Miami Grand Prix – Saturday Sprint Race – Mercedes AMG-PETRONAS Formula One Team

2024 Miami Grand Prix, Saturday – Wolfgang Wilhelm

Tricky Saturday sprint before qualifying

GEORGE RUSSELL

“Throughout qualifying we struggled to get the tires in the right place. They operate in a very small window and with Lewis we saw in Q2 that if we can get them in a better place we have good speed. However, this is the same story for everyone. We have to be realistic and unless we have a perfect lap, seventh and eighth is about where our car is at the moment. We know we have a lot of work ahead of us and hopefully tomorrow will be better. I got off to a good start in the sprint at the start of the day but stayed on the outside and lost a few positions. Then I got stuck in the DRS train so it was quite a parade race. Hopefully we can have a better Grand Prix on Sunday and move forward.”

LEWIS HAMILTON

“Overall it was a much more positive day than yesterday. That said, these tires are very sensitive and trying to get them to perform consistently from wheel to wheel is a challenge. The track temperature and grip were similar throughout qualifying, but we still tried to show our maximum potential every lap. At the end of Q2, we saw a hint of what was possible, but we couldn’t deliver in Q3. It’s an area we focus on. I gave it my all in the sprint; It was a tough battle. Contact in the first corner is never intentional, and I pulled away. But it quickly closed and several of us joined. After that I fought hard to get in front of Magnussen’s Haas and enjoyed racing. The penalty was unfortunate and it’s a shame that it cost us the last point.”

2024 Miami Grand Prix, Saturday – LAT Images

THIS IS WOLFF, TEAM CHIEF AND CEO

“We saw again how difficult it is to get the tires in the right window. Of course we don’t blame the tires for this and we have to look at ourselves and our car to understand how we can get the tires into the correct operating window more consistently. At the end of Q2 we managed it and Lewis was in third place, just 0.15 seconds behind first. Unfortunately, we couldn’t repeat that in Q3. In the sprint, the cars that were fast on the straight but not necessarily in the corners were able to hold their position. We had more pace, but we couldn’t show it. That’s why we made some changes after the sprint that will hopefully help us in tomorrow’s race. We’re starting a bit further ahead than we were this morning, so we’ll see what we can do.”

2024 Miami Grand Prix, Saturday – Wolfgang Wilhelm

ANDREW SHOVLIN, TRACK ENGINEERING DIRECTOR

“The sprint was disappointing, but given our positions on the grid we were realistic in our expectations. George retired due to an incident at the first corner and was unable to gain ground in the DRS train. Lewis fared better off the track but then spent most of the race fighting to get ahead of Magnussen’s Haas. We knew we were at a high level on the wing and that would be fine if we qualified further forward. Unfortunately, when you’re racing in the middle of the pack, it’s not ideal. For qualifying, we adjusted the settings slightly and changed the level of the wings. The car improved, but it was still difficult to land with the tires in the right window. We don’t seem to be the only team struggling with this, but when we did, the pace was strong. That said, we are well aware that we have a lot of work ahead of us to improve the car. If we can do that, it should help us hit that faster pace more consistently.”