F1 Miami GP LIVE: Race updates and times as Antonelli starts on pole with heavy rain expected

Follow live F1 updates from the Miami International Autodrome as the sport returns after a five-week break
F1 confirm change to Miami Grand Prix start time due to thunderstorm risk
Formula 1 have decided to shift the start time for the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday to 6pm (BST) with wet weather on the radar.

While sunny conditions were overhead for action on Friday and Saturday at the Hard Rock Stadium, latest forecasts for Sunday show heavy thunderstorms hitting the Miami Gardens area.

Sunday’s grand prix was scheduled to start at 4pm local time (9pm BST), but the FIA have now moved it forward by three hours to 1pm local time (6pm BST), due to “the weather forecast that is expected to bring heavier rainstorms later in the afternoon close to the original planned race start time.”
Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who starts P2:
“It’s pretty dry, some wet spots, should be OK.

“The more we wait, the more rain is coming.

The lightning in the area is the issue.

“These cars don’t have a lot of grip in the wet.”
Time for the US national anthem
Star Spangled Banner sung by Alexandria Arango on the Miami grid.

Audi's Nico Hulkenberg, who starts P10:
“We’ll try to turn around, bit of a curveball with the weather, might even see a dry race, who knows.

“We’ll take it as it comes and make the most of it.”
“We didn’t get it right in qualifying.

A lot of little issues, we’ll go for it in the race.

“If the rain comes, it’ll come pretty hard.

We have to figure out if we’ll play the long game or not.”
The Inter Miami captain is in town!

Driver standings ahead of Miami GP:
1.

Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 75 points
2.

George Russell (Mercedes) - 68 points
3.

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 55 points
4.

Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 43 points
5.

Lando Norris (McLaren) - 33 points
6.

Oscar Piastri (McLaren) -28 points
7.

Ollie Bearman (Haas) - 17 points
8.

Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 16 points
9.

Max Verstappen Red Bull) - 16 points
10.

Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 10 points
11.

Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) - 4 points
12.

Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) - 4 points
13.

Carlos Sainz (Williams) - 2 points
14.

Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) - 2 points
15.

Franco Colapinto (Alpine) - 1 point
16.

Esteban Ocon (Haas) - 1 point
17.

Alex Albon (Williams) - 0 points
18.

Sergio Perez (Cadillac) - 0 points
19.

Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) - 0 points
20.

Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) - 0 points
21.

Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - 0 points
22.

Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) - 0 points
“Numerous episodes of rain and thunderstorms are expected at the circuit today as a front stalls over south Florida.

The increased humidity and unstable conditions south of the front will also favour efficient rainfall rates and heavy downpours within any shower or storms.

The initial round is currently working its way through the area and should depart the circuit by 10-11am.

The expectation remains that there will be a relative “lull” in activity through midday, although an isolated shower or storm cannot be ruled out through to 2pm.

Chances then increase again during the mid to late afternoon hours with redevelopment initially occurring to the west before activity spreads eastward toward the circuit.”
Can Lando Norris defend his F1 title?

Here’s what the Miami GP will tell us about McLaren’s chances
On the face of it, McLaren ’s latest example of sporting-corporate muscle-flexing seems a tad peculiar.

Drifting away from the principles of their racing-mad founding father, quite what Bruce McLaren would have made of the papaya-clad outfit expanding into golf equipment – with Justin Rose their top-tier signing, posing alongside Lando Norris (himself a keen golfer) at a lavish Floridian launch on Wednesday – remains to be seen.

Yet group CEO Zak Brown has overseen remarkable growth in the last half-dozen years.

In 2020, McLaren Racing were valued at £560m.

Last September, Forbes estimated the team alone were worth approximately £4bn, behind only Mercedes and Ferrari in F1 terms.

They have well over 50 sponsors, most adorned on the car of the reigning world champions.

And, despite a topsy-turvy start on the Formula 1 racetrack this season, they’re hungry for more.

Can Lando Norris defend his F1 title?

Here’s what the Miami GP will reveal
Some very sad news reached us on Friday, with the statement that ex-F1 driver Alex Zanardi has passed away at the age of 59 after a remarkable life.

Zanardi competed in Formula One for five seasons, achieving a best finish of sixth at the 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix.

A major crash in 2001 resulted in the amputation of both his legs, a life-altering event he remarkably overcame.

He went on to become a Paralympic champion, securing two para-cycling gold medals at the London Games in 2012, and two more in Rio de Janeiro four years later.

A multiple winner at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, most recently in 2019, another serious accident in 2020 led to a further lengthy lay-off.

Alex Zanardi dead: Tributes to F1 driver and four-time Paralympic gold-medallist
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