In the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League, Lando Norris was fortunate with the timing of the safety car during the Miami Grand Prix. However, his speed in the upgraded McLaren MCL38 was exceptional compared to the Red Bull and Ferrari teams. The McLaren was simply faster on race day, despite qualifying a few tenths slower. He performed better on the medium and hard tires used in the race than on the soft tires. Norris took advantage of external factors and capitalized on every opportunity to secure his first Grand Prix victory. It was a flawlessly executed and controlled race.
Sergio Perez’s chaotic start caused the Ferraris to scatter, resulting in Carlos Sainz losing the second position he had just taken from his teammate Charles Leclerc. The incident also separated the McLarens. Norris, positioned on the outside, lost out by avoiding the chaos, while Oscar Piastri, on the inside, capitalized on the situation. He made contact with Sainz, securing third place and later overtaking Leclerc with the help of DRS.
Throughout the remainder of the race, Norris followed Verstappen by approximately three seconds, closely followed by the Ferraris. However, the Ferraris were unable to attempt an overtake. If Sainz had been allowed to pass Leclerc, the situation could have been different as he believed he had more pace. Despite this, there was no serious discussion on the Ferrari pitwall.
Norris was forced to back off to prevent Perez from returning to the track, resulting in being stuck behind Perez for several laps. It seemed unlikely that Norris would achieve victory. Although the updated McLaren had improved aerodynamics compared to the original, it lacked the straight-line speed necessary to overtake. Even with DRS, the McLaren’s speed at the end of the straight was comparable to the Red Bull without DRS. However, Norris could feel the same magic that the car had on Friday during practice, when it was equipped with medium tires.
The performance of the new car fluctuated throughout the weekend. It was incredibly fast on Friday, a bit slower on Saturday, but now it seemed exactly like on Friday. This was not exclusive to Norris; all drivers experienced significant fluctuations due to the unpredictable nature of the tires. Verstappen and Leclerc were never fully satisfied with the balance of their cars.
To preserve his tires, Norris backed off a few seconds. However, when the pit stop window opened for what was expected to be a single-stop race, Norris closed the gap and pressured Perez through the undercut strategy. Perez couldn’t keep up with Norris’s pace.
At the front of the pack, Verstappen maintained a three-second lead over Piastri. It wasn’t a typical dominant race for Verstappen-Red Bull. Verstappen expressed discomfort with the car, struggling with rear grip at low speeds and understeer at high speeds.
Red Bull brought Perez in for a pit stop at the end of lap 17, revealing Norris’s incredible pace. Norris began setting laps 1.0 to 1.5 seconds faster than when he was behind the Red Bull, closing in on Sainz.
Leclerc, increasingly dissatisfied with his worn tires, was called in for a pit stop on lap 19 to put pressure on Piastri through the undercut strategy. Piastri stayed out on track. However, with Leclerc no longer hindering him, Sainz improved his pace by over half a second. However, Norris continued to progress at a rate approximately 0.5 seconds faster than Sainz.
Norris’ engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, reported his lap times to Verstappen. The world champion acknowledged that he would not have been able to match Norris’ times on used medium tires. Verstappen recognized Norris’ insane pace and admitted that his own performance was not up to par.
Leclerc, on new hard tires, set faster laps than Verstappen and posed a potential threat through the undercut strategy. Verstappen persevered, but went off track at turn 15, dislodging an obstacle that briefly got stuck on his car before falling off the back. Verstappen claimed not to feel any difference, although damage to the floor was later discovered.
The obstacle presented an obvious danger on the track. A virtual safety car was deployed, but was withdrawn when Verstappen passed the pit entry. Verstappen was forced to pit while the pack was back up to full racing speed. He rejoined the race still ahead of Leclerc.
Sainz, feeling the pressure from Norris, made a pit stop on lap 27. He followed Piastri into the pit lane, and they maintained their positions after the stops. However, Leclerc had undercut Piastri. Norris was now leading the race. Shortly after, Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant collided, resulting in the Williams car getting stuck in the fence and requiring its removal. This was disastrous for Piastri and Sainz, as it allowed Norris to pit with a 10-second advantage over the pack.
This situation could have also been disastrous for Norris. If the safety car had caught him as the leader, he would have been forced to stay out on old tires due to the pack compressing. Stopping would have resulted in a significant loss of positions. However, the safety car mistakenly picked up Verstappen instead of Norris. This error allowed Norris to pit and rejoin the track still in the lead. If the safety car error had not been corrected, Norris could have potentially lapped the entire field.
Instead, the cars lined up behind the safety car in the order of Norris, Verstappen, Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz, and Perez. Verstappen closely pursued Norris when the race resumed, forcing Norris to defend his position into turn 1. However, Norris’ superior speed allowed him to gain over a second on Verstappen by the end of the lap. As a result, Norris was immune to the DRS activation. He continued to increase his lead over Verstappen by approximately 0.3 seconds per lap. The advantage of the McLaren on hard tires was even greater than on medium tires.
Meanwhile, Piastri and Sainz engaged in a wheel-to-wheel battle, making occasional contact. Sainz eventually overtook Piastri at turn 17 at the end of the long straight. However, the move was late and Sainz’s rear wheel made contact with Piastri’s front wing, requiring a pit stop for a new nose. Sainz continued and finished fourth, but was later penalized by five seconds for the incident.
Perez was unable to challenge the Ferraris, despite making a second pit stop during the safety car period to switch to new medium tires. Instead, he had to defend against Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes, who had started on hard tires and switched to the faster medium tires towards the end of the race. Behind them, George Russell battled unsuccessfully with Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull for seventh place. Fernando Alonso made a late pass on his old friend Esteban Ocon in the Alpine to secure ninth place.
When Norris crossed the finish line, he felt comfortable, with a comfortable lead of 7.6 seconds over Verstappen. Although there is no doubt that Norris was the fastest driver on track, the question remains whether he could have won from his compromised position without the intervention of the safety car. Norris acknowledged that it would have been challenging, requiring him to overtake two Ferraris and Piastri before reaching Verstappen.
There was an element of luck involved, but Norris’s performance was undeniably devastating. He emerged as the winner of the grand prix, solidifying his status as a formidable driver.
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The Brazilian football is about to undergo a major change. According to sources close to the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), a new competition format is being planned to revolutionize the sport in the country. The competition, called the “Brazilian Super League”, will involve the participation of the country’s main clubs and promises to bring a new dynamic to national football.
The Brazilian Super League will consist of 20 teams, with clubs being selected based on their performance in state and national competitions. The idea is to create a more balanced and attractive competition for fans, with high-level games and intense rivalries.
In addition, the Brazilian Super League will feature a new competition format. The competition will be divided into two phases: the group stage and the playoffs. In the group stage, teams will face each other in a round-robin format, with the top four from each group advancing to the playoffs. The playoffs will be played in knockout matches, until the finalists are determined.
The expectation is that the Brazilian Super League will begin to be played from 2025. The CBF is working together with the clubs to define the details of the new format and ensure that the competition is a success. The idea is for the Brazilian Super League to be an alternative to state championships and the Brasileirão, bringing more excitement and competitiveness to national football.
With the creation of the Brazilian Super League, Brazilian football could become even stronger, attracting investments and increasing international visibility. In addition, the competition promises to bring benefits to participating clubs, such as a greater distribution of revenues and more attractive prizes.
However, the creation of the Brazilian Super League also generates controversy and divides opinions. Some clubs and fans are in favor of the idea, believing that the competition will bring more quality and competitiveness to Brazilian football. On the other hand, there are those who are against the Brazilian Super League, arguing that the competition could harm the state championships and devalue the Brasileirão.
Despite the controversies, the Brazilian Super League promises to be a milestone in national football. We must wait for the next steps of the CBF and the clubs to see how the implementation of this new competition format will be and what the impacts will be on the Brazilian football scenario.
