A decisive 1m27.930s set Max Verstappen atop of the charts in the second Miami Grand Prix free practice session, the two-time Formula 1 champion beating Carlos Sainz by 0.3s.
This was over two seconds quicker than the FP1 headliner set by Mercedes’ George Russell, who had led a Mercedes 1-2 in the opening Friday session at the Miami International Autodrome, despite losing approximately 25 minutes of the session’s run-time after his team elected to make changes to his steering rack following early struggles.
Verstappen spent the initial moments of FP2 battling against the Ferraris and team-mate Sergio Perez for the fastest time on the early medium runs, but the switch to soft tyre running thrust Lando Norris to the top as the McLaren driver set an impressive lap.
Although he was eventually overcome by the Red Bulls, Ferraris, and Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, Norris’ run was a first-time effort that eventually yielded sixth in the session.
The story of the day
Aside from Verstappen and Russell’s chart-topping exploits, the most notable incident of Friday’s running involved a Ferrari in the wall – a crash that stifled the majority of teams’ long-run preparations towards the end of the session.
With 10 minutes remaining in FP2, Charles Leclerc suffered a hard rock to his preparations during the flurry of race runs by careening into the barrier at Turn 7, his rear tyres locking to earn the Monegasque a one-way ticket to the barrier – producing a red flag.
He was not the sole proponent of clumsy moments across the hour-long duo of Friday sessions, as Nico Hulkenberg produced a red flag after losing the rear of his Haas VF-23 at Turn 3 during the opening free practice session. Both Haas drivers were in the wars at some point over the day, as Kevin Magnussen endured a spin at Turn 14 early on in FP2 and was lucky to only brush the wall, ensuring that he could keep going in the session to get more laps on the board.
Alex Albon sustained a spin of his own in FP2 having gone too deep at Turn 17, and had to countersteer to keep his car out of the wall. The drivers struggled with the lack of grip on offer at the track, prompting Sergio Perez to quip that intermediate tyres might have been preferable on the newly relaid track surface.
Leclerc had an abrupt end to his Friday practice in Miami
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Top 10 FP2 order
Leclerc’s accident in the final part of FP2 hurt the teams’ long runs, leaving…
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