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PLP Season 3 Edition 8

Even better than coming back after a week off? Coming back to a Sprint after a week off. It may not be everyone’s cuppa’, but to me it’s just better when the sessions count.

It’s like when you play soccer as a kid, aren’t the scrimmages just so much better than doing a bunch of drills? Even when you have to scrimmage the older girls’ team that practices at the same time as you on the next field over and they wipe the floor with you because none of your guys have gone through puberty yet and they have? And they’re not afraid to knock you around a little bit and the whole thing is a bit too intense for your liking?

Anyway, let’s see if Oscar can continue to be the older girl on the grid this weekend as we head to Miami. Times in E.D.T. (Eastern Dale* Time)

• FP1: Friday, May 2nd @ 12:30pm

• Sprint Quali: Friday, May 2nd @ 4:30pm

• Sprint: Saturday, May 3rd @ 12:00pm

• GP Quali: Saturday, May 3rd @ 4:00pm

• Grand Prix: Sunday, May 4th @ 4:00pm

*Dale (Dah-lè) if is an expression that can be heard on many tracks from 2016’s Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album Grammy winner Pitbull, who is certainly Miami’s most proud resident considering he mentions the fact he lives there in every song he’s ever created. In his own words: “[Dale] means a lot of things; it depends on how you’re using it. It’s my way of checking out — ‘Dale, I’m out of here’ — or my way of getting started. It’s definitely the word I hear most. I travel around the world and run into people that speak no English, no Spanish, and they say ‘dale.'”

Well, there ya have it. “Dale” can mean either “I’m out of here” or “Let’s get started.” Kind of confusing.

Quick Question!

Last week we asked who you think takes the WDC title. Oscar was at the top, followed closely by Max, then Lando. Even some love for Lewis Hamilton. I’ll call it right now, I think PLP readers picked the final standings in the correct order - Oscar, Max, Lando. Remind me of this in December.

Race Recap: Saudi Arabi

Podium: 🥇 PIA - 🥈 VER - 🥉 LEC

DNF: GAS - TSU

Fastest Lap: NOR

DotD: VER - Max finally gets one. I agree here. He finished less than 3s behind Oscar, so it stands to reason he’d have taken the victory w/o the 5s penalty

This one ultimately came down to some good ‘ol F1 turn 1 controversy. If you haven’t seen it, just watch even the fifteen seconds of the race highlights to see the move. Oscar got a great jump off the line, and appeared to be ahead of Max at the first apex. Max missed the turn and remained in the lead after running off track, picking up a 5s penalty in the process.

This one was super close. I think Max, who was clearly PO’d after the race about it, has a point. Oscar does take the turn a bit wide, not leaving Max a lot of room, and usually the stewards are forgiving on first lap incidents since the cars are running so tight. It’s a really close call, but I lean towards saying let it go.

More first lap fireworks saw ex-teammates and still bffs Yuki and Pierre come together in a racing incident, triggering an early safety car. Lewis and Lando had some good early battles, with the GOAT showcasing his racecraft by letting the Lando overtake before the DRS detection point, only to take the position right back a couple times when he picked up the speed boost. That extra battle and tire wear may have slowed Lando down juuuuust enough to allow Charles to snag his first podium of the season, just one second ahead of the pursuing papaya. Oscar stopped before Max to get onto the better performing hard tire, and was able to make a daring ‘round the outside move to pass Hamilton with his fresh rubber.

Halfway through Bortoleto nearly took out his mentor Alonso, who was able to narrowly avoid disaster. On the near miss, Alonso said: “We are flying back together home, but maybe there will be no dinner for him.” Harsh, but fair. Leclerc had blistering pace all day, putting in a really good medium stint before passing Russell while on the hards with twelve laps remaining. Mercedes couldn’t quite hook it up all weekend, settling for P5 and P6. Williams had a great weekend with double points, out dueling the trailing VCARB’s who picked up a point from Hadjar’s P10.

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Miami GP Preview

If you’re anything like me you’ve had “Miami”, the hit song from Will Smith’s 1997 debut album Big Willie Style stuck in your head all week in preparation for this weekend’s race. “Miami”, the second biggest hit from the album, is commonly overshadowed by the Billboard #1 hit “Gettin Jiggy Wit It”, but real ones know it’s a banger. Though this year’s grid may need some education on the matter because the song is literally older than half of the drivers.

The track has an Albert Park vibe in that it’s a temporary track that’s more of a street circuit, although it was designed with a more permanent feel. It’s set in the Hard Rock complex next to the Miami Dolphins football stadium, and features 19 corners, 3 DRS zones, a long straight, top speeds of 211mph, and even some small elevation changes.

The track is low grip and will see high evolution, meaning timing in qualifying sessions will be crucial as lap times drop throughout the session. Excessive drag on the long straight will be costly, even though you do want some slow cornering help through turns 11-16 where the circuit is rear-limited. Watch for overtaking opportunities at turns 11 and 17, which are big breaking areas after DRS zones. Drivers will need to be mindful of the kerbs through the s-bends in sector 1 in order to have a clean lap.

What to Watch For:

• Piastri In the Lead: The McLaren driver battle should continue to be a story throughout the season, as long as the battle remains close. Betting lines currently favor Oscar slightly over Lando for the win this weekend. I think it will. Watch for people to keep saying, “will Piastri finally crack under the pressure of being in the lead?” and then it not happen. Can’t phase that guy.

• C’mon Ref: After last week’s turn 1 penalty, watch for extra scrutiny on any close calls this weekend. Especially if Oscar and Max are in a tight battle on track.

• Hamilton Solution: Is this the weekend we see Lewis more comfortable in Red? Previously he said he’d need “a brain transplant” in order to get right with the car, but the team has been working on some less invasive solutions.

• Upgrades: Miami is usually where you’ll start to see some decent upgrades across the grid - although bringing them for a Sprint weekend is less than ideal. Keep a look out for some new parts.

• Spectacle: There’s always a lot going on for the first U.S. race weekend. Events, celebs, glam, if you’re into that kinda thing. I really hope they do some kind of awkward driver intro again. If they do watch for Max’s face in particular. He loves that sort of thing.

• LEGO brough to scale models of all 10 cars to Miami.

• Special Liveries: Check em out. Ferrari once again looks a bit half baked. Give us the full blue lobster look! Sauber’s is decent, looks like some of their normal livery got scratched off. And VCARB, my goodness, they continue their rain of livery deliveries because this one is a beaut. They should get participation points for this one. 🔽 

Driver Drama

Quote of the Week

Constructor’s Corner

Tech Talk

Off the Grid

Catch ya in two weeks before we head back to Europe for Imola. And if keep seeing a flash of light on track this weekend, that might not be the strong Miami sun 🔽 

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