Verstappen was the fastest in practice at GP Miami. Leclerc spun right at the start – F1sport.cz

Formula 1 moved from China to the American continent for the first time this year. The Miami Grand Prix is ​​on the agenda. But just like in China, Miami also has a sprint weekend, which means that drivers and teams only had one practice session.

Most teams brought new parts. Some are related to the characteristics of the track, others are to improve the performance of the car. The largest package (nine improved areas) was deployed by McLaren.

Lando Norris complained as soon as he drove off that something was wrong. According to the team, it was a problem with the power steering, which has nothing to do with the new parts installed.

Charles Leclerc had bigger problems, who spun 180 degrees under the bridge at the 16th turn already at the beginning of practice. The Monacan subsequently managed to partially turn the car and block the track, but that was the end of it. Red flags flew on the track and Leclerc could only watch the rest of the practice from the garage.

We saw several trips to the escape zone during training.

Towards the end, the riders then put on soft tires. Verstappen set the fastest time ahead of Piastri and Sainz.

Shootout begins in Miami at 10:30 p.m.

The results

Progress

7:30 p.m.: End of training.

19:29: Piastri goes to second place.

19:29: But now Verstappen goes first.

19:28: Verstappen reported that his soft tires were overheated…

19:27: Pérez takes over. Second Russell, then Sainz, Hamilton. All four in 0.144 s. Verstappen next to last.

19:23: Russell takes over from him.

19:23: Sainz returns to first place.

19:21: Gasly took first place.

19:19: Soft ones are also put on by other riders.

19:17: Alex Albon put on the soft.

19:12: Norris goes to second. No one has fitted soft tires yet.

19:06: Sainz set a time on hard compounds. Pérez, Hamilton, Russell behind him in the middle.

19:02: Sainz took the lead…

18:58: Verstappen went off the track.

18:57: Hamilton moves into second place.

18:54:

1. Per
2. Russian
3. Ham
4. Pia
5. Cun
6. Hello
7. Norwegian
8. Pg
9. Boots
10. Stick

18:49: Norris is also on the track. Pérez in the lead ahead of Verstappen and Hamilton.

6:46 p.m: Continuing…

18:38: Leclerc has spun 180 degrees. But now it stands. Red flags.

18:37: Now even across the track, Hamilton had to wait to clear a place.

18:36: Leclerc stands on the track.

6:33 p.m: “Something’s wrong,” Norris reported, disappearing into the pits.

6:32 p.m: Most on hard, but some chose medium tires.

6:30 p.m.: Riders take to the track.

18:28: The track temperature climbs to almost 50 °C.

18:24: Chance of rain is 10%. The air temperature is 28 °C, the track is 45 °C.

18:22: Many teams brought new parts. McLaren has the biggest package. But only Norris should get it in its complete form.

18:20: The Ferrari and RB teams brought special livery. RB is promoting Visa and its Chameleon payment card and Ferrari… officially 70 years in the US market or something, but really it’s to highlight the arrival of a new title sponsor – HP.

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool, Ferrari

18:18: However, none of the riders but Adrian Newey are attracting the most attention in the paddock this time. Red Bull has confirmed that he will be leaving Red Bull in the first quarter of next year. Until then, he will focus on the RB17 hypercar. Newey is in the paddock in Miami.

Photo: Getty Images / Chris Graythen, Mark Thompson

18:16: It’s the third time in Miami. Max Verstappen won the previous two races. He has even won every race on American soil since 2021.

18:15: we have another sprint weekend ahead of us, which means this training session will be the only one. From 10:30 p.m., a shootout will take place, which will determine the order for tomorrow’s sprint.

18:00: Welcome to the 2024 GP Miami practice session online.