Ferrari new rear wing brought more top speed, but not enough amid Red Bull fight. Ferrari new rear wing brought more top speed.

The duel at the top could turn into a three-way battle in Miami, as Mercedes finished 1st and 4th in the second free practice session for the 2022 Miami Grand Prix. George Russell’s best time was no coincidence: the Englishman had already taken second place in the first practice session at the Miami International Autodrome, with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc who was 0.106 seconds off George Russell’s time, while Sergio Perez was 0.212 seconds. Minimum gaps that give hope for a good race.

In the long run, Mercedes are still three and a half tenths off their opponents per lap. The engineers warn, however, not to read too much into the long runs, although almost all have covered a comparable distance of eight laps. However, that means only six flying laps and therefore no data as to how the medium tire behaves over longer distances. It is feared that the tires could overheat over longer distances due to the high asphalt temperatures.

Scuderia Ferrari was a one-man team after 17 minutes in the second free practice session, as Carlos Sainz crashed his F1-75 into the wall at Turn 13. Carlos Sainz again, one is inclined to say. After his crash in Melbourne and two accidents in Imola, it is the fourth incident in a short time. “I will apologize to the team and the mechanics,” said the Spaniard sheepishly. As usual, Charles Leclerc was always at the front and repeatedly had to abort his fast laps due to traffic, yellow flags or small errors. There was more potential from the F1-75 car than his personal best of 1:30.044: “Things are pointing in the right direction,” said Charles Leclerc with satisfaction.

In the long run, the world championship leader was as fast as Sergio Perez. The average time is 1:33.962 as compared to 1:33.952 for the Red Bull driver. The new rear wing brought a little more top speed, but not enough: both Ferrari and Mercedes are around 10 km/h behind Red Bull in terms of top speed. Ferrari engineers point out that they get their time at the beginning of the straight. This is shown by the measuring point 70 metres behind Turn 16, where Charles was measured at 189.6 km/h, Checo at only 187.1 km/h.