THIS IS NOT A DRILL – WE HAVE CARS ON TRACK!
F1 made its highly anticipated return to action in hot and humid Miami for Free Practice 1. Following its enforced hiatus from action, the paddock was abuzz with positivity.
The only practice session of this sprint weekend was extended from 60 to 90 minutes to give the teams time to acclimatise to the changes in the regulations agreed in April. These changes essentially reduce the amount of battery charging the teams are required to do across a lap.
They have been changed to hopefully stop the super-clipping that was seen, particularly in qualifying, during the first 3 race weekends and create more authentic racing.
Let’s see if they have the desired effect.
A Fast Start
The teams wasted no time taking to the track in Miami. 18 of the 22 drivers were out on track within 5 minutes of the lights going out. Everyone headed out on the hard tyres, as all the teams started their weekend with longer configuration runs. The new regulations threaten to shake up the running order, so collecting data was key.
After ten minutes, the top 10 order was: Norris, Antonelli, Verstappen, Piastri, Leclerc, Russell, Hadjar, Sainz, Hamilton and Hulkenberg.
Brushing the Dust Off
We saw quite a few lock-ups, spins, and slides early on from drivers across the grid as they got to grips with their cars on this dusty street circuit. Both Ferraris slid their way through Turn 11 at the end of the back straight. Both special liveried Racing Bulls locking up early and Bortoleto spinning at Turn 17.
It wasn’t just the drivers having issues. Both Aston Martins remained in the garage with a multitude of technical issues early on, while George Russell reported his turbo sounding like a train before returning to the pits. He was soon back out on track, the team clearly happy with the turbo’s condition.
Upgrades Aplenty
The majority of the field brought upgrades to the Miami Grand Prix. Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull all brought major front-to-back upgrade packages in an attempt to close the gap to Mercedes.
However, the most notable one in Practice 1 in Miami was Red Bull’s ‘Macarena’ rear wing upgrade. In a clear copy of Ferrari’s rear wing, Red Bull appeared to take it a step further. The gap in their rear wing and the quickness of its rotation seemed to take Ferrari’s wing to the next level.
Check it out yourself:
Long Run Performance
The teams used the majority of the session to gain data on long runs. After the teams had gone through these simulations, the gaps were very close at the top between Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari. Red Bull were a step behind the leading teams. From there, the midfield sat about 0.6 behind. Alpine, Audi, Haas, Racing Bulls and Williams were spread out across that midfield between 1.6 and 3 seconds back. As expected, Cadillac and Aston Martin continued to make up the back markers.
Qualifying Pace
With 13 minutes left in the session, the teams turned to the soft tyres for their qualifying simulations. The sliding and locking continued on the grippier softs as the drivers wrestled their cars around the Miami circuit. Lots of laps were lost because of this, creating uncertainty going into Sprint Qualifying. Championship leader Antonelli wasn’t able to participate in the simulations as a technical issue ended his session with 8 minutes to go.
As the chequered flag was waved, Charles Leclerc and Ferrari led the way by 0.4 seconds on a 1:29.310, from Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. Lewis Hamilton and the two Mercedes followed them, in front of Norris, Gasly, Hadjar and Sainz make up the top 10.
The weekend continues later on Friday evening with Sprint Qualifying at 9:30 pm GMT.