Oscar Piastri set the fastest time in the single practice session at the Miami Grand Prix. The session`s crucial final minutes, typically used for qualifying simulations on soft tyres, were cut short by a crash involving Oliver Bearman, leaving many drivers unable to complete their preparations for Sprint Qualifying later on Friday.
Drivers had only 60 minutes on track to get ready for the entire weekend. The planned soft-tyre runs were concentrated in the final 10 minutes when Bearman lost control of his Haas and hit the barriers at Turn 12, triggering a red flag that ended the session prematurely.
Piastri was one of the few drivers who managed to complete a flying lap before the stoppage. His time put the McLaren driver three-tenths of a second ahead of Ferrari`s Charles Leclerc, with championship leader Max Verstappen finishing a further tenth back in third place for Red Bull.
Lando Norris, Piastri`s teammate and his closest challenger in the championship standings, finished down in 12th. He was on his flying lap and had reached the final sector when the red flag came out. Although he was trailing Piastri by over three-tenths after the first sector, he had significantly reduced that gap in the second, leaving the potential margin between the McLarens unknown.
The Williams pair of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon secured fourth and fifth positions, respectively, benefiting from being among the first teams to send their cars out on soft tyres.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was another driver who missed the chance to complete a flying lap on soft tyres, ending the session in 13th. His early-season struggles appeared to continue during the medium-tyre portion of the session, where he was only eighth fastest.
Mercedes driver George Russell was fastest on the medium compound and finished seventh overall despite not completing a soft-tyre run.
Having recently achieved successive wins and taken the lead in the world championship, Piastri arrived at the sixth round of the season with significant momentum and a 10-point advantage over Norris. The Australian had a minor scare when he lightly brushed the barriers on worn medium tyres but looked comfortable when setting his leading time.
Norris had an eventful session even before the red flag. It began when he discovered mechanics had left tools in his cockpit on his first lap, forcing an immediate return to the pits and leading to McLaren being summoned to the stewards for an `unsafe` release. He later narrowly avoided a major incident when he almost collided with Esteban Ocon, who had slowed significantly on the racing line approaching Turn 17. No contact occurred, but Ocon was summoned to the stewards after the session to explain the situation.
Reigning world champion Verstappen showed no ill-effects from his late arrival in Miami, having attended the birth of his first child on Thursday. His Red Bull team introduced significant upgrades, including an updated floor, but the limited practice time made it difficult to fully assess their impact.
Miami GP Schedule
(Note: Times are illustrative based on original source; actual times may vary)
Friday
- Team Bosses` Press Conference
- F1 Academy Practice 2
- Miami GP Sprint Qualifying
Saturday
- F1 Academy Qualifying
- MIAMI GP SPRINT
- Ted`s Sprint Notebook
- F1 Academy Race 1
- Miami GP Qualifying build-up
- MIAMI GP QUALIFYING
- Ted`s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday
- F1 Academy Race 2
- Grand Prix Sunday: Miami GP build-up
- The MIAMI GRAND PRIX
- Chequered Flag: Miami GP reaction
- Ted`s Notebook
