McLaren star Oscar Piastri set the tempo within the only free practice session for the 2025 Method 1 Miami Grand Prix, clocking the quickest lap earlier than the session was lower brief by a purple flag attributable to a spin from Haas driver Oliver Bearman.
The only observe session of this sprint-format weekend acquired off to a rocky begin for 2024 Miami GP winner Lando Norris. The McLaren driver reported points on his set up lap, noting that some elements inside his cockpit had been left unsecured. In the meantime, reigning world champion Max Verstappen, who arrived in Florida after celebrating the beginning of his first youngster, shortly made headlines by topping the early timing screens whereas testing Pink Bull’s upgraded ground bundle.
Mercedes’ George Russell emerged because the early pacesetter, laying down a benchmark of 1m28.488s on medium tyres. He was adopted intently by Max Verstappen and the McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, all utilizing the identical compound. Russell then improved his lap time to 1m28.058s, maintaining him forward of team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Williams’ Carlos Sainz, who jumped each McLarens on the leaderboard.
Because the session wore on, Russell’s time remained unbeaten for a lot of the 60 minutes, with most drivers specializing in setup work utilizing Pirelli’s medium compound tyres. Groups had been gathering very important information forward of Friday’s Dash Qualifying, happening within the scorching Miami warmth.
Within the remaining 10 minutes, groups switched to mushy tyres for simulated qualifying runs. Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon had been first to make the change, briefly climbing the standings earlier than being displaced by frontrunners. Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc quickly held the highest spot till Oscar Piastri unleashed a blistering lap, going purple in all three sectors to put up a session-best 1m27.128s.
Any remaining makes an attempt at enchancment had been halted when Oliver Bearman misplaced management of his Haas and gently slid into the boundaries, triggering a purple flag with simply 4 minutes remaining. The stoppage successfully introduced the session to an early shut, leaving a number of prime drivers—together with Norris and Lewis Hamilton—with out the possibility to finish aggressive laps on mushy tyres.
The ultimate order noticed Leclerc and Verstappen maintain second and third, adopted by Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon in fourth and fifth. Isack Hadjar impressed with sixth within the magenta-liveried Racing Bulls automotive, forward of Russell and Yuki Tsunoda within the second Pink Bull. Antonelli and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso accomplished the highest 10.
Keep knowledgeable on ScuderiaFans.com with full protection of the 2025 F1 Miami Grand Prix, together with breaking information, technical evaluation, unique interviews, movies, and on-site images all through the weekend.
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