Leclerc Tops Verstappen, Piastri in Miami Formula 1 FP1
Charles Leclerc led formula 1 Friday at the Miami International Autodrome, setting the pace in the only practice session for the Miami Grand Prix. He did it with a lap of 1m 29.310s, ahead of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri after a 90-minute FP1 in hot and humid conditions.
Leclerc Sets The Pace
Leclerc’s benchmark put Ferrari on top in a session that started at 1200 local time and ran longer than the usual 60 minutes because the weekend is using the Sprint format. The extra 30 minutes gave teams more time to adjust, but it was still Leclerc who finished fastest when the clock stopped.
He first appeared back at the top around 20 minutes after Antonelli had led with a lap of 1m 30.079s after half an hour. Leclerc then improved again to 1m 29.855s before lowering the mark to 1m 29.310s, enough to leave Verstappen and Piastri in second and third.
Miami International Autodrome Pressure
The session was not clean for several teams. Aston Martin was the only team not to declare any aerodynamic developments for the weekend, and it also reported a power issue in its garage during FP1. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were the first drivers to take on the softest rubber, but they could only finish 18th and 19th respectively on the compound.
That left Aston Martin with limited data from its opening run while Ferrari and Red Bull had rear-wing developments in play. On a 5.412-kilometre circuit, the difference between a tidy lap and a compromised one showed up quickly.
Russell And Gasly Problems
George Russell said his turbo was “making a lot of noises… a bit like a steam train,” while Pierre Gasly reported a “very strange smell” aboard his Alpine. Those issues added to the sense that this was the one session to collect as much information as possible before the weekend moved on without another practice hour.
That is the practical takeaway for the grid: there is no second chance in Miami to reset the baseline before the competitive sessions begin. Leclerc owns the first target time, and the rest of the field now has to answer it in the Sprint format with only one practice session behind them.
