“Mercedes Dominates Miami Grand Prix Practice Session; George Russell Overcomes Steering Issues to Outpace Lewis Hamilton”

The opening practice session before the Miami Grand Prix turned out best for Mercedes. In the end, the Silver Arrows settled on the first two rungs. George Russell was faster by two tenths ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Charles Leclerc finished in third place.

However, for George Russell, the training did not start according to his expectations. Already in its first round of installation, it reported steering problems. “I won’t learn anything this way,” he sighed into the radio and headed for the pits. Mechanics set about replacing the steering rod. Russell managed to get on the track only 20 minutes before the end of the program.

The Mercedes kept the qualifying simulations on the soft compound for the last moment, when the best conditions were on the track. From the eighteenth and nineteenth places, the pair rose to the top.

The third place belongs to Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fifth. The duo from the Ferrari camp was separated by the Dutch speedster Max Verstappen, who today was once again troubled by the headrest, or. this time HANS neck protection. Red Bull will have to shine a light on Verstappen’s cockpit because it could be a problem in the race.

Behind the first five, we record Pierre Gasly. Alpine is also testing new components in Miami and believes that this time it will turn out better than in Azerbaijan. The past weekend could be compared to a disaster for the French team. However, Friday is going well and even Esteban Ocon made it into the top ten.

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll occupied the imaginary fourth row. Not a single Aston Martin managed to get closer to the front for less than one second this time. The same applies to Nico Hülkenberg, who, however, could be happy with the ninth place if…

If the German had not crashed. He cut our first practice by around ten minutes after losing control of his car in the third corner after going off the beaten track. Outside of her, there was woefully little grip, so Hulk spun around and ended up in the barrier. Red flags followed.

Several drivers complained about the lack of grip, including Max Verstappen, who noted that if you go off the ideal track by even a millimeter, you lose a lot of grip. The proof is also several skids and exits off the track. However, no one fared as badly as the Hulk.

Of the rest of the field, Nyck de Vries had the biggest problems, who spun and, according to the team’s reports, damaged his car. The rest of the program sat in the garage. Mechanics started repairs and preparations for the second practice, which will start at 23:30 our time.