the grand prix in Miami, while Norris (83 points) jumps into fourth ahead of Leclerc’s teammate in Carlos Sainz (83 points) after winning the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, becoming the first McLaren driver to win a grand prix since Daniel Ricciardo won the 2021 Italian Grand Prix (the grand prix where Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton came together and were both forced to retire from the grand prix, with Verstappen parked on-top of Hamilton), following being forced to retire from the sprint following a collision at Turn One, with Sainz slipping to fifth after finishing fifth in both the sprint and the grand prix!

Oscar Piastri (41 points) is sixth in the world championship for McLaren-Mercedes after finishing an unfortunate 13th in the grand prix after being forced to pit for a new front wing after finishing sixth in the sprint, with George Russell (37 points) for Mercedes, Fernando Alonso (33 points) for Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes, and Hamilton (27 points) for Mercedes follow in seventh, eighth, and ninth in the standings after finishing eighth, ninth, and sixth in the grand prix respectively after all three failed to score points in the sprint, finishing 12th, 17th, and 16th (following a 20-second time penalty post race) respectively, while Yuki Tsunoda (14 points) for RB-Honda RBPT completes the Top 10 in the championship after finishing eighth in the sprint and seventh in the grand prix in Miami!

Looking at the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT (239 points) extend to a 52-point lead over Ferrari (187 points), with McLaren-Mercedes (124 points) in a clear, but strong third, Mercedes (64 points) struggling in fourth ahead of Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes (42 points), while RB-Honda RBPT (19 points) are in sixth, Haas-Ferrari (seven points) are in seventh, Alpine-Renault (one point) are in eighth, with both Williams-Mercedes (zero points) and Kick Sauber-Ferrari (zero points) remaining pointless after six rounds!

So, who is going to win the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix?

It is back to the normal race weekend format at Imola in Italy, and while I suspect and expect Max Verstappen will bounce back and return to the top step of the podium, I think Lando Norris can continue his brilliant form in second, with Sergio Pérez to complete the podium in third!

2024 French GP (MotoGP) – Preview

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The Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto hosted one of the great premier class grand prix in recent times a fortnight ago, and after one of the greatest head-to-head battles we have seen, two-time reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia, after having difficult race weekends in Portugal and in the United States before crashing out of the sprint in Jerez, triumphed over six-time premier class world champion Marc Márquez to win the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix, the 20th grand prix race victory of his premier class career, and is the first rider in 2024 to win multiple grand prix after championship leader Jorge Martín crashed out of the lead of the Spanish Grand Prix on Lap 11 at the Dani Pedrosa corner (Turn Six) following winning a dramatic sprint the day before, a sprint where 15 riders crashed, with one of those riders still managing to finish inside the points-scoring positions (Top Nine) in the sprint!

And, as the grid heads from southern Spain to the north-western part of France to the historic city of Le Mans, and to the Bugatti Circuit (which runs on part of the iconic Circuit de la Sarthe that is synonymous for hosting the world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race), will there be more drama on the track as the championship battle begins to heat up at the 2024 French Grand Prix, Round Five of the 2024 FIM MotoGP World Championship!

Martín (92 points) still leads the championship for Prima Pramac Racing despite crashing out of the lead of the grand prix after winning the sprint in Spain, but the advantage has been cut from 21 points to 17 points, with Bagnaia (75 points) for the Ducati Lenovo Team moving up into second in the standings after winning the grand prix following crashing out of the sprint on Lap Three at Turn One after being caught in a “sandwich” between Brad Binder and Marco Bezzecchi, while Bagnaia’s teammate Enea Bastianini (70 points) also crashed out of the sprint, but on Lap Nine at the Sito Pons corner (Turn Five) in synchronisation with Binder and Álex Márquez, but finished fifth in the grand prix at Jerez!

Pedro Acosta (69 points) is fourth in the world championship for Red Bull GasGas Tech3 after finishing second in a dramatic sprint before finishing 10th in the grand prix after dropping to 18th on the opening lap from 10th on the grid, with Maverick Viñales (63 points) for Aprilia Racing dropping to fifth in the standings following a ninth-place finish in the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix after crashing out of the sprint on Lap 10 at the Sito Pons corner (Turn Five), while Marc Márquez (60 points) is in sixth for Gresini Racing MotoGP after claiming his first grand prix podium finish for Ducati, the 102nd grand prix podium finish in his premier class, after finishing second in Jerez and sixth in the sprint despite crashing out of the lead of the sprint on Lap Nine at the Ángel Nieto corner, and Binder (59 points) is a further point behind for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing after crashing out of the sprint before finishing sixth in the grand prix!

Behind the Top Seven in the championship, there is a big gap to Aleix Espargaró (39 points) for Aprilia Racing in eighth after crashing out of the sprint on the opening lap before going out of the grand prix on Lap 10 after crashing into (and taking out) Johann Zarco at the Sito Pons corner (Turn Five), with the two Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team riders in Marco Bezzecchi (36 points) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (34 points) complete the Top 10 in the standings after finishing third and seventh in the grand prix respectively after both crashed in the sprint, with the latter remounting to finish the sprint in 13th!

So, who is going to win the 2024 French Grand Prix?

In my opinion, there are three serious contenders for the 2024 FIM MotoGP World Championship right now!

The first two are sitting first and second in the standings in Jorge Martín and Francesco Bagnaia!

However, the third one is sitting sixth in the championship standings, and hasn’t won a grand prix since since the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, but this weekend at the historic Le Mans, I predict the drought to end and the proverbial floodgates to open (once again) for Marc Márquez by winning the 2024 French Grand Prix to claim his first grand prix race victory on a Ducati, and to truly announce himself as a world championship contender as he searches to win his seventh premier class world championship, and his ninth across all classes, with the three riders I believe are the serious contenders for the championship to battle it out in both the sprint and the grand prix!

2024 Miami Grand Prix – Preview

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Max Verstappen once again showcased his supremacy over the world of Formula One and motorsport by claiming his fourth race victory of the year by winning the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, 58th race victory of his career and his 32nd race victory in the last 38 grand prix races from the 37th pole position of his career, the 100th pole position for Red Bull Racing, which came at the same place where they had achieved their first pole position and race victory back in 2009, and it was the fifth pole position for Verstappen in as many grand prix races to start the season, becoming the first driver to claim pole position in each of the first five grand prix races of a season since Mika Häkkinen back in 1999!

In addition to this, Verstappen also claimed victory in the opening sprint race of 2024 after starting from fourth on the grid in an absolutely mind-blowing display of speed!

However, as the grid travels to the United States Of America (USA) for the first of three grand prix in 2024, and the first of two sprint weekends to be held in the USA in 2024, the sharks are starting to circle around Verstappen and Red Bull Racing, most notably Mercedes, who are rumoured to be preparing the biggest deal in Formula One history in an attempt to lure the three-time reigning world champion to Mercedes from either 2025 or 2026 amid a power struggle that is occurring within Red Bull Racing, which I actually touched upon in my preview of the 2024 Australian Grand Prix, while the Chief Technical Officer at Red Bull Racing in Adrian Newey, on the 30th anniversary of the death of Ayrton Senna, has announced that he will depart the team that he has been with since February 2006 early in 2025 to perhaps join the team that Senna never got the chance to race with and unite with a driver who had Senna as his childhood hero, a driver who is now arguably regarded as the greatest of all-time in Lewis Hamilton, at Ferrari in 2025 (although that is yet to be confirmed or denied), after winning six Constructors’ Championships and seven Drivers’ Championships (so far) at Red Bull Racing, and 12 Constructors’ Championships and 13 Drivers’ Championships (so far) overall in cars that he has been responsible for designing!

However, even with all of this being considered, it is going to take something remarkable to stop Verstappen and Red Bull Racing this weekend at the Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens in Florida, about a 40-minute drive north of downtown Miami, at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, Round Six of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship!

Verstappen (110 points) for Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT has extended his lead to 25 points over his teammate Sergio Pérez (85 points) after winning both the sprint and grand prix in China, while Pérez finished third in both the sprint and grand prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, and thus extending the points gap between themselves and the two Ferrari drivers in Charles Leclerc (76 points) and Carlos Sainz (69 points), who finished fourth and fifth in both the sprint and the grand prix respectively in what was a hugely disappointing weekend for The Prancing Horse, who failed to have a car on the podium or Top Three in either a sprint or grand prix for the first time in 2024 on a weekend where they were expecting a better performance and should have been challenging Verstappen all weekend long, while Lando Norris (58 points) for McLaren-Mercedes overachieved, finishing sixth in the sprint after grabbing the sprint pole position before finishing a very impressive second in the Chinese Grand Prix from fourth on the grid, a performance which earned him the honour of Driver Of The Day!

Behind the Top Five in the standings, Oscar Piastri (38 points) is sixth for McLaren-Mercedes after finishing seventh in the sprint and eighth in the grand prix in China, George Russell (33 points) is seventh for Mercedes after being eighth in the sprint and sixth in the grand prix in Shanghai, while Fernando Alonso (31 points) is eighth for Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes after being classified 20th and last in the sprint following a tyre puncture, with the team electing to retire the car two laps from the finish before finishing seventh (with the fastest lap) in the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix!

Hamilton (19 points) remains ninth in the world championship for Mercedes after firstly being impressive in the sprint to finish second after starting in second and leading the first eight laps of the sprint, thus leading the opening lap of either a sprint or grand prix for the first time since the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (yes, that grand prix), but the weekend quickly turned pear-shaped for Hamilton after being knocked out in the first part of qualifying for the grand prix before coming from 18th to salvage ninth in the grand prix, while Lance Stroll (nine points) for Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes completes the Top 10 in the championship, despite failing to score points in China, finishing 14th in the sprint and 15th in the grand prix!

Looking at the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT (195 points) have a 44-point lead over Ferrari (151 points), with McLaren-Mercedes (96 points) in a distant third, and then a gap to Mercedes (52 points), who have a 12-point advantage over Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes (40 points), while it is slim pickings for RB-Honda RBPT (seven points) and the impressive (relatively speaking) Haas-Ferrari (five points), with Williams-Mercedes (zero points), Alpine-Renault (zero points), and Kick Sauber-Ferrari (zero points) yet to score points so far in 2024!

So, who is going to win the 2024 Miami Grand Prix?

Max Verstappen for the third-straight year at the Miami International Autodrome certainly appears to be the likely outcome, probably in a Red Bull Racing one-two with Sergio Pérez in second, and I think Ferrari (somewhat) bounce back in Miami with Charles Leclerc to finish in third!