F1 Miami Grand Prix live updates - media day

Meanwhile, many more paddock snaps have come in from the Hard Rock Stadium. Find our latest photo gallery here.

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images

For an overview of every story from today, why don't you head over to our handy Miami race hub.

Charles Leclerc is one of the last drivers to speak to the press corp. As ever, he is a gentleman and a scholar when it comes to closing ranks and backing team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

"It's always very tricky when you join a new team to get on with the new systems, with the new way of working, with the new car. But I'm sure Lewis will get there and honestly he got such a great win in China," the Monegasque said.

"I already learned a lot from Lewis, so it's great to have him in the team and to challenge the way we have done things for many, many years and give a fresh view on how we approach different things. We've learned a lot already."

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

F1 also continues to make a big song and dance about the soundtrack of its pcomign F1 movie, so the flick's fictional APX GP team has its own garage and paddock stand again, even if filming has long been completed.

In between attending media sessions and doorstepping the powers that be, our reporters have been snooping around the NFL stadium that is moonlighting as an F1 paddock.

Here's the winner's trophy for this weekend alongside a man who will definitely not win it, our own Mark Mann-Bryans.

Max Verstappen's (impending) fatherhood has also come up, as well as that old myth that it makes a driver the odd tenth slower.

"I mean, judge for yourself, look at the stats," says Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, who is a parent himself and is asked about it. "Everyone is obviously different but once we step in the car I tend to forget what goes on outside, because we're just so focused and so driven to perform.

"Personally, I felt it's added a benefit because it's given me so much outside of work and being in F1. I would even say it's kind of been helpful for me, if anything."

Funnily enough, the Hulk is one of F1's best qualifiers, so there's that... 

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Codders has mentioned Lewis Hamilton. Among other topics, his slightly worrying form is the talk of the town in Miami.

We will hear from the man himself soon, but the driver he replaces at Ferrari  - Carlos Sainz - has shown a lot of empathy for the seven-time champion's sluggish start in red.

"I'm not surprised at all. I expected it for myself and I expected it with him because when you are up against two team-mates like we are, Alex and Charles, they know the team inside out, and they are already performing at the maximum that that car can perform."

Read his full explanation below.

Carlos Sainz "not surprised” to see Lewis Hamilton struggle at Ferrari

NORRIS BACKS HIMSELF

Lando Norris was usurped at the head of the world championship by teammate Oscar Piastri after the last grand prix so attention has naturally turned to how he will swing the momentum back his way.

Another important question is how concerned he should be at the balance tipping in the direction of the other side of the McLaren garage.

"No, not worried at all. He's doing a good job, and he deserves it," Norris said in Miami. "I don't believe so much in the momentum stuff, just my opinion. But I'm doing what I can. Clearly, I've made some mistakes and not at the level I need to be. But I believe I can be at the level soon enough, so no reason to be worried.

"It's round six of 24. I'm not going to say that forever. I know I need to get a move on, and I need to get into gear a little bit. But the speed is there, the pace is there. The race pace is definitely there. It's just one thing I need to tidy up. And it's a difficult thing. But I'm confident that I'll get it."

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

LEWIS KNOWS HIS UNIONS

Some interesting comments by Lewis Hamilton in the FIA press conference, apropos the GPDA and its relationship with the governing body.

It's no secret that Lewis is no fan of Mohammed Ben Sulayem. You don't have to look far on social media to see footage of him shunning contact when the president manifests himself in parc ferme after a race.

"I think ultimately the GPDA is Is very unified," said Lewis. "We want to be able to work closely with the FIA.

"All of us want to continue to work together and make the sport better. And of course we've faced a bit of an uphill challenge.

"Ultimately we we don't hold a power seat at the table and that needs to change in my opinion. If you look at other sports that have unions, that may be something that comes into play at some stage. As I said, we don't want to control things. We just want to collaborate with them more and have our voices heard by people making decisions."

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

STAY UPDATED ALL WEEKEND

Don't forget that you can stay in touch with all things Miami GP here at Motorsport.com, via these occasionally whimsical yet informative live blogs and our all-singing, all-dancing Miami GP hub.

Please don't ask for a refund if you join while there's no actual singing or dancing in progress.

LEGO OF ME

Your money's usually safe in bricks and mortar, they say. Lego investors' cash has certainly been safe in bricks. Marketing-wise the company is going great guns, including a high-profile relationship with F1. 

Deep-pocketed fans can also buy rather pricey Lego replicas of F1 cars. They're not just for kids!

In Miami Lego has laid on a very impressive garage with life-size cars made from the titular plastic bricks. Still no doubt quite weighty, though. Don't climb underneath - they might come down on you like a ton of bricks...

IT'S ONLY WORDS

You can tell it's getting to that point of the day when we begin an entry with a laboured Boyzone reference, but such is life.

You may have heard that FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has mooted the prospect of rowing back on his ban on drivers using colourful metaphors and such.

As a leading light of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, George Russell was naturally asked about this at the FIA press conference today. 

"Words don't mean anything until changes are made," he said.

George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images

Here's a shot of George talking to the Prez while wearing a natty tinfoil suit.

TELL ME WHERE U GO

In other F1 movie soundtrack news, Alpine will be delighted to have landed Dutch DJ Tiesto – you, dear reader, will no doubt be thinking "I Can't Wait" for these musical references to end.

Perhaps we should 'Lay Low' for a bit? Especially if this live blog is going to be an 'All Nighter'...

THINKING OUT LOUD

The marketing of the F1 movie's soundtrack album this weekend extends to the garage branding. Will Ferrari feel they drew the short straw getting Ed Sheeran? Perhaps the Scuderia is his A-team? Hopefully they'll get the best part of him.

Enough of this foolishness - it's giving us 'shivers'...

F1'S RACE THROUGH TIME

As Lance Stroll dodges all kinds of spoiler alerts. F1 is celebrating 75 years of the world championship.

We have to nuance this very carefully, because pedants will point out that the forerunner of the FIA tried to stage a world championship in the interwar era (spoiler: it didn't work because they kept faffing with the rules). And of course, in 1952 and 1953 there weren't enough F1 cars in circulation to make up meaningful grids so (whisper it) F2 cars took their place.

Then there's the really, really boring fact that the 'F1 World Championship' didn't exist as a legal entity until 1981. Or was it 1980? Let's just settle around somewhere near when everybody got shot at the end of Blake's 7. *SORRY, LANCE*

Once again we are digressing. In Miami there's this rather nice slot-car racing setup, with the layout mirroring the real circuit, as part of the F1 75 celebrations.

STROLL OFF THE PACE

"Is that new? This week? I didn't know that."

This was Lance Stroll's response to a question about the Monaco Grand Prix and the mandatory two pitstops during the race. You may recall, but let us remind you (and Lance) anyway, that this was announced in February as an attempt to introduce some strategic variety - or at least to avoid a scenario like last year where a red flag enables everyone to change tires and a procession ensues..

So, one thing we've learned from today is that Lance doesn't keep up with the news (he'll be very cross when we tell him what happened at the end of Blake's 7). The other thing is that one of the scribblers on site is obviously working on a Monaco Grand Prix feature for some outlet or other...

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

THE BEAR NECESSITIES

Haas driver Oliver Bearman isn't quite as much of an F1 rookie as his former F2 teammate rival Kimi Antonelli - he drove three grands prix last year in a reserve role. Does that cast him as the elder statesman of the duo?

Maybe not, but it doesn't stop members of the Fourth Estate pumping him for insight and opinions regarding Antonelli, who has been both surprising and exciting this season. And occasionally a bit ragged.

"I know him very well from last year in Formula 2... what was clear was his speed," said Bearman today.

"So I had no doubt about him getting into Formula 1... he's already very close to George [Russell]. But like I said, I'm not surprised. He's very talented."

DON'T PANIC, PANIC NOW

Earlier on we mentioned Aston Martin CEO and team principal Andy Cowell's media briefing today, where he talked about the team's focus being more on the "mid to long-term" than the 2025 project.

Fil and Ronald have gone into more detail on that angle, and the prospect of Aston Martin running experimental setups during practice sessions. Experimental as in not necessarily performance-focused, more a case of learning about how the car behaves in different conditions and how that relates to the findings in the team's simulation tools, including the new windtunnel.

Indeed, we've seen Red Bull doing something similar over the past few races, splitting setups between its drivers as it tries to resolve its own correlation problems.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images

HADJAR SCREAMS INTO THE VOID

We've all had that feeling, haven't we? Especially when Ed Sheeran tunes come on the radio (eh, get THAT Boomer reference).

If you've watched Formula 2 in recent seasons you'll know that Red Bull junior driver Isack Hadjar was often vocal and agitated on the team radio - whereas now such messages as make the broadcast make him sound calm enough to read out the Shipping Forecast.

"In F2 you pay to drive," he's explained today.

"In F1 you get paid. So you can’t shout.

"I’m still shouting - just not pressing the radio button."

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls, Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

LAWSON: IN THE PINK

Moving swiftly on to another pilot making an appearance in garb not his regular shade, we caught up with Liam Lawson.

The Kiwi sort-of rookie had a bruising start to the year after his rapid promotion to Red Bull's senior team led to an equally rapid busting down the ranks to its junior outfit. But while most people came out of the recent triple-header of grands prix eager to get home and put their feet up, Liam says being able to focus on driving for three weekends in a row was useful for him.

“It was probably good for my head just to be racing… it was just three weeks in a row driving a car," he said.

“Now [the week off] has been useful… to process everything and then come back here with an even stronger mindset.”

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

FERRARI'S ALL WHITE

But not all wed (see below).

Monty Python fans will get this joke earlier than the rest of the population, of course.

Still, we digress. It's the F1 Miami GP weekend, which means it's the time of year when the teams monkey about with their colorways. Ferrari has gone for it wholesale, putting its drivers in white(r) suits – a rarity but not without historic precedent, as our article explains – and splashing a little pale blue over the back end of its SF-25s.

The blue - doffing the corporate cap to HP sponsorship – has been polarizing for fans, but we don't mind it...

Ferrari Miami livery

Photo by: Ferrari

SERGIO PEREZ TO CADILLAC - ANALYSIS

Among the bigger items of news today has been the prospect of Sergio Perez moving to Cadillac when the GM brand joins the F1 grid next year.

But Motorsport.com has been able to confirm that the reports of this being a done deal already are premature.

It's believed Cadillac is just one of the offers 'Checo' has on the table - although it is, as cartoon characters from the 1960s were wont to say, a doozy.

Fil Cleeren has analyzed what is drawing Cadillac to Perez and whether he would be a good fit there.

TRENDING RIGHT NOW

Top trending story on Motorsport.com right now is suitably topical: Why F1's drivers dislike the Miami Grand Prix circuit and what could be done to improve it.

Yes, the fast and flowing first sector registers a hit but the slow and disjointed wriggle through sector two doesn't get their juices flowing. Still, F1 drivers love to complain, eh?

You may be surprised to learn Esteban Ocon's suggested improvement (and it's not, per the image below, "talk to the hand')...

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images

LEARN, BABY, LEARN

More from that Andy Cowell round table we mentioned earlier. The Aston Martin team principal said that the 2025 car is going to be used as a learning tool for the team's new simulation equipment and not the focus of a panic project to make it competitive.

Aston Martin has recently transferred from using the Mercedes wind tunnel to its own new facility in its Silverstone 'campus'. Naturally there is a learning process with any new tool, particularly one where it's impossible to match the exact size of the car and the simulate the running conditions on track.

"As you know," he said, "the challenge with aerodynamics is you race full size on a track with the car bouncing all over the place going over different surface roughnesses.

"In a wind tunnel, you've got a belt with a fixed surface roughness and it runs in a very serene way, there are no curbs in a wind tunnel and the rate at which you can move the model is fixed by the FIA. And it's a 60% [car model scale] tunnel and it's running in straight air flow with no tailwind and no crosswind and so on."

Here's another caption challenge for you: how has Andy made Lance Stroll crack a smile in this image? WRONG ANSWERS ONLY...

Andy Cowell, Team Principal and Group CEO Aston Martin F1 Team, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

BRING FORTH POTUS AND THE BROLIGARCHS

What do Donald Trump, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk have in common? Actually don't answer that, and certainly not in the comments. We only have so many moderators, you know.

The Miami Grand Prix has become a magnet for celebrities and politicians. Last year the future POTUS declared himself Lando Norris's "lucky charm" after a visit to the McLaren garage, while Brad Pitt was busy filming his new blockbuster which we'll be seeing shortly. Breathless gossip abounded that Taylor Swift would be in town - and that, dear reader, is what we were down for. Ben Hunt has looked back on that fevered weekend as we look forward to the next one.

In the meantime, let's have a caption competition. What are these fellows saying to one another? WRONG ANSWERS ONLY...

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President, FIA, Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, Donald Trump

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

PREPARED FOR EVERYTHING

Desperate for some shade in the midday Miami heat, our man Sam Shephard has stumbled into that bizarre and discombobulating concrete vestibule between the back of the garages and the hangers-on hangout.

And, no, you're not sharing his heat-induced hallucinations: those really are Pirelli's wet and intermediate tires. Chances of these actually being used in the race is minimal but you never know – and it always pays to be prepared...

SAM SHEPHARD IS UNWELL

Poor lamb must be so thirsty he's hallucinating about cool, carbonated beverages. Hence this arty shot of a can of Red Bull's forest-fruits flavored 'Pink Edition'. The marketing spiel says it "gives you wiiiings with the taste of raspberry and herbal notes of verbena".

Whoever wrote that must have been smoking verbena, we think.

Anyhow, Red Bull's junior team has adopted the fetching shade on its cars for a one-off special livery this weekend. 

MIAMI GRAND PRIX THURSDAY GALLERY IS NOW LIVE

We don't just bring you our Pap pictures from the paddock (try saying that with a mouthful of bagel), of course. Professional photographers are also present. Well, some of them claim to be.

Every grand prix weekend we put together a regularly updated gallery of the best 'image captures' as we must now call what used to be known as 'photographs'. We like this one of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell - shades of Reservoir Dogs, but no open razor blades or failed heists present...

George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images

BAGELFEST

...and we've heard from Emily Selleck, also functioning as our comestibles correspondent this weekend. Emily declares Popup Bagels to be the buzziest new food offering in the paddock this weekend.

They'll have to be going some to beat the new Barilla pasta pop-up, of course, before you all start putting penne to paper...

THE MEDIA SESSIONS ARE LIVE

Our team of reporters on the ground – Mark Mann-Bryans, Emily Selleck, Ronald Vording and Ben Hunt – are doing the whirlwind tour of team press conferences as the day cranks into gear. We've already heard from the likes of Aston Martin team principal Andy Cowell, who declares the team "not a happy camp at the moment".

Gabriel Bortoleto has been invited to comment about his near-miss with Fernando Alonso in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix a couple of weeks and says they were on the same flight back and "had a laugh" about it.

Fernando, if you don't already know, is part of Gabriel's management group - although not in a very hands-on sort of way because he's got his hands full driving a slow green car right now.

CADILLAC RACING TO SECURE PEREZ

Remember this guy? He won a few races. Then Red Bull tried to make its car go faster and only one person could drive it. Sergio 'Checo' Perez got fingered for that but circumstances since then have shown his ejection was perhaps a little premature.

We can reveal that more than one team is in talks with him for a comeback and Cadillac is keen to be the one that wins that particular race.

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

WHAT ARE YOU? YOU'RE AN IDIOT SANDWICH!

Hopefully not having any 'Kitchen Nightmares' this weekend thanks to the excellent hygiene regime being demonstrated in this picture - it's celebrity TV chef and scourge of badly run eatieries Gordon Ramsay.

Our Gordon is a longtime fan of F1, as well as of shouting at bumbling restaurateurs. In this venture he's partnered with F1 itself to "deliver a world-class culinary experience".

Sadly it's not open yet, so our poor long-suffering Sam Shephard - currently sweating like Boris Johnson taking a polygraph test – will have to look elsewhere for refreshment...

STAND BY FOR PITT-WATCH

Now this is an exciting development. Many of you are no doubt looking forward to the release of Apple's new Brad Pitt-starring F1 movie. Many of you are no doubt equally animated about the subject of the title. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Anyhow, they are releasing the soundtrack album this weekend. As you would expect, it's got plenty of artists who nobody over the age of 30 will recognise. And, sadly, plenty of artists who should have been put out to pasture by the age of 30. Speaking of which, Ed Sheeran contributes a track, the imaginatively titled 'Drive'.

Anyone in the comments remember the 'soundtrack album' to the original Mission Impossible film, the majority of tracks on which didn't actually appear in the film, but which bore titles with a tangential connection to the world of espionage? But we digress.

WHAT SAUBER CAN LEARN FROM RED BULL'S WINNING WAYS

It's fair to say the Swiss team isn't on a roll yet. But things are going to have to change soon as Audi prepares to plaster its logo above the door. New team principal Jonathan Wheatley was Red Bull's sporting director and there are those who say that team will miss him more keenly than it will tech guru Adrian Newey. 

We've looked into what Wheatley can bring to Sauber from his ultra-successful stint at Red Bull.

SAINZ O' THE TIMES

Sporting a rather better-tailored pair of shorts than Kimi Antonelli was in Bahrain, Carlos Sainz reports for duty. That astroturf is very green, isn't it?

ROLL UP, ROLL UP

Were you there thinking, 'Are the drivers even there yet?' Veritably, here they are. Two of them, at least. Our man Sam Shephard is on the ground with his cameraphone ready to pap.

Sensible clothing for Mercedes pairing Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, though we feel those artificial fibres may start to chafe in this heat. Still, a better choice of legwear for Antonelli than those absurdly baggy shorts he was sporting on media day in Bahrain, moving one member of the TV commentariat to point out ahead of the FIA press conference that the assembled members of the Fourth Estate were seeing rather more than they wanted to see.

And lo, readers, this was the case. It was like that film Attack Of The Killer Gooseberries - ghastly.

INSIDE THE STADIUM

Motorsport.com's editor-in-chief Ben Hunt brings us this view from inside the Hard Rock stadium. And here you have one of several reasons that this race avoids the US football season! All the hard work going on behind the scenes to bring you the spectacle of the race.

Speaking of which, stick around as we'll be keeping you up-sped on all the latest political and technical developments, random nonsense and possibly even some parties. We are in Miami, after all!

ÚNETE A NOSOTROS PARA RACE CENTER LIVE

Prefer a Spanish-language version of Race Center Live? We've got you covered...

Race Center Live