Verstappen sets the pace in Miami FP1
Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen led the field during the first practice session for the Miami Grand Prix, ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, in a session punctuated by interruptions and high drama.
Similar to the recent event in China, the Miami International Autodrome is hosting a Sprint weekend. This format means drivers and teams had just 60 minutes to familiarize themselves with the challenging 5.412-kilometer circuit before Sprint Qualifying.
Several teams were hard at work understanding car upgrades, with McLaren leading the charge by introducing a slew of new parts in an effort to close the gap on pace-setters and reigning world champions Red Bull. This session was notably important for McLaren as they strive to improve performance.
Ahead of the event, Red Bull dominated headlines with the announcement that their legendary designer Adrian Newey will leave the team early next year. However, FP1 shifted focus back to the track.
The session saw early drama when Ferrari's Charles Leclerc brought out the red flags. Leclerc bounced over the kerbs exiting Turn 16, spun, and narrowly avoided the barriers. The Monegasque driver lit up his rear tyres in a bid to extricate himself but ended up awkwardly sideways between the concrete walls, blocking Lewis Hamilton and several other drivers.
Unable to free his car and with the vehicle threatening to overheat, Leclerc eventually exited the cockpit, allowing marshals to remove his car under the red flag.
Once the session resumed, drivers picked up where they left off. Sainz topped the timesheets halfway through with a 1m 29.346s on hard tyres. He was followed closely by Sergio Perez and Hamilton, while Verstappen struggled after a lock-up at Turn 17 left him at the bottom of the timesheets initially.
As the clock ticked down and drivers switched to the soft tyres, Verstappen surged back to the top with a 1m 28.595s, finishing a tenth clear of Piastri and Sainz. George Russell was the best of the Mercedes drivers in fourth, with Hamilton ending the session seventh after being split by Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin and Perez’s Red Bull.
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and the Alpine duo of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10. Daniel Ricciardo in the other VCARB 01, Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg, and Alex Albon’s Williams followed suit. Albon had a close call through Turn 4 late in the session.
The Kick Sauber pair of Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas occupied 15th and 17th places respectively, sandwiching Lando Norris’s McLaren. Norris contended with "asymmetric power steering assistance" issues that hampered his run.
Logan Sargeant began his first home Grand Prix weekend with a low-key performance, placing 18th in his Williams. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso in the second Aston Martin finished 19th after running exclusively on hard tyres, and Leclerc brought up the rear following his spin.
After the single hour of practice, drivers will now analyze the data with their teams in preparation for Sprint Qualifying. With plenty of improvements expected and a thrilling battle for pole position, excitement is building for the remainder of the weekend at the Miami International Autodrome.
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