Oscar Piastri led the only practice session for the Miami Grand Prix, delivering a strong performance despite a crash by Oliver Bearman, which limited many drivers’ chances to prepare for Sprint Qualifying later on Friday.
The session allowed drivers just 60 minutes for practice, causing many to save their soft-tyre qualifying attempts for the last ten minutes. Unfortunately, Bearman’s spin into the barriers at Turn 12 brought out a red flag and halted the session prematurely.
Piastri, the current leader in the World Championship, managed to post a lap time that was three-tenths of a second faster than that of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finished second, with Max Verstappen from Red Bull coming in third, another tenth behind.
Lando Norris, Piastri’s teammate at McLaren and his closest competitor in the championship, ended up in 12th place. He was in the final sector of his lap when the red flag was issued, creating uncertainty about the potential time gap between the two McLaren drivers.
Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon secured fourth and fifth places respectively, having been quick to send their cars out on soft tyres early in the session. Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, couldn’t capitalize on soft tyre runs and finished 13th, struggling throughout the medium-tyre portions of the session as well.
Piastri arrived at this sixth race of the season filled with momentum after winning two races back-to-back. Despite a slight scare touching the barriers on his worn medium tyres, he looked in control while setting the fastest lap.
The reigning champion, Verstappen, showed no signs of being affected by his late arrival, having missed earlier media events for the birth of his first child. His team, Red Bull, brought the only significant upgrades to Miami, including a new floor, but the limited practice time made it tough to evaluate their effectiveness.
