Charles Leclerc set the pace in the sole practice session for the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, as the sport returns to action after a prolonged break.
Teams had 30 minutes extra to get to grips with the new regulations and to test the raft of upgrades brought to their new cars for the Miami Grand Prix. All eyes were on McLaren and Ferrari to see if their heavily revised cars could catch the dominant Mercedes.
At the green light, it was Carlos Sainz leading out the two Ferraris, the Scuderia bringing back the Macarena front wing for this weekend. The McLarens also ventured out early, his MCL40 looking almost unrecognisable to the one from the opening three races. Cars steadily took to the track to perform system checks, and in the case of Oscar Piastri, log data using flo-vis paint. Aston Martin looked to be in trouble, both cars relegated to the pit lane due to a power issue in the garage.
A notable absence from the first five minutes were Mercedes, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli’s first runs not troubling Norris, who jumped to the top by a full second over Max Verstappen. Antonelli jumped into second, Russell back in sixth, but was forced to pit due to a potential turbo problem, before heading back out after a short delay. The session then settled down with an hour to go, Max Verstappen, and the two Ferraris unable to catch Norris, until Antonelli popped up after 25 minutes.
The midpack was far more frantic, with the battle between Alpine and Haas resuming as the two teams moved throughout the session, before a lull descended over the track. Russell’s resumption did not last long, forced back into the pits, Mercedes engulfing his car. Verstappen was also unhappy, complaining of downshifts throughout the session.
The battle at the top looked between Norris and Antonelli, the Briton moving to within 0.129s of the young Italian with 50 minutes to go, going faster on his next lap before abandoning it. But Leclerc found pace to have a stint at the top by 0.224s, Hamilton slotting into third, before the long runs began as the session approached its final half hour.
With ten minutes to go, the qualifying simulations began, many cars going wide at the final corner, including Norris, almost making contact on his first flying lap, and locking up into Turn 1 on his second. Antonelli missed out on a soft tyre run lap due to power unit issue.
At the chequered flag, Ferrari looked to have the early pace courtesy of Charles Leclerc, closely matched by Mercedes and McLaren, with Max Verstappen jumping to second in the closing seconds. Both Alpines were in the top ten, with Haas, Racing Bulls, and Williams ahead of Aston Martin and Cadillac.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:29.310 | |
| 2. | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.297 | |
| 3. | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.448 | |
| 4. | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.467 | |
| 5. | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +.0769 | |
| 6. | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.790 | |
| 7. | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.898 | |
| 8. | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1.277 | |
| 9. | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | +1.563 | |
| 10. | Carlos Sainz | Williams | +1.620 | |
| 11. | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | +1.705 | |
| 12. | Alex Albon | Williams | +1.714 | |
| 13. | Oliver Bearman | Haas | +1.781 | |
| 14. | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | +1.801 | |
| 15. | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | +2.285 | |
| 16. | Esteban Ocon | Haas | +2.325 | |
| 17. | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +2.338 | |
| 18. | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | +2.737 | |
| 19. | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +3.283 | |
| 20. | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | +3.452 | |
| 21. | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +3.552 | |
| 22. | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +3.649 |
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Originally published by motorsportweek.com —
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