Leclerc Leads Verstappen, Piastri in 1m 29.310s F1 Miami FP1
Charles Leclerc set the pace in f1 miami on Friday, topping the sole practice session at the Miami International Autodrome with a 1m 29.310s lap. The Ferrari driver moved ahead of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri in a session that gave the 11 teams and 22 drivers just one shot at setup work before the weekend’s Sprint action.
Leclerc Sets The Benchmark
Leclerc’s best lap came in hot and humid conditions at the 5.412-kilometre venue. He improved to 1m 29.855s later in FP1 and stayed on top after the session, keeping Verstappen and Piastri behind him on the timesheets.
About half an hour into the run, championship leader Antonelli had briefly gone fastest with a 1m 30.079s lap. Leclerc answered about 20 minutes later and took control again, while Lando Norris had earlier sat P1 after roughly 15 minutes with Verstappen, Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton close behind.
Ferrari And Red Bull Updates
The 90-minute session was extended from the usual 60 minutes because Miami is running to the Sprint format, and that extra half hour mattered because teams only had FP1 to gather the first read on upgrades. Ferrari rolled out an updated version of its flip-flop rear wing early in the session, while Red Bull used a rotating concept of its own.
Aston Martin was the only squad not to declare any aerodynamic developments for the weekend, and it also had a power issue in its garage during FP1. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were sent out just over 20 minutes into the session and were the first drivers to use the softest rubber, but they could only finish 18th and 19th.
Mercedes, Alpine And Aston Martin
Mercedes ran into trouble as George Russell said his turbo was making a lot of noises and was “a bit like a steam train.” Pierre Gasly, meanwhile, reported a “very strange smell” aboard his Alpine.
Those problems sat alongside the usual upgrade checks across the field, but the first order of business in Miami was simple: get one clean run, read the data, and leave the only practice session with a workable direction. Leclerc did that better than anyone, and the session order put Ferrari in front when the weekend began to tighten.
