F1 Miami GP live updates: Verstappen, Leclerc on front row for star ...

Verstappen and Pérez nearly collide as the reigning champ converts pole position into an early lead, with Charles Leclerc behind him, followed by Oscar Piastri who got a great jump and moved up several places.

Verstappen's already 1.3 seconds up on the Ferrari behind.

Another question in from Michael I: "Let's say Newey does decide to join another team. Any idea what type of salary a guy like him would command?"

I've heard a couple of ballpark figures for Newey. Andrew Benson from the BBC reported that it's around £18 million per year, which is $22.5 million. Another figure I heard was closer to $19 million. But either way, in the words of Michael Scott from "The Office," "That's a lot of guacamole!"

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Adrian Newey’s next F1 home: Sizing up 2025 landing spots for the famed designer

This has been a talking point in the paddock throughout the weekend, and Wing C. asked on our mailbag: "What’s the outlook on Logan Sargent’s future? Who is Williams considering for their 2025 drive?"

There's no denying Logan Sargeant's tough start to the year, particularly as he'd hoped to take the step and challenge Alex Albon more regularly. My colleague Madeline Coleman wrote an excellent feature after catching up with Logan earlier this week, giving a good idea of where his head is at.

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Fatigue and finding himself: Checking on Logan Sargeant before F1’s Miami GP

One of the questions we received in our live blog mailbag came from Kevin H., who asked: "What is the latest on Andretti's efforts to get on the grid? Is there any chance of them getting Newey?"

I visited Andretti's Silverstone factory for its official opening last month, where they're clearly pressing on with preparations despite the lack of approval to join the grid. F1 hasn't offered any updates since issuing its rejection for 2025 and 2026 at the end of January, but Andretti keeps saying, "Work continues at pace."

The Andrettis met with F1 in London a few weeks ago, and there were further talks here. But as far as I know, the position remains unchanged from what was stated in the rejection bulletin back in January: expansion, for now, remains something F1 is not in favor of making happen.

Many of the current teams are also uneasy with the Andretti's approach. As one senior team figure, speaking on the condition of anonymity, put it to me: "If you want to join a club, you don't do around poking their members in the eye."

And as for Newey? No, Andretti is not a realistic option, as far as I know.

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Bipartisan congressional members raise anti-competitive concerns over Mario Andretti’s F1 rejection

The Miami Grand Prix was the first major symbol of Formula One’s expansion in the United States when it joined the calendar in 2022.

Now into its third year, the event has ironed out some of the early kinks to establish itself as one of the most significant races on the calendar, serving as the first of three American rounds this season ahead of Austin in October and November’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.

F1 has always had a reputation for its big spending and big branding. But as F1 teams move to take advantage of the continued surge in American interest, particularly from incoming sponsors and partners, Miami is an important early point in all their seasons.

Read on to learn how the Miami GP is still carving its foothold into the American F1 market.

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At the Miami GP, F1 continues to cash in on its American boom

Pole in sprint qualifying, victory in the sprint and pole position for the grand prix would point to Verstappen being totally at ease in Miami. Far from it, in fact.

Verstappen was bemused by his “terrible” lap being good enough for sprint pole on Friday and noted a few concerns en route to sprint victory on Saturday morning. The ability to make some setup changes ahead of qualifying helped, yet it couldn’t put him at ease.

Verstappen said it was “extremely difficult to make the tires work” — something several drivers noted, with a narrow peak operating window due to the high temperatures — and that his car lacked consistency. “That makes it very difficult to hit a perfect lap,” Verstappen said. “Every lap that you put on the board was a bit of guessing what was going to happen, which doesn’t make it very nice to drive.” He added that it was “super unpredictable” and “quite frustrating.”

Verstappen admitted to being “a bit more connected” to the car compared to where he was on Friday. Even if the balance is imperfect, a small step over the longer distances gave his confidence that “we’ll be quick” on Sunday.

It’s a bleak outlook for the opposition. The emergence of DRS trains can make overtaking in Miami difficult, but Verstappen’s average margin of victory this season is 15 seconds. Overcoming that will be a substantial task for the opposition without any outside curveballs, even if Verstappen isn’t totally at ease with his Red Bull car. – Luke Smith

Our reporters were barred from crossing into the media center as he entered the paddock due to the heavy police presence. Things have gotten busy down there!

Earlier this week, the Washington Post reported that the Miami GP and F1 stopped a Trump associate, Steven Witkoff, from allegedly planning to host a $250,000-a-head fundraiser in his Paddock Club rooftop suite.

“It has come to our attention that you may be using your Paddock Club Rooftop Suite for a political purpose, namely raising money for a federal election at $250,000 per ticket, which clearly violates the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix suite license agreement,” read the letter obtained by The Washington Post. “If this is true, we regret to inform you that your suite license will be revoked, you will not be allowed to attend the race at any time, and we will refund you in full.”