F1 Miami Grand Prix: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc tops inaugural practice
6th May 2022Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc topped the first-ever practice session in Miami as Mercedes’ upgrades look promising.
How the first Miami practice session unfolded…
In the first practice session of the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, there was a flurry of drivers rushing out of the pit lane to familiarise themselves with the brand new track.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was the first driver to set the first-ever lap time on the board but this was soon beaten by 13 other drivers as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc topped the timing boards; 1:34.449 with 51 minutes left on the clock.
After the first 10 minutes, the pit lane incident – which occured at the start – between Mercedes’ George Russell and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was put under investigation for an unsafe release. As the British driver ventured down the pit lane, Ocon was released into the path of the #63 Mercedes despite his mechanic’s attempt to stop him.
However, there was an incident between Haas’ Mick Schumacher and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, between turns 16 and 17, which was to be investigated after the session.
As the session crept to its 20-minute mark, Russell put in the second-fastest lap, 0.001 seconds slower than Leclerc who had improved his previous best with a 1:32.949.
Mercedes finally brought some fresh upgrades to Miami, this weekend, with a new front, rear and beam wing, in a bid to find a solution to their current problems.
It wasn’t long before the red flag was brought out, with 25 minutes left on the clock. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas lost grip on his rear tyres as he carried too much speed into turn seven and ended up in the barrier. As a result, the Finn skidded across the run-off area and into the barrier backwards.
Prior to the red flag, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton jumped up to second place on the timing board, 0.021 seconds behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, proving their new upgrades are hinting positive news for the eight-time constructors champions.
As the session was allowed to get back underway, with just under 15 minutes to go, Sainz lost the rears as he blasted into turn four and just managed to save his car from a spin. However, the Spaniard suffered a puncture on his front right, soft compound tyre as he rejoined the track.
While the session counted down into its dying embers, Max Verstappen climbed up to the top spot with a 1:31.097 as Russell and Alexander Albon (Williams) topped out second and third respectively – all on the soft tyre.
By the end of the first practice session, Leclerc topped the timing sheets, ahead of Russell and Verstappen respectively as Albon dropped to seventh – just ahead of Hamilton (eighth).
That’s it for the article: F1 Miami Grand Prix: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc tops inaugural practice! What do you think of Mercedes’ upgrades, do they stand a chance to win this weekend? Let us know in the comments!
Read more Formula One here!
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- F1 Emilia-Romagna Sprint Qualifying: Max Verstappen secures pole
- F1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix: George Russell fastest ahead of Sprint
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
