Miami Grand Prix: Russell fastest on Friday

Second part of free practice

Sunny. Dry. Air +33С, route +41…38С

If on most tracks the second practice is one of the most useful, then in Miami the schedule was set up to be the last during the weekend. The session started at 5.30pm – qualifying will then end on Saturday and the race will end on Sunday if it doesn’t rain.

There was no rain on Friday. By the start of the second training session, the sun was setting, the heat of the day had abated a bit, the track was covered with used rubber – and the riders went faster straight away.

Red Bull Racing’s mechanics continued to work on Max Verstappen’s car – after a light touch on the barrier in the first practice, the team decided not to take the risk and replace the gearbox. Valtteri Bottas’ car, which had an accident in the morning, was completely dismantled – in the second session the Finn did not get off the track.

Again, there were no incidents. First, Perez turned around in corner ninth and in the 18th minute there were red flags – Carlos Sainz crashed the car for the third weekend in a row and went into corner 13 too fast – he turned and threw it against the wall.

The Spaniard left the cockpit under his own power and was sent to the doctors for a preventive examination – a dangerous overload sensor worked. After 12 minutes, the riders were able to start again, including Verstappen, who had lost the first half of the session.

Barely leaving, Max was forced to slow down due to hydraulic problems, hampering Stroll. The steering was bad. The brake lock caused the right rear wheel to catch fire, but Verstappen was able to reach the pits and did not take off.

In the 47th minute red flags appeared again – Latifi’s Williams’ engine lost power and it stalled on the track. The car was promptly rolled back over the barrier and four minutes later the session continued.

In the final minutes, Magnussen and Vettel turned around – with no effect on the cars.

George Russell led the way with a lap time of 1:29.938.

Results of the second session

First part of free practice

Cloudy. Dry. Air +33С, route +53…47С

The first practice on a new track is always interesting, especially because the track around the Hard Rock stadium in Miami was similar to the one in Baku – even narrower, with closed walls, smooth asphalt – and very hot weather.

In Miami, the road surface was prepared to provide good grip, but the cars still slipped, especially in the seventh and 17th turns, where fresh asphalt was laid overnight.

In the first minutes Leclerc and Tsunoda turned around, Verstappen hit the barrier without consequences for the car. Alpine created a dangerous situation in the pit lane, with Esteban Okon being let go in front of Russell’s car, but George managed to stop. The stewards investigated the incident and issued a formal (non-racing) warning to Okon.

Schumacher almost crashed into Riccardo’s car, which braked suddenly – the stewards left this situation without consequences. Stroll and Vettel received a black and white flag warning for crossing the white line when entering the pit lane.

In the 34th minute the session was interrupted by red flags – Valtteri Bottas crashed the car and lost control on the curb in Turn 7. Nine minutes later, the riders were able to start again.

Sainz spun under braking in Turn 4, locked up his tires and returned to the pits with a flat tire.

Many worked with prepared novelties, focused on their program, while gradually covering the asphalt with a layer of used rubber and not leaving with a small amount of fuel, affecting the balance of power.

Charles Leclerc took the lead with a lap time of 1:31.098.

Results of the first session