WM leader Oscar Piatri continues to drive in top shape in Formula 1.
In the first (and only) free training on the Grand Prix of Miami 2025, the McLaren pilot secured the best time. Piatri drove his fastest round in 1: 27.128 minutes and referred Charles Leclerc (Ferrari/+0.356) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull/+0.430) to places 2 and 3.
Lando Norris had just made absolute best time in the second sector when the training had to be interrupted in curve 12 due to an accident by Oliver Bearman. Norris could not finish his time and therefore only took twelfth place. Incidentally, not the first bad luck on Friday.
When he had completed the first few rounds, he suddenly noticed in the cockpit that something was lying around that shouldn’t be there. Later it turned out: Mechanics had forgotten a rod and a tube lamp in the cockpit.
This in turn brought the FIA commissioners to the plan that examines the case as a “unsafe release”. Exit was unknown.
The result of the first training session is not entirely to be taken for bare coin due to the streamlined program and the premature end. An F1 sprint is driven in Miami, and the sprint qualification is already on the program on Saturday afternoon. So the teams focused on Longrun simulations for the sprint on Saturday and the race on Sunday (here you can go to the TV information).
Red Bull consultant weighs down
“Training is not really meaningful here because you know too little about the details,” said Red Bull Motorsport Consulent Helmut Marko in an interview with “Sky”.
“The crash from Bearman did not get to drive the last qualifying simulation. Difficult to read who turned the engine open and who had how much weight on board. I see ourselves near the panel, but with a slight advantage for McLaren.”
The longest Longruns drove the two Mercedes pilots, who were stopped on average with medium 1: 31 times.
McLaren completed the fastest Longruns, who even easily managed 1: 30 times. However, the data is not really comparable because the length of the runs deviated significantly.
In the end, George Russell took seventh place, 0.930 seconds behind Piatri.
Williams duo surprised
At the beginning he had complained about an “exceptionally heavy steering”, then about vibrations and finally also over a car that is very different overall. But very different, that was obviously quick. After just 25 minutes, Russell led the classification in front of his team -mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli (9./+1,099).
Surprisingly, the end result with Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon (both Williams) in third place and 5, Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) in 6th place and Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull in 8th place. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) was 13th, Nico Hülkenberg (clean) and Lance in Aston Martin 20 and last.