Lewis Hamilton was quick to congratulate some of his Formula 1 competitors after the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday. Hamilton was no doubt buoyed by a season-best sixth-place finish in his Mercedes.
The seven-time world champion applauded Lando Norris and told him to rearrange his flight out of Florida so that he could savour his first-ever win. Norris finally scored a victory after 110 races and 15 podiums.
Karun Chandhok felt that Hamilton showed ‘class’ in commending his younger compatriot. All three British drivers on the grid are now Grand Prix winners, with George Russell breaking his duck in Brazil a couple of years ago.
The Mercedes duo aren’t in a position to contend for victories themselves at the moment after slipping down the pecking order in the winter. In fact, they spent much of the weekend in Miami battling traditional midfield cars.
Hamilton engaged in a prolonged tussle with Haas driver Kevin Magnussen over the final points-paying position in the Saturday sprint race. Russell, meanwhile, had to settle for 12th after he was unable to pass the Sauber of Zhou Guanyu.
In Sunday’s Grand Prix, they finished either side of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda. Russell, who trailed the Japanese driver, called for his team to investigate after admitting he was ‘nowhere’ relative to Hamilton.
Lewis Hamilton congratulated Esteban Ocon after Miami Grand Prix
One driver who finished just five seconds behind Russell was Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. Ocon lost out to the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso but was still able to score his team’s first point of the season in 10th.
Given that the Frenchman has scored three podiums in his career, he won’t be entirely satisfied with that kind of result. But it was the most he could possibly have achieved this weekend.
After the race, onboard footage shows that Hamilton approached the cockpit of the 27-year-old in parc ferme. He offered him a congratulatory handshake after what was a landmark result in the context of his season.
Hamilton and Ocon are former teammates after the latter carried out a reserve role for Mercedes in 2019. Despite his first-hand experience of the Briton’s talents, he’s rated Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc as the two most gifted drivers on the grid.
Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly get a little too close for comfort
Alpine’s race could so easily have ended in disaster. On the first lap, their two drivers went side-by-side through the tight chicane before the back straight.
Pierre Gasly had out-qualified Ocon for the first time this year, starting 12th while his teammate lined up in 13th. But he was only able to hold position on race day.
Martin Brundle says he expected to see at least one of the two drivers in the wall. They have previous for coming together after incidents in Australia and Azerbaijan in 2023.
Thankfully for the team, they kept their noses clean on this occasion. Any crash could have considerably soured the mood amid uncertainty over their futures.
Both Gasly and Ocon are reportedly ‘exploring their options’ as they approach the end of their contracts. If one or both leave, Alpine could approach Zhou or promote reserve driver Jack Doohan.
Zhou may be without a seat for 2024 after his team signed Nico Hulkenberg from Haas. As for Doohan, the French team are keen to find a poster boy for their driver academy and he could fit the bill.
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