Tales from the paddock: From a spectacular in Miami to a classic in Spa Francorchamps

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Fuji, Silverstone, #miami... Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer teams were in action all around the world last weekend

• Both cars in the points at F1 spectacular in Miami
• Multiple class victories in the 24H Series at Spa
• News snippets: Results and Facts & Social Media News

Both cars in the points at F1 spectacular in Miami

On Sunday, the city of #miami in southern Florida played host to a Formula One Grand Prix for the second time. A record crowd of 270,000 spectators flocked to the International Autodrome over the three days of the race weekend. The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team had a less than happy qualifying session on the street circuit around Hard Rock Stadium: George booked sixth on the grid, but Lewis was eliminated in Q2 and had to start from P13.

In the race itself, however, both drivers steadily gained ground. Having started on the Medium tyres, George switched to the Hard compound on lap 17. After overtaking Esteban Ocon and Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, he eventually crossed the finish line in fourth. Lewis started the race on the Hard compound and was still languishing in 13th on lap 37 when he changed to Mediums. On the fresh tyres, Lewis burned through the field in the closing stages with impressive speed, making up seven positions and clawing his way up to sixth place.

The double points result brought the team within six points of second-placed Aston Martin in the Constructors' World Championship. Next stop after #miami is Imola (19 - 21 May), which also book-ends the first triple-header of the season. The race weekend on the history-steeped circuit in Emilia Romagna is then followed at seven-day intervals by races in Monaco and Barcelona.

Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing comes away from 24H Series at Spa with two class wins

The 24H Series developed by Dutch organiser Creventic stopped off at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium last weekend. The Ardennes rollercoaster was the setting for the fourth round of the 2023 championship, contested over a total distance of twelve hours staged in two six-hour sessions. Roman de Angelis (CAN), Ian James (GBR) and Gray Newell (USA) driving the number 27 Mercedes-AMG GT3 fielded by Heart of Racing by SPS finished third in the general classification, which was enough for victory in the GT3-AM class in Belgium. This success also gives Heart of Racing by SPS the lead in the Trophy GT competition held in the framework of the European leg of the 24H Series.

Another class win went to the Czech driver trio of Aliyyah Koloc, Adam Lacko and David Vrsecký. Sharing the cockpit of the number 416 Buggyra ZM Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4, they won the GT4 class of the endurance race. The next fixture on the 24H Series calendar is scheduled for Monza in June.

News snippets: Results and Facts & Social Media News

British GT Championship: Last weekend's Silverstone 500 constituted the third round of the 2023 British GT Championship. Mercedes-AMG Performance driver Raffaele Marciello (SUI) partnered by RAM Racing team-mate John Ferguson (IRL) finished fifth in the three-hour race. There was a class win for Michael Broadhurst and Edward McDermott (both GBR) in the number 12 Mercedes-AMG GT4 of One Motorsport. The Drivetac pairing of Chris Hart and James Wallis (both GBR) sharing the number 50 Mercedes-AMG GT3 took second place in their class.

Italian GT Championship: In the season opener of the Italian GT Championship at Misano Adriatico, Andrea Kimi Antonelli (ITA) of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team's junior squad was on impressive form. Driving the number 12 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Antonelli MotorSport, he registered a victory and a P3 in the two 50-minute GT3 races. As a result, he now occupies top spot in the overall standings.

Super GT: In the 450-kilometre Golden Week race at Fuji, the Japanese duo of Naoya Gamou and Takuro Shinohara driving the number 65 Mercedes-AMG GT3S of LEON Racing finished fourth in the GT300 class.

Campeonato de España Resistencia: The second race weekend of the 2023 Campeonato de España Resistencia took place on the technically challenging Portimão circuit in Portugal. Sunday's race resulted in a one-two for the Mercedes-AMG GT4 in its class, courtesy of NM Racing's two Spanish driver duos, Félix Aparicio Rodriguez / Patrick Bay and Jan Duran Olivé / Manel Lao Cornago. Olivé and Cornago had already finished second in their category in the first of the two races.

GT4 France: Olivier Jouffret and Eric Tremoulet (both FRA) can look back on a successful second race weekend of the 2023 GT4 France at Magny-Cours. Driving the #64 Mercedes-AMG GT4 fielded by Vic'Team, they made two appearances on the Pro-Am podium for a P3 in Race 1 and a P2 in Race 2.

GT4 Scandinavia: On the opening weekend of the GT4 Scandinavia at Mantorp Park, Sweden's Håkan Ricknäs and Calle Ward in the #21 Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Team RMS finished the two races in fourth and fifth respectively.

Supercars Endurance: The Southern European Supercars Endurance Series got its new season underway in Portimão this weekend. Elias Niskanen (FIN) and Nuno Pires (POR) won both races in the #55 Mercedes-AMG GT4 fielded by LEMA Racing. In the second race, Jesús A. De Martin Muñoz and Nil Montserrat Simó (both ESP) of NM Racing Team took the runner-up spot to make it a Mercedes-AMG one-two.