George Russell (Mercedes) has closed the first day of rehearsals of the first edition of the Miami Grand Prix with the best provisional time (1:29.938), ahead of the current leader of the championship charles leclerc (Ferrari), 1 tenth, waiting for the ‘real fire’ this Saturday in qualifying. Fernando Alonso has placed fifth at the start of the weekend, which has been very inauspicious for Carlos Sainz.
Free Practice 2 started with high temperatures (32ºC in the atmosphere and 42ºC on the track), although less extreme than in the morning session, in which 52º on the track were reached. After the first session, which Leclerc dominated, there were many unknowns to clear up. Verstappen had started far from Leclercunable to express himself due to problems in his Red Bull, while Mercedes, especially Russellseemed to react. sainz, meanwhile, suffered a spin and was unable to test on soft tires as his teammate did. Also Alonso and Alpine They have sown some doubts in the first contact with the new Hard Rock Stadium circuit.
The evening session has started without Valtteri Bottaswhich has destroyed the Alfa Romeo in FP1, and without Max Verstappen, waiting for the Red Bull mechanics to replace the RB18’s power unit. A handicap for the champion, who has lost valuable test minutes on an unprecedented track. When he finally got out on the track, the Dutchman suffered a hydraulic problem that left him practically unable to roll and he returned to the box with the rear tire of his car on fire.
Meanwhile, the Ferrari ‘flying’, with Pérez in battle. But Sainz , who had been setting the best time (1.30.964) has made another inexplicable mistake and crashed his car after losing rear control in the demanding braking of turn 14. The man from Madrid has been taken to the medical center as a mere precaution after the impact against the wall, although he has not suffered injuries. More than the blow, which surely has hurt Carlos it’s another setback in a tough start to the season.
Miami GP. Free 2:
1. George Russell (Mercedes) 1’29″938
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari(at 0″106
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) at 0″212
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) at 0″241
5. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) at 0″434
6. Lando Norris (McLaren) at 0″597
7. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) at 0″609
8. Gyanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo) at 0″922
9. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) at 0″923
10. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) at 0″983
11. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) at 1″026
12. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) at 1″270
13. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) at 1″322
14. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) at 1″455
15. Mick Schumacher (Haas) at 1″649
16. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) at 1″693
17. Alex Albon (Williams) at 1″772
18. Nicholas Latifi (Williams) at 2″975
19. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) Not classified
20. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) Not classified