F1 News: Verstappen tops only practice session for Miami GP

After struggling for grip for most of the 1-hour only practice for the Miami GP F1 race, Max Verstappen finally put it together with a time of 1m28.595s to go fastest by 0.105s over the McLaren of Oscar Piastri.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Verstappen was down in 19th place until about 3 minutes to before it all came good for the defending race champion around the 3.363-mile Miami International Autodrome.

Carlos Sainz Jr. was third fastest for Ferrari, 0.116s behind the Dutchman while his teammate Charles Leclerc spun out on lap 3, brought out the red flag and was done for the session, his car stranded out on track behind the barriers.

An overheating clutch and ended Leclerc’s involvement in the session, the Monegasque could not get the car turned around because he could not engage reverse.

He’s going into Sprint Qualifying later on with no fast time set.

George Russell was the fastest of the two Mercedes drivers in 4th, 0.189s behind, while Lance Stroll rounded out the top-5 0.22s behind in his Aston Martin.

Just over two tenths separated the top five, with five different teams represented to boot. McLaren will be pleased to see Piastri up there after a practice session that featured some issues for Norris with his steering.

So, despite issues with the wind, with sliding, with rear locking and one moment off track, still Verstappen tops the session. His 1m 28.595s is well over a second slower than last year’s pole – but there does look to be plenty to come from that Red Bull today as the track is evolving quickly.

One thing is quite evident, on Sprint weekends, the only practice session should be extended to 90 minutes. 60 minutes is just not enough time to get a good setup on the car.

Verstappen didn’t grab pole for the Sprint in China – did win the Sprint Race. Can he put that right here, given the high temperatures and slick track make the short Sprint Qualifying Session a real crap shoot?

2024 Miami GP Practice Results