Miami GP 2026 FP1 report: Charles Leclerc fastest as Ferrari dominate opening session

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-26, front wing, suspension, tire, 2026 F1

Miami GP 2026 FP1 results: Ferrari lead and deliver strong early signals

After more than a month without racing action and the introduction of new operational procedures aimed at addressing issues seen at the start of the season, Formula 1 returns with the Miami Sprint weekend. The only practice session of the event—extended to 90 minutes—was used to test both regulatory updates and the numerous upgrades introduced by the teams. As a result, plenty of track action was expected from the very beginning.

Before diving into the session summary, here are the operating conditions: air temperature at 30°C, track temperature at 53°C, humidity at 50%, and wind at 1.1 m/s coming from the south-east. For this event, Pirelli brought the C3 Hard, C4 Medium, and C5 Soft compounds—the softest range of the 2026 tyre allocation.

Miami GP 2026 FP1 summary

There was immediate on-track action as nearly every team tested new developments, with the exception of Aston Martin, which is still focused on solving deeper issues with the AMR26 before fully introducing updates.

At the start, the hard tyre was the main reference compound. Flow-viz paint was also visible across several cars. McLaren ran it on the rear wing—one of the updated areas of the MCL40. Lando Norris started strongly, holding the top position for much of the early running. Max Verstappen moved into second place, followed by the two Ferraris with Charles Leclerc in P3 and Lewis Hamilton in P4.

Mercedes began cautiously, also on hard tyres. Kimi Antonelli set the fifth-fastest time 15 minutes into the session. Norris continued to improve, and on lap 8 using the C3 hard tyre, the reigning world champion set a 1:30.335 to retake P1. Hamilton also improved, moving up to P2, 540 milliseconds behind his compatriot.

It took 23 minutes to see the first Aston Martin on track, with power unit anomalies having kept both cars in the garage. Meanwhile, Antonelli took control of the session with a 1:30.079, putting him 217 milliseconds ahead of Leclerc, who had briefly pitted.

Verstappen then switched to the C4 medium tyre and immediately moved up to fourth place, 386 milliseconds off Antonelli’s Mercedes. Hamilton (#63 in this session context) continued to build slowly and was P8 after half an hour. Norris climbed back to P3, just 39 milliseconds off Leclerc’s Ferrari. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s car underwent setup changes, increasing both front and rear ride height.

George Russell improved slightly to P6 on his tenth lap using the same hard tyre set. Hamilton returned to track again on white-marked tyres. Norris improved further to P2, just 129 milliseconds from the top. Leclerc also improved without changing position, reducing the gap to 166 milliseconds behind Antonelli.

Russell continued setup work and reported issues over kerb behaviour with the W17. Leclerc then took the top position with a 1:29.855, still on his initial tyre set. Hamilton also improved to P3, 230 milliseconds behind.

Antonelli was likely the first driver running higher fuel loads, with his pace stabilising between 1:33.0 and 1:34.0. Verstappen followed a similar long-run programme but, unlike Antonelli on hard tyres, used mediums. Russell’s long-run pace was particularly strong, consistently in the 1:32 range.

Both Ferrari drivers also switched to higher fuel run simulations. Leclerc ran in the 1:33.5 range, with Hamilton on similar pace. Mercedes cars were in the garage after 15 and 13 laps respectively for Antonelli and Russell. Ferrari improved further, with Leclerc dropping to 1:33.1. Hamilton struggled slightly in traffic, but later also moved into the low 1:33 range before both Ferraris returned to the pits after around 10 laps each.

In the final minutes, soft tyres came into play. Leclerc, Russell and Verstappen were among the first top drivers to switch. Russell posted a 1:30.100, while Leclerc delivered a strong 1:29.443. The Monegasque led Verstappen by 333 milliseconds. Hamilton completed his first push attempt in P3, just one thousandth behind the Red Bull driver.

Mercedes suffered issues late in the session, with Antonelli forced to stop without completing his final push lap. Norris was on a strong lap but was compromised by a Williams car. Verstappen closed the gap to 164 milliseconds, but Leclerc improved again with a 1:29.310.