Charles Leclerc leads in the only practice session.
Sunny. Dry. Air +30…31°C, track +54…50°C
Having lost all of April due to military actions in the Middle East, Formula 1 resumed the season in early May in Miami. For the missed month, amendments to the regulations were agreed upon and accepted, taking into account the first three Grands Prix. The weekend is formatted with a Saturday sprint and a single Friday practice session, the duration of which has been increased to 90 minutes by the FIA.
Ten teams brought new updates to Miami that were planned for the missed races in Bahrain and Jeddah. Ferrari announced the most updates – eleven, while Aston Martin had no new items at all – the team and Honda engineers focused on resolving ongoing vibration issues.
The weather on Friday was excellent, but teams worked with an eye on the forecast, which promised heavy rain and thunderstorms on race day, testing setups with varying levels of downforce.
Drivers began the practice on Hard tires and with aerodynamic paint on their cars, comparing different configuration options – in many teams, the program was divided between the drivers.
Aston Martin was unable to release their cars at the beginning of the session; the team explained this by a power supply failure in the pits – computers and other equipment were not working, losing just over twenty minutes.
Hamilton, Bortoleto, Russell, Gasly, and Bottas went off track, Gasly complained of a strange smell in the cockpit, Russell about an unusual sound from the turbo, Hadjar and Verstappen about the gearbox operation. Stroll initially hindered Antonelli, then Perez, which left them quite dissatisfied.
Antonelli prematurely ended the session due to power unit issues.
At the end of the session, drivers switched to Soft tires and increased their speed. Many went off track, traffic was an issue, and Piastri slightly touched the wall in turn 16. The best time was set by Charles Leclerc, completing a lap in 1:29.310.
Results of the Friday practice
Driver
Team
Time
Difference
Laps
1. C. Leclerc
Ferrari
1:29.310
41
2. M. Verstappen
Red Bull
1:29.607
+0.297
41
3. O. Piastri
McLaren
1:29.758
+0.448
35
4. L. Hamilton
Ferrari
1:29.777
+0.467
35
5. K. Antonelli
Mercedes
1:30.079
+0.769
24
6. D. Russell
Mercedes
1:30.100
+0.790
33
7. L. Norris
McLaren
1:30.208
+0.898
35
8. P. Gasly
Alpine
1:30.587
+1.277
33
9. A. Hadjar
Red Bull
1:30.873
+1.563
40
10. C. Sainz
Williams
1:30.930
+1.620
37
11. F. Colapinto
Alpine
1:31.015
+1.705
33
12. A. Albon
Williams
1:31.024
+1.714
38
13. O. Berman
Haas
1:31.091
+1.781
35
14. G. Bortoleto
Audi
1:31.111
+1.801
28
15. N. Hülkenberg
Audi
1:31.595
+2.285
33
16. E. Ocon
Haas
1:31.635
+2.325
36
17. L. Lawson
Racing Bulls
1:31.648
+2.338
41
18. S. Perez
Cadillac
1:32.047
+2.737
25
19. F. Alonso
Aston Martin
1:32.593
+3.283
29
20. V. Bottas
Cadillac
1:32.762
+3.452
33
21. A. Lindblad
Racing Bulls
1:32.862
+3.552
41
22. L. Stroll
Aston Martin
1:32.959
+3.649
28
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