Hamilton: We haven't taken a step forward yet

Lewis Hamilton bemoaned his sixth-placed finish at the Miami Grand Prix and hinted that his car was damaged early on.

Hamilton started in sixth on the grid after an impressive resurgence from the Mercedes team who have had a miserable start to the campaign.

Alterations to the car’s front and rear wing appeared to have the Mercedes running behind Ferrari and Red Bull but ahead of the rest of the Formula One pack, and Hamilton ended up in sixth, usurped by his teammate George Russell, who finished fifth.

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Russell overtook the seven-time champion towards the end of the race as he benefited from the safety car coming out at just the right time to let him swap over his hard tyres without losing track position.

Hamilton however had more bad luck, as he was clipped in the opening stages when Fernando Alonso brushed wheels with him.

The Briton was insistent that he had incurred damage, though communication from his team claimed that there was no under-performance showing on their data.

Speaking after the race, Hamilton reaffirmed his opinion, saying: “The car definitely didn’t feel the same as it did, I’m sure they’ll check it. It was quite a hard hit but otherwise it will be ok. We’ve got good points as a team today. We’ll take it and move on.”

He also complained that the safety car interrupted his race, and hinted that he expects an improved showing in the next Grand Prix in Spain on May 22.

“In that scenario I have no clue where everyone is, that’s what you rely on the guys for,” he stated.

“It’s just been a bit unfortunate with the safety car. I’m excited to take a step forward, which we haven’t done yet.”

Russell was similarly frustrated, and expects better performances to come.

“It was mixed feelings, based on yesterday it was a good result,” Russell said, given he started from 12th. “We have a fast race car in there, we don’t have the key to unlock it. There’s more to do.

“It’s frustrating but I’m sure we’ll get there at some point.

“It’s good, when you battle with your teammate you show more respect, give more space. I enjoyed it. I think there’s good respect between us. I was pushing as hard as I could.

“I didn’t really like the tarmac, what did I like? I liked that we were in Miami.”

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Hamilton: We haven't taken a step forward yet

Lewis Hamilton bemoaned his sixth-placed finish at the Miami Grand Prix and hinted that his car was damaged early on.

Hamilton started in sixth on the grid after an impressive resurgence from the Mercedes team who have had a miserable start to the campaign.

Alterations to the car’s front and rear wing appeared to have the Mercedes running behind Ferrari and Red Bull but ahead of the rest of the Formula One pack, and Hamilton ended up in sixth, usurped by his teammate George Russell, who finished fifth.

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Russell overtook the seven-time champion towards the end of the race as he benefited from the safety car coming out at just the right time to let him swap over his hard tyres without losing track position.

Hamilton however had more bad luck, as he was clipped in the opening stages when Fernando Alonso brushed wheels with him.

The Briton was insistent that he had incurred damage, though communication from his team claimed that there was no under-performance showing on their data.

Speaking after the race, Hamilton reaffirmed his opinion, saying: “The car definitely didn’t feel the same as it did, I’m sure they’ll check it. It was quite a hard hit but otherwise it will be ok. We’ve got good points as a team today. We’ll take it and move on.”

He also complained that the safety car interrupted his race, and hinted that he expects an improved showing in the next Grand Prix in Spain on May 22.

“In that scenario I have no clue where everyone is, that’s what you rely on the guys for,” he stated.

“It’s just been a bit unfortunate with the safety car. I’m excited to take a step forward, which we haven’t done yet.”

Russell was similarly frustrated, and expects better performances to come.

“It was mixed feelings, based on yesterday it was a good result,” Russell said, given he started from 12th. “We have a fast race car in there, we don’t have the key to unlock it. There’s more to do.

“It’s frustrating but I’m sure we’ll get there at some point.

“It’s good, when you battle with your teammate you show more respect, give more space. I enjoyed it. I think there’s good respect between us. I was pushing as hard as I could.

“I didn’t really like the tarmac, what did I like? I liked that we were in Miami.”

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Victorious Verstappen says 'I'll stick to racing ' after Muhammad Ali comparison

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen said he would stick to Formula One after he was told he would suit boxing due to the strength he showed in winning the Miami Grand Prix.

The current champion battled through an intense, physical and humid race in Florida which saw him push through from third on the grid to ultimately take the lead and control the rest of the race despite a late resurgence from Charles Leclerc.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, it was suggested with such physical resilience he would perhaps be a successful boxer like another champion, Muhammad Ali.

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“It was an incredible Grand Prix, very physical as well, but I think we kept it exciting until the end,” Verstappen said.

“I think I’ll stick to racing but I appreciate boxing. I’m incredibly happy winning in Miami. It was an incredible Sunday for us.”

Ferrari’s Leclerc agreed that it was a tough race to have gone through, and suggested that problems with the tyres – which Red Bull noted had started to fray before the first 10 laps were out – held him back.

“It was a very difficult race physically, we struggled with the medium tyres quite a bit in the first stint and got overtaken then,” he acknowledged.

“It made our race a bit more difficult from that moment onwards.”

There was a brief moment of hope for the Monegasque youngster but despite being unable to capitalise, he was optimistic for the rest of the campaign.

“On the hards we were very competitive and in the end I thought I could get Max at one point, but today they had the advantage in terms of pace,” he explained.

“But it was fun. It was amazing to see so many people and so many Ferrari fans in the grandstand.

“We need to keep pushing. Each race will be very important throughout the year. And I hope now we can do a step up, from next race onwards.”

Leclerc leads the championship by 19 points from second-placed Verstappen.

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Victorious Verstappen says 'I'll stick to racing ' after Muhammad Ali comparison

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen said he would stick to Formula One after he was told he would suit boxing due to the strength he showed in winning the Miami Grand Prix.

The current champion battled through an intense, physical and humid race in Florida which saw him push through from third on the grid to ultimately take the lead and control the rest of the race despite a late resurgence from Charles Leclerc.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, it was suggested with such physical resilience he would perhaps be a successful boxer like another champion, Muhammad Ali.

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“It was an incredible Grand Prix, very physical as well, but I think we kept it exciting until the end,” Verstappen said.

“I think I’ll stick to racing but I appreciate boxing. I’m incredibly happy winning in Miami. It was an incredible Sunday for us.”

Ferrari’s Leclerc agreed that it was a tough race to have gone through, and suggested that problems with the tyres – which Red Bull noted had started to fray before the first 10 laps were out – held him back.

“It was a very difficult race physically, we struggled with the medium tyres quite a bit in the first stint and got overtaken then,” he acknowledged.

“It made our race a bit more difficult from that moment onwards.”

There was a brief moment of hope for the Monegasque youngster but despite being unable to capitalise, he was optimistic for the rest of the campaign.

“On the hards we were very competitive and in the end I thought I could get Max at one point, but today they had the advantage in terms of pace,” he explained.

“But it was fun. It was amazing to see so many people and so many Ferrari fans in the grandstand.

“We need to keep pushing. Each race will be very important throughout the year. And I hope now we can do a step up, from next race onwards.”

Leclerc leads the championship by 19 points from second-placed Verstappen.

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Verstappen holds off charging Leclerc to claim Miami Grand Prix glory for Red Bull

Max Verstappen held off a late charge from Charles Leclerc to take glory at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix for Red Bull.

At the green light, Verstappen pounced on a mediocre start from Carlos Sainz in second, and swept past him to sit in behind Leclerc in pole.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton dropped down into seventh from fifth from the off, and he complained to his team that Alpine’s experienced Fernando Alonso had clipped his car and done damage, with replays revealing the two had rubbed tyres briefly. “It definitely feels like there’s some damage,” the seven-time champion complained.

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After just five laps, Verstappen had whittled the lead down to 1.4 seconds and the spectre of DRS was looming, and on lap 8 his team informed him that the Monegasque’s right front tyre was starting to show damage.

That was all the encouragement the Dutchman needed and on lap 9 he flicked the DRS switch, moved in for the slipstream, and leapt into the lead on turn 1 after the finish line straight.

There was a brief scare for Red Bull – beset by early season reliability problems – as on lap 20 Sergio Perez exclaimed, ‘I’m losing a lot of power!’ It seemed he was losing around four seconds a lap, but his team quickly put things right to avoid disaster.

With 16 laps remaining there was drama as Pierre Gasly was caught unaware and clattered into the quicker Lando Norris, who spun out with a burst tyre, meaning the virtual safety came out, allowing Russell to take new tyres without sacrificing a place.

After the restart with the safety car ducking into the pits, Leclerc started to eat away at Verstappen’s lead and look for a DRS overtaking opportunity, while Hamilton lost his fifth spot to Russell.

Vertappen came under concerted pressure, but he made his Red Bull extremely wide and the extra pace down the straights helped him fend off Leclerc for the win.

DRIVER OF THE DAY: MAX VERSTAPPEN

It’s hard to see past the Dutchman, as perhaps the only driver on the day who did not make a serious mistake.

While the Ferraris started on the front row, Leclerc did not have the discipline in the later stages to keep the pressure on the world champion and could not sustain the necessary pace to use DRS to get back the lead.

Sainz, meanwhile, was again ragged on the turns, and his poor start meant his teammate had only the merest of protection for his lead. If the season ultimately goes in Verstappen’s favour, the Italian team will have to look at whether their second driver is really good enough to help win championships.

WHERE THE RACE WAS WON

1/57 GO GO GO – Leclerc gets away safely, while Verstappen goes wheel-to-wheel with Sainz and the Dutchman passes. Hamilton down to eighth.

9/57 – VERSTAPPEN LEADS – On turn 1, Verstappen has DRS enabled, and he sweeps down the inside and uses slipstream to pull him through for the lead.

41/57 – NORRIS IS OUT – It looks like he’s taken out by Gasly. He might have lost a wheel – certainly a tyre – and while Norris is able to walk away, the debris strewn from the crash brings out the safety car.

46/57 – VERSTAPPEN LAUNCHES FORWARD – He retains the lead at the restart as the safety car withdraws, while Perez is competing for Sainz’s third.

PIT EXCHANGE OF THE DAY

Sergio Perez: “I’m losing a lot of power”

Engineer: “It’s all looking good, power unit is all looking good. You’ve lost the tow.”

Perez: “I’m losing power man, how can you say it’s good?”

OVERTAKE OF THE DAY

Russell’s late move past teammate Hamilton might have been straightforward, with DRS allowing him to ease around him on a long left-hander, the significance should not be lost. With the Mercedes now competitive if still far from dominant, it seems that Russell can argue he should be supported for the rest of the season as he is the Mercedes driver with the best understanding of a difficult car.

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Verstappen holds off charging Leclerc to claim Miami Grand Prix glory for Red Bull

Max Verstappen held off a late charge from Charles Leclerc to take glory at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix for Red Bull.

At the green light, Verstappen pounced on a mediocre start from Carlos Sainz in second, and swept past him to sit in behind Leclerc in pole.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton dropped down into seventh from fifth from the off, and he complained to his team that Alpine’s experienced Fernando Alonso had clipped his car and done damage, with replays revealing the two had rubbed tyres briefly. “It definitely feels like there’s some damage,” the seven-time champion complained.

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After just five laps, Verstappen had whittled the lead down to 1.4 seconds and the spectre of DRS was looming, and on lap 8 his team informed him that the Monegasque’s right front tyre was starting to show damage.

That was all the encouragement the Dutchman needed and on lap 9 he flicked the DRS switch, moved in for the slipstream, and leapt into the lead on turn 1 after the finish line straight.

There was a brief scare for Red Bull – beset by early season reliability problems – as on lap 20 Sergio Perez exclaimed, ‘I’m losing a lot of power!’ It seemed he was losing around four seconds a lap, but his team quickly put things right to avoid disaster.

With 16 laps remaining there was drama as Pierre Gasly was caught unaware and clattered into the quicker Lando Norris, who spun out with a burst tyre, meaning the virtual safety came out, allowing Russell to take new tyres without sacrificing a place.

After the restart with the safety car ducking into the pits, Leclerc started to eat away at Verstappen’s lead and look for a DRS overtaking opportunity, while Hamilton lost his fifth spot to Russell.

Vertappen came under concerted pressure, but he made his Red Bull extremely wide and the extra pace down the straights helped him fend off Leclerc for the win.

DRIVER OF THE DAY: MAX VERSTAPPEN

It’s hard to see past the Dutchman, as perhaps the only driver on the day who did not make a serious mistake.

While the Ferraris started on the front row, Leclerc did not have the discipline in the later stages to keep the pressure on the world champion and could not sustain the necessary pace to use DRS to get back the lead.

Sainz, meanwhile, was again ragged on the turns, and his poor start meant his teammate had only the merest of protection for his lead. If the season ultimately goes in Verstappen’s favour, the Italian team will have to look at whether their second driver is really good enough to help win championships.

WHERE THE RACE WAS WON

1/57 GO GO GO – Leclerc gets away safely, while Verstappen goes wheel-to-wheel with Sainz and the Dutchman passes. Hamilton down to eighth.

9/57 – VERSTAPPEN LEADS – On turn 1, Verstappen has DRS enabled, and he sweeps down the inside and uses slipstream to pull him through for the lead.

41/57 – NORRIS IS OUT – It looks like he’s taken out by Gasly. He might have lost a wheel – certainly a tyre – and while Norris is able to walk away, the debris strewn from the crash brings out the safety car.

46/57 – VERSTAPPEN LAUNCHES FORWARD – He retains the lead at the restart as the safety car withdraws, while Perez is competing for Sainz’s third.

PIT EXCHANGE OF THE DAY

Sergio Perez: “I’m losing a lot of power”

Engineer: “It’s all looking good, power unit is all looking good. You’ve lost the tow.”

Perez: “I’m losing power man, how can you say it’s good?”

OVERTAKE OF THE DAY

Russell’s late move past teammate Hamilton might have been straightforward, with DRS allowing him to ease around him on a long left-hander, the significance should not be lost. With the Mercedes now competitive if still far from dominant, it seems that Russell can argue he should be supported for the rest of the season as he is the Mercedes driver with the best understanding of a difficult car.

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Wolff explains FP3 experiments harmed car: 'We worsened it'

Mercedes Team principal Toto Wolff explained why the team’s car had such a dramatic drop-off in performance in Free Practice 3.

Before Saturday’s first session it had appeared that the German team had delivered a much-improved car to compete at the Miami Grand Prix this weekend.

George Russell ended the second practice session as the quickest driver and Lewis Hamilton looked much more impressive, though trailed his teammate.

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However on Saturday Hamilton could only secure a 15th-placed finish, and Russell took 17th. That seemed a huge disappointment for the team after it appeared that their new design, including new front and rear wings, had solved many of the performance problems they had been suffering from since early pre-season testing and into the opening races.

However Wolff told Sky Sports that the reduced pace could be put down to experimental changes made, meaning they could be reversed for qualifying, when Hamilton finished sixth and Russell 12th.

“We have seen a performing car yesterday in P2 that was real,” he said.

“We were able to put it in a sweet spot and today in P3 we were completely off with the experiments we did.

“It creeped a little bit off but it was still bouncing like a kangaroo, the drivers are not happy with it and you can see that is the reason we are off.

“We definitely have a better handling on what works and the slump today from yesterday helped.

“It is never one thing that is responsible for performance and non-performance but we had a good car yesterday afternoon, then we worsened it.

“Some things we understand, others not.”

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Wolff explains FP3 experiments harmed car: 'We worsened it'

Mercedes Team principal Toto Wolff explained why the team’s car had such a dramatic drop-off in performance in Free Practice 3.

Before Saturday’s first session it had appeared that the German team had delivered a much-improved car to compete at the Miami Grand Prix this weekend.

George Russell ended the second practice session as the quickest driver and Lewis Hamilton looked much more impressive, though trailed his teammate.

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However on Saturday Hamilton could only secure a 15th-placed finish, and Russell took 17th. That seemed a huge disappointment for the team after it appeared that their new design, including new front and rear wings, had solved many of the performance problems they had been suffering from since early pre-season testing and into the opening races.

However Wolff told Sky Sports that the reduced pace could be put down to experimental changes made, meaning they could be reversed for qualifying, when Hamilton finished sixth and Russell 12th.

“We have seen a performing car yesterday in P2 that was real,” he said.

“We were able to put it in a sweet spot and today in P3 we were completely off with the experiments we did.

“It creeped a little bit off but it was still bouncing like a kangaroo, the drivers are not happy with it and you can see that is the reason we are off.

“We definitely have a better handling on what works and the slump today from yesterday helped.

“It is never one thing that is responsible for performance and non-performance but we had a good car yesterday afternoon, then we worsened it.

“Some things we understand, others not.”

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NFL star Tom Brady praises Lewis Hamilton for success 'all over the world'

NFL superstar Tom Brady praised Lewis Hamilton for honing his skills on the world stage.

The pair were interviewed ahead of Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback explained that at the heart of all sports was the need to put yourself up against the best.

Speaking of his part in the famous 34-28 comeback win in the Superbowl in 2017 against the Atlanta Falcons, Brady told Sky Sports that the ability to win from a trailing position came from them being fully committed.

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“We ended up playing the Falcons that year,” he said. “They had a great team, and we gave it everything we had.

“Ultimately that’s what it’s all about, because you just got to leave always knowing you gave everything you had.

“I try to tell that to my family, to my kids, sports are hard. You’re going up against the best competition in the world. You’re not supposed to win every time.

“We have scoreboards. We get to see every week how we did. And every week we get to dig deep on our personalities, on our relationships, and they just hone your skills.

“Lewis has done that all over the world. Look at F1, what they want to do, on a global scale. I think we try to do that with the people we affect. That’s the bonus, that’s the payoff in sports.”

Mercedes’ seven-time champion Hamilton, sitting alongside Brady, agreed.

“It’s just about that teamwork,” he stated. “Teamwork makes the dream work, right? Everyone coming together, that’s the greatest journey that you go on.”

Hamilton has endured a difficult start to the season with the German team, with a new car design that has struggled to match the pace set by the Ferrari and Red Bull teams.

However the Briton put down a better-than-expected effort in qualifying, coming sixth, and that gave him some relief.

“I am generally really happy with the job I did,” Hamilton said. “I did the best I could with the car that I have. It’s a very hard car to drive.

“I did a damn good job today and I’m happy with it.”

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NFL star Tom Brady praises Lewis Hamilton for success 'all over the world'

NFL superstar Tom Brady praised Lewis Hamilton for honing his skills on the world stage.

The pair were interviewed ahead of Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback explained that at the heart of all sports was the need to put yourself up against the best.

Speaking of his part in the famous 34-28 comeback win in the Superbowl in 2017 against the Atlanta Falcons, Brady told Sky Sports that the ability to win from a trailing position came from them being fully committed.

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“We ended up playing the Falcons that year,” he said. “They had a great team, and we gave it everything we had.

“Ultimately that’s what it’s all about, because you just got to leave always knowing you gave everything you had.

“I try to tell that to my family, to my kids, sports are hard. You’re going up against the best competition in the world. You’re not supposed to win every time.

“We have scoreboards. We get to see every week how we did. And every week we get to dig deep on our personalities, on our relationships, and they just hone your skills.

“Lewis has done that all over the world. Look at F1, what they want to do, on a global scale. I think we try to do that with the people we affect. That’s the bonus, that’s the payoff in sports.”

Mercedes’ seven-time champion Hamilton, sitting alongside Brady, agreed.

“It’s just about that teamwork,” he stated. “Teamwork makes the dream work, right? Everyone coming together, that’s the greatest journey that you go on.”

Hamilton has endured a difficult start to the season with the German team, with a new car design that has struggled to match the pace set by the Ferrari and Red Bull teams.

However the Briton put down a better-than-expected effort in qualifying, coming sixth, and that gave him some relief.

“I am generally really happy with the job I did,” Hamilton said. “I did the best I could with the car that I have. It’s a very hard car to drive.

“I did a damn good job today and I’m happy with it.”

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