Miami: Pleasure, then pain for Daniel in Florida
Daniel rides the rollercoaster on a weekend of extreme highs and lows in Miami, where fourth in the Sprint contrasted sharply with 15th in the Grand Prix proper.
Race data
Miami (Round 6 of 24), 3-5 May, 2024
Miami International Autodrome, 5.412km
Sprint qualifying: 4th
Sprint race (19 laps): 4th
Qualified: 18th (started 20th after China race penalty applied)
Grand Prix (57 laps): 15th
Laps per position: 10th (2 laps), 11th (3 laps), 13th (2 laps), 14th (9 laps), 15th (10 laps), 16th (20 laps), 18th (1 lap), 20th (10 laps)
Pit stops/tyres: Lap 28 (hard/medium)
Fastest lap: 1min 32.122secs (19th), lap 57
Points this event: 5
Points this season: 5 (14th in world championship)
Daniel's download
“That was a complete contrast of results and emotions! Great qualifying Friday and a great [Sprint] race, and then a bad qualifying Saturday and bad race. Nothing more than that. We know the strengths of our car when we can show it and the weaknesses, and that’s on me as well to qualify better.
“The good part – the Sprint – finishing fourth felt awesome. Fighting towards the front just feels so much nicer and you see a Ferrari in your mirrors … it was ‘alright, challenge accepted!’. Every lap I was able to hold Carlos [Sainz] off I gave myself a little pat on the back. As we got closer to the finish I felt, maybe we can really do this. There was nothing left I could give, no tyre saving, nothing … I was just going for it and I knew that was what it was going to take. It felt really good, and the team deserves it. We’d been through some stuff to get here, so it was nice to remind some people!
“Then Sunday … I mean, entering the race you always have some optimism, and after the pace we had in the Sprint we felt like we could charge through the pack, but it’s a very different race for us when you’re in traffic, it’s a lot harder to use our pace.
“This sport can change so quickly … it’s one of those things that it treats you nice until it doesn’t. It’s simple, we just can’t qualify at the back – that’s really where we made it difficult for ourselves. [Teammate] Yuki [Tsunoda] got some points so the team leaves Miami very happy, and I think we know why I wasn’t able to come through the field. We’ll still debrief, but we know why.
“Lastly, Lando. Look, I’m really happy for him to get his first win. I think when you’re teammates with someone, you get to know them a bit better and you have a closer connection with them. You saw his talent and ability and you knew it was only a matter of time. Nothing’s guaranteed in this sport, but you felt like it was going to happen sooner rather than later. So really happy for him to have a day like this.
“I still leave here very happy. I know what I can do, but equally it’s frustrating when you have sessions like I had yesterday afternoon. I wasn’t happy with that set of tyres, but I still have to look at myself and take some accountability. At this level, you have to be perfect and when you are, things can look pretty spectacular.”
DR’s race recap
* Qualified fourth and finished fourth in Saturday’s 19-lap Sprint race, scoring five points.
* Qualified 18th for the Grand Prix, starting 20th/last on hard tyres after his three-place penalty for a safety car incident with Hulkenberg/Haas in China was applied.
* As rivals pitted, advanced to 10th on lap 25 after a virtual safety car was called on lap 23.
* Pitted from 11th on lap 28 for medium tyres, rejoined in 15th place.
* Passed by Hulkenberg/Haas on lap 34, dropped to 16th.
* Overtook Stroll/Aston Martin on lap 41 for 15th, repassed on lap 45.
* Regained 15th after Albon/Williams ran off track on lap 53.
* Crossed the line in 16th place, but promoted to 15th after post-race penalty for Stroll for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
DR’s next destination
Round 7: Emilia Romagna (Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola), 19 May
Emilia Romagna in 2022 (most recent race): qualified 6th, finished 18th
In F1: 3 races, 1 podium, 26 points, 2 points finishes
Best qualifying: 5th (2020)
Best finish: 3rd (2020)
