7 May 2-8, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | Contents | Letters | news | night+Day | CuLture | Cafe | MusiC | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | Though it remains the most celebrated and iconic team on the grid, Scuderia Ferrari hasn’t won a title in more than a decade. That long drought seems to have cast a pall over its drivers, who are each dealing with their own crises this year as they try to catch the seemingly uncatchable Max Verstap- pen and Red Bull. First, there’s Charles Leclerc. Raised in the shadow of Formula 1’s most iconic race in Monaco, Leclerc grew up racing alongside Verstappen and made his F1 debut with Sauber before mounting the Prancing Pony in 2019. Like Verstappen, he was also feted as the next big driver for Fer- rari — he was part of its driver academy before joining Sau- ber — but between mismanagement from the team and his own poor luck, he just can’t seem to surpass his rival in the Red Bull. He managed to finish second in the Driver’s Championship in 2022 and won three GPs, but went winless last year and finished fifth in the standings overall. His dis- qualification at the U.S. GP after qualifying on pole may have been the worst moment of the season, but things are looking up this year, at least, with two podium finishes so far. Then there’s Carlos Sainz, whose bad luck mostly comes down to the fact that he’s being replaced next year by Lewis Hamilton. The Spaniard has always been consis- tent but not outstanding. He finally managed to nab his first Grand Prix win last year in Singapore and just re- cently earned his second in Australia, beating teammate Leclerc, but only after Verstappen retired due to brake fail- ure. Sainz remains without a drive for 2025 going into Mi- ami, but given how much speculation there is about where he’ll go, it seems he’s in demand, at least. Although any resemblance to Javier Bardem is purely coincidental, Fernando Alonso also seems to take immense joy in playing the villain. A two-time Formula 1 champion noted for his mercurial personality, the Spaniard built his legend in the sport by ending Michael Schumacher’s championship streak in 2004 and through a stormy stint at Ferrari in the early 2010s. He initially retired from the sport at the end of the 2018 season, but in 2021, he was coaxed back to F1 by Renault to launch their rebrand as Alpine. But like any supervillain worth their salt, he wanted more, and he jumped ship to Aston Martin when the trophies didn’t come. In his first season with the team, he managed to reach the podium eight times, a true feat for a 42-year-old driver. Along with Hamilton and Verstappen, he’s considered one of the best drivers on the grid. And although his results this season haven’t been quite as impressive, he’s still a thrill to watch. The lone American on the grid is, indeed, a South Florida native. Born in 2000 in Fort Lauderdale, Logan Sargeant got his start in motorsports racing in local karting competitions and eventually moved to Europe and began to ascend the racing ranks, eventually reaching Formula 2 in 2022. Last year, he made his Formula 1 debut for the venerable yet troubled team Williams, replacing Canadian driver Nicolas Latifi and becoming the first American F1 driver since 2015. With the sport expanding its presence in the U.S. up to three GPs, having a Yank on the grid makes a lot of sense. Or it would if he could actually drive. Sargeant’s record in 2023 was abysmal, riddled with crashes and dead-last fin- ishes, including a P20 bow at Miami last year. He would have come in last in the Driver’s Championship if not for a P10 fin- ish in the United States GP and the truncated season of Nyck de Vries, who was cut from AlphaTauri due to his perfor- mance issues. Then again, Sargeant managed to get beaten in the seasonal standings by former Carling F2 teammate Liam Lawson, who only drove for five races, filling in for an injured Daniel Ricciardo. As of this writing, Sargeant has kept his shit streak going, with his highest result of the season, a P14 finish in the Saudi Arabian GP. He’s also being consistently outperformed by his admittedly more experienced team- mate Alexander Albon, whose multiple top-ten finishes last year managed to nab Williams seventh place in the Con- structor’s Championship in 2023. Sargeant may have only had his first hometown race last year, but if he doesn’t shape up, it looks like the 2024 Miami GP may be his last. [email protected] No Country for Old Men F E R N A N D O A LO N S O , A S TO N M A R T I N Hometown Horror LO G A N S A R G E A N T, W I L L I A M S Seeing Red C H A R L E S L E C L E R C A N D CA R LO S S A I N Z , F E R R A R I Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images Photo by Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images Charles Leclerc F OR M U LA 1 M IAM I G RAN D PR I X Friday, May 3, through Sunday, May 5, at Hard Rock Stadium, 347 Don Shula Dr., Miami Gardens; f1miamigp.com.
