Carlos Sainz has recovered his best version on the Miami urban circuit and is second, with Fernando Alonso in the ‘top five’
Leclerc has successfully debuted the new flat bottom of the Scuderia and Carlos has tested it in the second free practice
max verstappen has closed Friday as the fastest after leading the second free practice of the Miami Grand Prix, fifth round of the 2023 calendar, ahead of the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, their partner Sergio Pérez and Fernando Alonso. An accident without consequences leclerc has interrupted the last minutes of the session with a red flag, the second of the day after the incident carried out byrNico Hulkenberg (Haas) in the morning batch.
leclerc has given significant first notice at the afternoon start in Miami. On medium tyres, the Monegasque driver dropped under 1:30 (1:29.4) for the first time to take the lead on the time table. Verstappen it rolled at 1 tenth, perez to almost 2 and Sainz he was half a second behind his partner.
The Red Bull have reacted and Verstappen has regained control with a time of 1.29.380, which has left leclerc to 1 tenth already perezto 2. The first to try his round launched with the soft, LI walk Norris, He has surpassed them all with his McLaren (1.28.741).
Already in the best track conditions and with the rubber to attack the times, the fastest has been again max verstappen, current leader of the World Cup, who has dropped to 1.27.930 and is running for pole position that will be held this Saturday (10:30 p.m.). The Dutchman will not have it easy seeing the step forward that the Ferrari drivers seem to confirm and the ambition of Checo Perez, who is just six points behind the championship after his double in Azerbaijan.
Sainz The weekend has started much more toned than last week in Baku and it also seems that alonso may be in the fight this Sunday.
red enhancements
Of the big teams, Ferrari is the only one that bets in Miami to incorporate outstanding aerodynamic evolutions. Leclerc and Sainz have tested a new flat bottom on the SF-75. The Monegasque has used it in the morning and the man from Madrid has incorporated it in the second batch. “The objective was to compare how the car works with the new soil and with the previous one,” he explained. marc gene from the Scuderia garage.
Of the rest, only Aston Martin presents some novelties, especially some striking additional cooling grilles on the sides of the AMR23, designed specifically for high temperatures. of Miami.
Miami GP. Free 2:
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1’27″930
2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) at 0″385
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) at 0″468
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) at 0″489
5. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) at 0″730
6. Lando Norris (McLaren) at 0″811
7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) at 0″928
8. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) at 1″00
9. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) at 1″007
10. Alex Albon (Williams) at 1″116
11. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) at 1″168
12. Kevin Magnussen (HaasO at 1″241
13. Gyanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo) at 1″251
14. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) at 1″259
15. George Russell (Mercedes) at 1″286
16. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) at 1″409
17. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) at 1″463
18. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) at 1″683
19. Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri) at 1″998
20. Logan Sargeant (Williams) at 2″108