Giles Richards in Miami

Lewis Hamilton took a swipe at Ferrari in Miami showing again how broadcasting team chats enlivens races

“Have a tea break while you’re at it” was Lewis Hamilton’s sarcasm-drenched reply to his Ferrari team as they dallied over making a strategy call at the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday. It was the stuff of soap opera, enlivening what was in racing terms a McLaren walkover at the Hard Rock Stadium.

Broadcasting team radio is one of the best innovations in the modern era of F1 and for all that it is considered a serious tool by drivers and teams, it is always at its best when vituperative or funny. Better still, both at once.

• Norris dropped four places trying to pass Verstappen
• ‘I quite like to see Lando aggressive,’ says Andrea Stella

Lando Norris’s aggressive approach to battling the world champion, Max Verstappen, has received the backing of his McLaren team despite it likely costing the British driver a shot at victory at the Miami Grand Prix.

Norris started in second place behind Verstappen but was squeezed wide after trying to dive past the Red Bull through the turn one and two sequence, went off and dropped to sixth. The 25-year-old came back strongly passing Verstappen, with the McLaren clearly having an enormous pace advantage over the Red Bull, to claim second place behind his teammate, Oscar Piastri, who took a dominant win from fourth on the grid. Both McLarens ultimately finished more than 30 seconds in front of the third-placed Mercedes of George Russell, with Verstappen in fourth.

Red-carpet launch has to be backed up with a car on the grid next season, with Briton Graeme Lowdon leading the push

As inescapable as it is inexorable, everyone at Cadillac is aware the clock is ticking as they edge closer towards a moment of truth more than three years in the making. The expectation and anticipation for when the team, backed by General Motors, hits the grid as Formula One’s 11th entry for the first race of 2026 is ratcheting up with every passing second.

• ‘We are very unified. We want to be able to work with FIA’
• Drivers unhappy after Verstappen punished for swearing

Lewis Hamilton has led a call demanding changes that would give Formula One drivers a formal place in discussions with the sport’s governing body, the FIA, and warned that they could act collectively to facilitate such a change, potentially acting as other sports have with a strong union representation.

Hamilton made the remarks after the president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, had intimated in a post on social media this week that he was considering adjusting the rules around the unpopular and controversial punishments for drivers for offences including political statements and swearing.

Demographics show fans at the Miami Grand Prix are younger and more diverse as the Hard Rock Stadium pulls in the numbers

With a sellout once more expected, this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix is building on an appeal to a younger, diverse audience that is a key part of Formula One’s burgeoning success in the US. Making its mark on the calendar with a grand, spectacular party in the Florida sunshine since the inaugural race in 2022, Miami is considered something of a showcase.