Third practice session for the Miami Grand Prix: After an accident involving Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Sergio Pérez set the best time ahead of Charles Leclerc, followed by Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel.
The Miami International Autodrome is a work in progress: On Saturday night, the apex and exit of Turn 17 were freshly paved, and the curbs at the narrow entrance to the pit lane were removed. There are now simple traffic cones.
Some fans have asked themselves: Why is this route actually called “Miami International Autodrome”? Answer – the abbreviation MIA is the official abbreviation of Miami, also in aviation, the airport is also called that (Miami International Airport).
After the first two practice sessions, many drivers were amazed at the strange surface of the track: The rough track made of Floridian limestone and granite from Georgia hits – in combination with hot weather – on the front tires, soon a nasty layer of tire crumbs and loose chippings formed. Anyone who got just a few centimeters off the ideal line slipped out as if they had stepped on a puddle. This applied to Formula 1 racing cars as well as to the cars from Formula W and the North American Porsche Challenge that can be seen in the supporting programme.
Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button: “The smallest mistake on this track will be punished mercilessly. The drivers have to be on their guard at all times.”
George Russell enjoyed his Friday best time with caution: “We’re looking better here than in Imola because warming up the tires isn’t a problem.” But another problem arose – because of the high temperatures, the tires began to overheat during continuous running.
Many fans are wondering: has Mercedes finally returned to the top? Lewis Hamilton suspiciously: “Our opponents haven’t shown what they’re capable of.” The Englishman is the most successful active GP driver in the USA, with six World Championship race victories (Indianapolis and Austin).
The third training session began at a muggy 33.3 degrees, the slope was 51 degrees hot. Unsurprisingly: world champion Max Verstappen, who only got 15 laps on Friday, immediately went to the track.
Early best time by Verstappen on medium-hard tires (marked yellow), the first drivers also tried the hard Pirelli (marked white), which was hardly used on Friday – the drivers wanted to have enough sets of tires for the race. Leclerc briefly grabbed the fastest time, then Max followed suit.
At Mercedes, guests George Lucas (Mr. Star Wars) and Michelle Obama followed Formula 1 training.
Haas rider Kevin Magnussen spun at Turn 17, but apart from Pride nothing was hurt. Mick Schumacher set an exclamation mark after almost a quarter of an hour: third best time behind Verstappen and Leclerc!
Then red flag! Ocon slipped in the same place as Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz the day before. The left front wheel of the Alpine racing car had snapped off. Ocon was a little too hard on the accelerator after going around the beach (Turn 13) and the car swerved and slammed into the wall before 14. It will be hard work for the French mechanics to get the car running again for the final practice session.
Seven-time GP winner Juan Pablo Montoya: “This place is really hairy. I drove a few laps with VIP, and even with the sports car you’re on a knife edge at that point. I think the track is great – precisely because it doesn’t allow any mistakes.”
Ocon’s accident and the break while the clock ticked on was bad news for drivers who need every lap: like Max Verstappen or like Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), who has a new transmission and a new turbocharger after his Friday crash is.
After a break of 13 minutes the race continued, unsurprisingly 19 riders went straight onto the track. Esteban Ocon was briefly examined (according to the regulations) in the medical center, found to be fit and was soon back in the Alpine box.
Standing after half an hour: Verstappen in front of Leclerc, Sainz, Schumacher, Russell, Magnussen, Hamilton, Alonso and Bottas. Then the Finn Bottas advanced to third place. Meanwhile, Mick Schumacher got a plastic bag that got lost in the air intake of the side box. He came to the pits. In a race, something like this can overheat the engine in no time at all.
How fast are the race cars actually on the Miami International Circuit? Sergio Pérez was the fastest man in the Red Bull Racing car, top speed 336 km/h.
Max Verstappen was briefly off the track, then he stumbled over Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin. Lando Norris was able to avoid a kiss on the wall in turn 16 with a bang, on hard tires.
After 40 minutes, world championship leader Leclerc snatched the best time on the soft tires, which apparently began to overheat at the end of the fast lap. The Monegasse is almost four tenths of a second ahead of Verstappen (who had set his time on medium-hard rollers), the Mercedes behind the amazing Bottas and Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) in 5th (Russell) and 6th (Hamilton). George complained on the radio: “These tires are nothing.” Pictures showed that Hamilton had misbraked at Turn 14. His second lap was better – 4th (now ahead of Gasly and Russell).
At the end of the training, the times tumbled: Pérez moved to the top in front of Verstappen, followed by Leclerc, the surprising Sebastian Vettel, Sainz and Alonso.
Verstappen wanted to have the last word, but in the treacherous spot where Sainz and Ocon had crashed, he slipped – and was only able to avoid an accident with great difficulty, lucky you!
Top ten: Pérez, Leclerc, Verstappen, Alonso, Vettel, Schumacher, Sainz, Magnussen, Albon and Norris.
Where is Mercedes? The Silver Arrows proved to be not sharp enough, Hamilton 15th, Russell 17th And the cars bounce again – they were apparently placed too low.
3. Training, Miami
01. Sergio Perez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, 1:30.304min
02. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, 1:30,498
03. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 1:30,649
04. Fernando Alonso (E), Alpine, 1: 31.036
05. Sebastian Vettel (D), Aston Martin, 1:31,049
06. Mick Schumacher (D), Haas, 1:31,050
07. Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, 1:31.172
08. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, 1: 31,227
09. Alexander Albon (T), Williams, 1:31,501
10. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, 1: 31,594
11. Yuki Tsunoda (J), AlphaTauri, 1: 31,659
12. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, 1:31,665
13. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), McLaren, 1:31.728
14. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Alfa Romeo, 1: 31,885
15. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, 1:31,890
16. Pierre Gasly (F), AlphaTauri, 1:31,901
17. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, 1:31,924
18. Guanyu Zhou (RC), Alfa Romeo, 1:32,051
19. Nicholas Latifi (CDN), Williams, 1:32,376
20. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, no time
2. Training, Miami
01. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, 1:29,938 min
02. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, 1:30,044
03. Sergio Perez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, 1:30.150
04. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, 1:30,179
05. Fernando Alonso (E), Alpine, 1: 30,372
06. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, 1: 30,535
07. Pierre Gasly (F), AlphaTauri, 1:30,547
08. Guanyu Zhou (RC), Alfa Romeo, 1:30,860
09. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, 1:30,861
10. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, 1: 30,921
11. Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, 1:30.964
12. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), McLaren, 1:31.208
13. Yuki Tsunoda (J), AlphaTauri, 1: 31,260
14. Sebastian Vettel (D), Aston Martin, 1:31,393
15. Mick Schumacher (D), Haas, 1:31,587
16. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, 1:31,631
17. Alexander Albon (T), Williams, 1:31,710
18. Nicholas Latifi (CDN), Williams, 1:32,913
19. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, no time
Not in action: Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Alfa Romeo
1. Training, Miami
01. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, 1:31,098 min
02. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, 1:31,169
03. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 1:31,277
04. Sergio Perez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, 1:31.301
05. Pierre Gasly (F), AlphaTauri, 1:31,498
06. Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, 1:31.528
07. Alexander Albon (T), Williams, 1:31,854
08. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, 1:31,956
09. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, 1: 32,559
10. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), McLaren, 1:32.592
11. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, 1: 32,615
12. Fernando Alonso (E), Alpine, 1: 32,884
13. Guanyu Zhou (RC), Alfa Romeo, 1:33,020
14. Sebastian Vettel (D), Aston Martin, 1:33,024
15. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, 1:33,417
16. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, 1:33,576
17. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Alfa Romeo, 1: 33,773
18. Yuki Tsunoda (J), AlphaTauri, 1: 34,043
19. Mick Schumacher (D), Haas, 1:34,945
20. Nicholas Latifi (CDN), Williams, 1:35,637
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