Max Verstappen was the fastest in the session, a common theme in the opening rounds of 2024, but this time the competition was closer. The top five finishers were evenly matched, separated by just over two-tenths of a second, and all from a different team.
After the chequered flag, McLaren will be encouraged by Oscar Piastri’s strong performance in coming second, especially after a practice session in which his teammate Lando Norris encountered steering problems and finished in sixteenth. At Mercedes, Russell was their standout driver, finishing fourth, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, fifth on the soft tyres, was 1.5 seconds clear of his teammate Fernando Alonso, who was down in 19th after the team split their drivers’ strategies. Alonso choosing longer stints on hard tyres.
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Similar to the previous Sprint weekend in China, the Miami International Autodrome provided just 60 minutes of track time for drivers and teams to get familiar with the 5.412-kilometre circuit ahead of Sprint Qualifying.
Many teams were busy evaluating new car upgrades; McLaren was notably active in that department, introducing significant updates from front to back in an effort to narrow the gap with the leading team and reigning world champions, Red Bull.
Red Bull was in the spotlight leading up to the event due to news that their renowned designer, Adrian Newey, would be departing early next year. However, the start of the first practice (FP1) shifted focus back to the track activities.
The session’s first major incident occurred shortly after it began when Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, using a mix of medium and hard Pirelli tyres, spun out at Turn 16 after hitting the kerbs, triggering a red flag. Leclerc’s car ended up sideways, blocking the path of future teammate Lewis Hamilton and several others. Despite several attempts to manoeuvre out of the predicament, Leclerc had to abandon his car as it began to overheat, leading to its removal by the marshals.
Once the session restarted, Carlos Sainz initially led, clocking a 1m 29.346s on hard tyres, ahead of Sergio Perez and Hamilton. However, as the session progressed and drivers switched to soft tyres, Verstappen, recovering from an earlier lock-up and an abandoned lap, clocked a 1m 28.595s to clinch the fastest time, finishing just a tenth ahead of Piastri and Carlos Sainz.
George Russell led the Mercedes drivers, finishing fourth, with teammate Lewis Hamilton three spots behind him. Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin and Sergio Perez’s Red Bull split their efforts.
Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda and the Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly completed the top ten, followed by Daniel Ricciardo in the other VCARB 01, Haas teammates Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg, and Alex Albon in the Williams, who had a close call through Turn 4 towards the end of the session.
Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas placed 15th and 17th, respectively, with Lando Norris in the second McLaren in between. Norris, who had more of McLaren’s latest updates compared to Piastri, struggled with steering throughout the session.
Logan Sargeant had a subdued start to his first home Grand Prix weekend of the season, finishing 18th for Williams. Fernando Alonso, in the second Aston Martin, was 19th after only using hard tyres, and Charles Leclerc was last following his early spin.
Miami GP FP1 Results
2024 Miami Grand Prix, 3 May 2024
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