Miami, FP2: Verstappen quickest as Leclerc crashes

Red Bull leads Ferrari, Mercedes struggles

By Franck Drui

6 May 2023 - 00:40
Miami, FP2: Verstappen quickest as (...)

Max Verstappen set the fastest time of the second free practice session for the 2023 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix but Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc brought running to a halt when he crash late in the session.

Ferrari driver Leclerc and team-mate set the early pace, but the first really representative time came from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez who set a time of 1:30.757 and then by his team-mate Max Verstappen who stopped the clock at 1:30.146.

Sainz then posted a lap of 1m30.128s, and Leclerc became the first driver to get under 1m30s with a lap of 1:29.497.

Verstappen put in another quick lap that edged him close to the Monegasque driver and then with his next attempt he finally pushed through to the top of the order with a 1:29.380.

All of the early P1 times had been set on medium compound Pirelli tyres but McLaren’s Lando Norris then emerged on soft tyres and the Briton jumped to top spot with a lap of

1:28.741. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso moved to P2 before being supplanted by Sainz, but Norris’ time proved good enough to stand for some time.

It was Verstappen who eventually toppled the McLaren driver, the Dutchman posting a 1:28.255. The champion then lowered the benchmark to 1:27.930 as drivers began to switch to longer runs.

Ten minutes from the end of the session the red flags came out when Leclerc crashed at Turn 7. The incident resulted in a five-minute stoppage as the damaged Ferrari was rescued. When running resumed it was solely to get more running on the harder compounds and there were no significant improvements in lap time.

Behind Verstappen. Sainz finished second with Leclerc third. Pérez ended the session in fourth, almost half a second behind his team-mate.

Alonso was left with fifth place with the Spaniard having moved past Norris just before Leclerc’s crash. Lewis Hamilton finished seventh ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, as Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon completed the top 10.

Pos.DriverCarTimeLaps
01 Max Verstappen Red Bull Honda RBPT RB19 1:27.930 23
02 Carlos Sainz Ferrari SF-23 1:28.315 26
03 Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-23 1:28.398 20
04 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Honda RBPT RB19 1:28.419 24
05 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Mercedes AMR23 1:28.660 25
06 Lando Norris McLaren Mercedes MCL60 1:28.741 24
07 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes W14 1:28.858 23
08 Lance Stroll Aston Martin Mercedes AMR23 1:28.930 23
09 Esteban Ocon Alpine Renault A523 1:28.937 25
10 Alex Albon Williams Mercedes FW45 1:29.046 26
11 Pierre Gasly Alpine Renault A523 1:29.098 22
12 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari VF-23 1:29.171 22
13 Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo Ferrari C43 1:29.181 27
14 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo Ferrari C43 1:29.189 26
15 George Russell Mercedes W14 1:29.216 21
16 Oscar Piastri McLaren Mercedes MCL60 1:29.339 24
17 Nico Hülkenberg Haas Ferrari VF-23 1:29.393 22
18 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri Honda RBPT AT04 1:29.613 25
19 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri Honda RBPT AT04 1:29.928 25
20 Logan Sargeant Williams Mercedes FW45 1:30.038 27

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