Will Max Verstappen continue his dominant streak and win the race a third time? Or will someone else finally take the trophy? And who's the local boy on the grid?
New Times has your inside look at the best drivers to watch at the 2004 Miami Grand Prix.
It's Max Verstappen's world, and we're all just living in it.
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Somebody Verstopp Him!
Max Verstappen, Red BullMax Verstappen is the closest thing Formula 1 has ever had to a Shaolin monk. Trained by his ex-F1 driver father, Jos Verstappen, and honed into a lean, mean racing machine throughout his youth, the Dutchman had long been feted by Red Bull as the next great driver. In 2021, amid controversial circumstances at the final race of the year, he finally clinched the Driver's Championship for the first time. Since then, thanks in much part to the superior machinery of Red Bull, he's left the entire grid in his dust for two straight seasons, winning back-to-back titles and treating each race like a gentle Sunday drive through the countryside. He is the only man to have ever won the Miami GP and set the fastest lap record at both races. He races the way I play Mario Kart: He takes the lead as soon as possible and gets as far ahead of the field as he can. And it works almost every time because no other team can engineer a blue shell to knock him out.As of now, Verstappen seems poised to continue his streak of dominance in 2024. He's won four out of the five races that have been run so far, and it probably would have been five for five if he hadn't retired from the Australian GP due to mechanical issues. He will most likely win a third straight Miami GP, and unless the sky falls, he will probably win the championship, too. That being said, things are not all rosy at Red Bull. The team has been rocked by controversy after team principal Christian Horner was accused of sexual misconduct by a female employee. Although Horner was cleared of any wrongdoing, rumors of stress within the organization and power struggles between the senior staff have persisted since. Just last week, design chief Adrian Newey, a key member of the team, was reportedly planning to leave the team. There's even speculation that Verstappen could replace the outgoing Hamilton at Mercedes, although considering that team's struggles, it's pretty unlikely he would ditch the fastest team on the grid for them. For now, we'll have to resign ourselves to watching him win again and again and again — sigh.
Ham on the Run
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-BenzEarlier this year, Lewis Hamilton shocked the world by announcing he would break his newly signed two-year contract at Mercedes-Benz and race for Ferrari in 2025. The highly anticipated move will unite the seven-time Formula 1 World Champion with the most iconic stable on the grid as both vie to finally unseat Max Verstappen and Red Bull at the top of the table.As shocking as the decision was, however, it wasn't altogether too surprising. The British driver had won six of his seven titles with Mercedes, but ever since Hamilton fell to Verstappen in 2020, they haven't measured up. A change in car construction regulations in 2021 saw the once-dominant team fall into the mid-table as design and mechanical issues mounted. Though he managed third in the Constructor's Championship last year, the siren song of Ferrari, a legendary name in motorsport that all drivers aspire to race with, seemed to prove too strong. It also helps that the team has consistently beaten Mercedes over the last few seasons.
While Hamilton won't join the Scuderia until next year, there are plenty of reasons to watch his final season with Mad Money Merc. For one, he remains one of the most compelling personalities on the grid, a magnetic and inspirational figure that one can't help but root for. One reason for that may be his comparatively humble origins: Raised working class in Stevenage, England, he rose above racist abuse at school and from rival drivers to eventually become the first Black driver in Formula 1 in 2007. A year later, at 23 years of age, he became the first Black F1 champion, also holding the record for youngest champion until Sebastian Vettel snatched it two years later. Finally, in 2020, he tied the record for most championship wins with the great Michael Schumacher, another driver of working-class origins. In a sport created for and by elites where wealthy drivers could, until recently, buy their way onto the grid, it matters that someone like Hamilton can rise to the top. Here's hoping he makes it back.
Charles Leclerc can't seem to surpass his rival, Max Verstappen.
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Seeing Red
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, FerrariThough it remains the most celebrated and iconic team on the grid, Scuderia Ferrari hasn't won a title in more than a decade. That long drought seems to have cast a pall over its drivers, who are each dealing with their own crises this year as they try to catch the seemingly uncatchable Max Verstappen and Red Bull.First, there's Charles Leclerc. Raised in the shadow of Formula 1's most iconic race in Monaco, Leclerc grew up racing alongside Verstappen and made his F1 debut with Sauber before mounting the Prancing Pony in 2019. Like Verstappen, he was also feted as the next big driver for Ferrari — he was part of its driver academy before joining Sauber — but between mismanagement from the team and his own poor luck, he just can't seem to surpass his rival in the Red Bull. He managed to finish second in the Driver's Championship in 2022 and won three GPs, but went winless last year and finished fifth in the standings overall. His disqualification at the U.S. GP after qualifying on pole may have been the worst moment of the season, but things are looking up this year, at least, with two podium finishes so far.
Then there's Carlos Sainz, whose bad luck mostly comes down to the fact that he's being replaced next year by Lewis Hamilton. The Spaniard has always been consistent but not outstanding. He finally managed to nab his first Grand Prix win last year in Singapore and just recently earned his second in Australia, beating teammate Leclerc, but only after Verstappen retired due to brake failure. Sainz remains without a drive for 2025 going into Miami, but given how much speculation there is about where he'll go, it seems he's in demand, at least.
Even after all these years, Fernando Alonso remains a thrill to watch.
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No Country for Old Men
Fernando Alonso, Aston MartinAlthough any resemblance to Javier Bardem is purely coincidental, Fernando Alonso also seems to take immense joy in playing the villain. A two-time Formula 1 champion noted for his mercurial personality, the Spaniard built his legend in the sport by ending Michael Schumacher's championship streak in 2004 and through a stormy stint at Ferrari in the early 2010s. He initially retired from the sport at the end of the 2018 season, but in 2021, he was coaxed back to F1 by Renault to launch their rebrand as Alpine. But like any supervillain worth their salt, he wanted more, and he jumped ship to Aston Martin when the trophies didn't come. In his first season with the team, he managed to reach the podium eight times, a true feat for a 42-year-old driver. Along with Hamilton and Verstappen, he's considered one of the best drivers on the grid. And although his results this season haven't been quite as impressive, he's still a thrill to watch.
Fort Lauderdale-born Logan Sargeant has not been able to keep up with the other drivers on the track.
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Hometown Horror
Logan Sargeant, WilliamsThe lone American on the grid is, indeed, a South Florida native. Born in 2000 in Fort Lauderdale, Logan Sargeant got his start in motorsports racing in local karting competitions and eventually moved to Europe and began to ascend the racing ranks, eventually reaching Formula 2 in 2022. Last year, he made his Formula 1 debut for the venerable yet troubled team Williams, replacing Canadian driver Nicolas Latifi and becoming the first American F1 driver since 2015. With the sport expanding its presence in the U.S. up to three GPs, having a Yank on the grid makes a lot of sense.Or it would if he could actually drive. Sargeant's record in 2023 was abysmal, riddled with crashes and dead-last finishes, including a P20 bow at Miami last year. He would have come in last in the Driver's Championship if not for a P10 finish in the United States GP and the truncated season of Nyck de Vries, who was cut from AlphaTauri due to his performance issues. Then again, Sargeant managed to get beaten in the seasonal standings by former Carling F2 teammate Liam Lawson, who only drove for five races, filling in for an injured Daniel Ricciardo. As of this writing, Sargeant has kept his shit streak going, with his highest result of the season, a P14 finish in the Saudi Arabian GP. He's also being consistently outperformed by his admittedly more experienced teammate Alexander Albon, whose multiple top-ten finishes last year managed to nab Williams seventh place in the Constructor's Championship in 2023. Sargeant may have only had his first hometown race last year, but if he doesn't shape up, it looks like the 2024 Miami GP may be his last.
Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix. Friday, May 3, through Sunday, May 5, at Hard Rock Stadium, 347 Don Shula Dr., Miami Gardens; f1miamigp.com.
