Piastri tops Miami GP practice as red flags shake up final runs

Oscar Piastri Tops Miami GP Practice Session, Rookie Ollie Bearman Crashes

Oscar Piastri stole the spotlight in Friday’s sole practice session for the Miami Grand Prix, clocking the fastest lap of the day to edge past Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. The highly anticipated session, conducted under the Sprint format for the second time this season, came to a dramatic end as rookie Ollie Bearman’s late crash halted proceedings, denying several drivers the chance to show their pace on soft tires.

Teams and Drivers Seize the Hour

With only an hour available for practice at the Miami International Autodrome, teams and drivers wasted no time getting to work. A packed session unfolded as the field shook down their cars and tested the limits of a challenging circuit under the sunny Florida skies.

The session kicked off at 12:30 PM local time, and drivers began their weekend with exploratory laps on medium- and hard-compound Pirelli tires. However, it didn’t take long for minor dramas to emerge. Lando Norris radioed his McLaren garage to report that “tools had been left in his cockpit,” an oversight that drew the attention of the stewards for a post-session investigation. Meanwhile, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda remarked that his seat height felt “quite high,” raising potential setup concerns for the team early on.

Early Benchmarks and Close Calls

Roughly 15 minutes into the session, George Russell briefly claimed the fastest lap with a 1:28.058 on medium tires, despite an eye-catching slide through Turns 14 and 15. The Mercedes driver led by three-tenths of a second from Norris, while Verstappen, fresh off welcoming his first child, sat half a second back in third. Russell’s benchmark provided an early reference point, though it was some way off Verstappen’s pole time of 1:27.641 from last year’s Sprint Qualifying.

The session wasn't short on close encounters. Norris narrowly avoided contact with Esteban Ocon’s Alpine at the Turn 17 hairpin, an incident later noted by the stewards for review.

Piastri Steals the Spotlight

As the clock wound down, the drivers made their switch to soft-compound tires, preparing for fast laps. This sparked a frantic final push, with the leaderboard lighting up in a flurry of green and purple sector times. It was here that Piastri made his move to the top, delivering an impressive 1:27.128 despite brushing the wall. The McLaren driver outpaced Ferrari’s Leclerc and reigning world champion Verstappen by a comfortable margin, with Williams duo Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon rounding out the top five.

Bearman’s Crash Halts Progress

Many drivers were denied the opportunity to challenge Piastri’s lap when Bearman lost control of his car exiting Turn 11. The rookie spun into the Turn 12 wall with five minutes remaining, prompting a red flag and ending the session prematurely. “Ah, man – sorry,” said the visibly frustrated Bearman over the radio.

Top 10 Standings

Isack Hadjar, driving for Racing Bulls, secured an impressive sixth place with his best lap on softs before the red flag fell. Russell, unable to improve on his earlier time set on mediums, finished seventh, followed by Tsunoda, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso to complete the top 10.

Midfield and Backmarkers

Further down the order, Norris ended the session 12th, sandwiched between VCARB 02’s Liam Lawson and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who settled for 13th place in a lackluster outing. Behind them, Kick Sauber teammates Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto finished 14th and 15th, with the luckless Bearman classified 16th despite his crash.

The back of the grid featured Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan in 17th and 19th respectively, divided by Ocon’s underwhelming performance in 18th. Lance Stroll struggled in the second Aston Martin, rounding out the 20-car field.

Looking Ahead to Qualifying

With practice behind them, drivers and teams will now analyze their data and make adjustments ahead of the Sprint Qualifying session, scheduled for 4:30 PM local time. The outcomes of the 100-kilometer Sprint race on Saturday will set the stage for Sunday’s feature Grand Prix, promising another exciting chapter in the Formula 1 season.

Stay tuned as Miami delivers its share of action on and off the track!

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