A crucial practice session took place at the Miami International Autodrome ahead of the 2022 Miami Grand Prix and it was understandably a busy start as drivers got their eyes in.
As drivers tested the limits of the new circuit, there were several off track moments, including a close call for F1 world champion Max Verstappen and for current championship leader Charles Leclerc: the Ferrari driver had a spin as well at Turn One, perhaps distracted by an Aston Martin ahead of him. Yuki Tsunoda then had a brush with the wall.
Midway through the session Valtteri Bottas went off at the fiddly Turn 7 and we had our first red flag of the weekend. And a tough repair job for Alfa Romeo. A new street circuit with narrow walls meant crashes and red flags were always going to be inevitable this weekend
The majority of the flying lap times were set in the final minutes of the first free practice session at the Miami International Autodrome, as the porpoising effect seemed to be minimum for everyone on this track, which helped Mercedes get much closer to the top. In the final stages of FP1, Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc got the fastest lap, setting a 1:31.098. George Russell was second just +0.071s off the leader, with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull in third. Lewis Hamilton was forced to abort his flying lap at the end as a car on a slow lap in front got in the way. But Mercedes does indeed seem to have significantly improved with the recent updates and the lack of bouncing.
Carlos Sainz finished sixth in the other F1-75 car, four tenths down on his teammate’s best lap time, behind Sergio Perez and Pierre Gasly.
Practice One: Top Ten
1) Charles Leclerc,1:31.098
2) George Russell, +0.071
3) Max Verstappen, +0.179
4) Sergio Perez, +0.203
5) Pierre Gasly, +0.400
6) Carlos Sainz, +0.430
7) Alex Albon, +0.756
8) Lewis Hamilton, +0.858
9) Kevin Magnussen, +1.461
10) Daniel Ricciardo, +1.494
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