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Autosport

F1 Miami GP: Piastri quickest in FP1 as Bearman causes red flag

McLaren's championship leader Oscar Piastri has set the fastest time in practice for the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, which was red-flagged for the stricken Haas of Oliver Bearman.

The sprint weekend's sole practice session got off to a false start for last year's maiden winner Lando Norris, who reported some items were left loose in the car for his first run.

Having arrived in Miami after celebrating the birth of his first child, world champion Max Verstappen soon shot to the top of the timetables while he was trialling Red Bull's new floor for this weekend.

Mercedes driver George Russell led the way after a quarter with a 1m28.488s on mediums, ahead of Verstappen and McLaren duo Piastri and Norris.

Russell then shaved off time to set a 1m28.058 on the same compound, followed by his team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Williams man Carlos Sainz, who snuck past both McLarens.

Russell's lap would stay on top for most of the session as nearly the entire grid stuck to Pirelli's mediums in the Miami heat to dial in set-ups for sprint qualifying later on Friday.

George Russell, Mercedes (Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images)

But then the soft tyres came out for a bout of qualifying simulations in the final 10 minutes. Williams duo Sainz and Alex Albon were the first drivers to up the ante on softs, but they were inevitably and swiftly demoted by the top teams.

Verstappen and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc both cycled through to a temporary lead until three fastest sectors netted Piastri a leading time of 1m27.128s.

Norris' soft-lap attempt, as well as that of several other frontrunners, was thwarted by an incident involving Haas driver Oliver Bearman, who spun gently into the barriers with four minutes to go and brought out a red flag that effectively ended the running early.

That meant Leclerc and Verstappen remained in second and third respectively, followed by Sainz and Albon. Isack Hadjar was sixth in the one-off magenta Racing Bulls car, ahead of Russell and the second Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda.

Antonelli and Aston Martin ace Fernando Alonso rounded out the top 10, with the late red flag denying the likes of Norris and 13th-placed Hamilton a more representative time.

F1 Miami Grand Prix - FP1 results

   
1
 - 
4
   
   
1
 - 
2
   
Cla Driver # Chassis Engine Laps Time Interval Tyres km/h
1 Australia O. Piastri McLaren 81 McLaren Mercedes 22

1'27.128

  S 223.615
2 Monaco C. Leclerc Ferrari 16 Ferrari Ferrari 22

+0.356

1'27.484

0.356 S 222.705
3 Netherlands M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1 Red Bull Red Bull 20

+0.430

1'27.558

0.074 S 222.517
4 Spain C. Sainz Williams 55 Williams Mercedes 23

+0.550

1'27.678

0.120 S 222.213
5 Thailand A. Albon Williams 23 Williams Mercedes 25

+0.827

1'27.955

0.277 S 221.513
6 France I. Hadjar RB 6 RB Honda 23

+0.840

1'27.968

0.013 S 221.480
7 United Kingdom G. Russell Mercedes 63 Mercedes Mercedes 26

+0.930

1'28.058

0.090 M 221.254
8 Japan Y. Tsunoda Red Bull Racing 22 Red Bull Red Bull 21

+1.027

1'28.155

0.097 S 221.010
9 Italy A. Antonelli Mercedes 12 Mercedes Mercedes 28

+1.099

1'28.227

0.072 M 220.830
10 Spain F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14 Aston Martin Mercedes 24

+1.115

1'28.243

0.016 S 220.790
11 New Zealand L. Lawson RB 30 RB Honda 21

+1.246

1'28.374

0.131 S 220.463
12 United Kingdom L. Norris McLaren 4 McLaren Mercedes 21

+1.263

1'28.391

0.017 M 220.420
13 United Kingdom L. Hamilton Ferrari 44 Ferrari Ferrari 20

+1.428

1'28.556

0.165 M 220.009
14 Germany N. Hulkenberg Sauber 27 Sauber Ferrari 13

+1.445

1'28.573

0.017 S 219.967
15 Brazil G. Bortoleto Sauber 5 Sauber Ferrari 19

+1.643

1'28.771

0.198 S 219.477
16 United Kingdom O. Bearman Haas F1 Team 87 Haas Ferrari 22

+1.868

1'28.996

0.225 M 218.922
17 France P. Gasly Alpine 10 Alpine Renault 22

+1.956

1'29.084

0.088 M 218.705
18 France E. Ocon Haas F1 Team 31 Haas Ferrari 19

+2.051

1'29.179

0.095 M 218.472
19 Australia J. Doohan Alpine 7 Alpine Renault 22

+2.229

1'29.357

0.178 M 218.037
20 Canada L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing 18 Aston Martin Mercedes 21

+2.234

1'29.362

0.005 S 218.025
In this article
Filip Cleeren
Formula 1
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