Oscar Piastri set the tone early in Miami, topping the timesheets in Friday’s only practice session for the 2025 Miami Grand Prix — a crucial hour of running that ended prematurely after a heavy crash for Haas rookie Ollie Bearman. With the Sprint format in play for the second time in the season, drivers had just 60 minutes to gather data, find a rhythm, and dial in their cars ahead of Sprint Qualifying later in the day. But for many, those final minutes never came.
What To Know
- Piastri fastest again: The McLaren driver led the field in FP1, continuing his dominant form in 2025.
- Interrupted session: Red flags and traffic chaos disrupted soft-tyre runs, limiting clean laps.
- Tight midfield: Less than a second separated P2 to P10, setting up a close Sprint Qualifying battle.
Teams wasted no time sending cars out on medium and hard tyres to maximise the limited track time around the 5.412km Miami International Autodrome. Early laps were steady, with drivers building confidence on a surface that was still evolving, low on grip but improving with every tour thanks to rubber laid down not only by F1 cars but also the support series, including the F1 Academy and Porsche Carrera Cup.
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There were a few lighthearted hiccups in the opening stages: Lando Norris reported that tools had been left in his cockpit, an issue flagged for post-session investigation, while Yuki Tsunoda remarked that his seat felt “quite high,” prompting a few adjustments in the garage. On track, George Russell set the early pace with a 1m28.058s lap on mediums — achieved with a wild snap of oversteer through Turns 14 and 15 — putting him ahead of Norris and Max Verstappen.
The Dutchman, newly a father, was getting up to speed on a circuit where he had previously dominated, but times were still well off last year’s qualifying benchmarks. Verstappen’s 2024 Sprint pole was set at 1m27.641s, with his Grand Prix pole even faster at 1m27.241s, indicating that plenty of performance remained untapped ahead of the soft-tyre runs.
However, those soft-tyre simulations were left perilously late. Just as the field began running on the red-marked C5s for their all-out laps, drama struck. Bearman lost control exiting Turn 11 and spun into the wall at Turn 12 with just five minutes remaining, triggering a red flag and bringing the session to a premature end.
Piastri, the championship leader heading into Miami, was one of the few to get a clean soft-tyre lap in before the stoppage. He delivered a 1m27.128s effort — quicker than any qualifying time at this venue last year — and firmly planted himself at the top of the leaderboard, nearly three tenths clear of Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari and a further tenth ahead of Verstappen’s Red Bull. It was another statement performance from the Australian, who had been relentless across the early phase of the 2025 season.
Behind the leading trio, Williams enjoyed an impressive showing with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon taking fourth and fifth, capitalising on their early switch to the softs. Isack Hadjar, in the brightly-liveried Racing Bulls car, slotted into sixth ahead of Russell, whose best lap on mediums remained unbeaten by several rivals thanks to the red flag. Tsunoda, rookie Kimi Antonelli, and Aston Martin veteran Fernando Alonso completed the top 10.
Norris, who won in Miami in 2024 and remained Piastri’s closest championship rival, was one of the biggest losers from the red flag. He was mid-lap — having just clawed back time in the second sector after a slow first — and looked poised to challenge for the top spots when the session was stopped. He ended up 12th, wedged between Racing Bulls Liam Lawson and 13th-placed Lewis Hamilton, whose early-season struggles showed little sign of easing.
Hamilton had looked somewhat stronger during the medium-tyre runs earlier in the session, reaching as high as eighth, but the seven-time champion ultimately couldn’t get a soft-tyre lap in. Behind him came the Kick Sauber duo of Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, with Bearman, stranded by his crash, classified in 16th.
The final four places went to the Alpines and Aston Martins, with Pierre Gasly 17th and Jack Doohan 19th, either side of Esteban Ocon. Lance Stroll’s quiet session placed him 20th and last, though with little representative running for many drivers, the true pecking order remained unclear ahead of the high-stakes Sprint Qualifying session to come.
2025 Miami GP FP1 Results
2025 Miami Grand Prix FP1, 2 May 2025
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 1:27.128 | 22 | |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:27.484 | +0.356s | 22 |
| 3 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:27.558 | +0.430s | 20 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams Mercedes | 1:27.678 | +0.550s | 23 |
| 5 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 1:27.955 | +0.827s | 25 |
| 6 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 1:27.968 | +0.840s | 23 |
| 7 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:28.058 | +0.930s | 26 |
| 8 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:28.155 | +1.027s | 21 |
| 9 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:28.227 | +1.099s | 28 |
| 10 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:28.243 | +1.115s | 24 |
| 11 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 1:28.374 | +1.246s | 21 |
| 12 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 1:28.391 | +1.263s | 21 |
| 13 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:28.556 | +1.428s | 20 |
| 14 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:28.573 | +1.445s | 13 |
| 15 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:28.771 | +1.643s | 19 |
| 16 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari | 1:28.996 | +1.868s | 22 |
| 17 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 1:29.084 | +1.956s | 22 |
| 18 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas Ferrari | 1:29.179 | +2.051s | 19 |
| 19 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine Renault | 1:29.357 | +2.229s | 22 |
| 20 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:29.362 | +2.234s | 21 |
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