Miami Grand Prix – Free Practice 2: Verstappen in the lead, the circuit record widely beaten

The first few minutes of this second session were marked by the confirmation of Max Verstappen’s problems with his headrest. But the Dutchman, undeterred, simply crushed the morning’s best lap time: he was the first to break the 1 minute 30 barrier (1’29″390).

It is still customary for the stables to prioritize performance before tackling the race pace more concretely. But the thunderstorms forecasted for Sunday could potentially ruin all the work done on Friday.

The first timings recorded and the pace of each driver show that this weekend may not be a Red Bull monologue for the top positions: Ferrari and Mercedes remain well placed, with Aston Martin and even Alpine not far behind! The drivers have recommended starting the session mostly on medium tyres.

Sergio Pérez appeared to be taking all the risks in an attempt to close the gap on his Dutch teammate: the Mexican fell half a second short of his neighboring garage mate and even rival in the potential quest for a title. Even if it means crossing the white line at the pit entry! This earned him a warning.

The first drivers to have put on the soft tires to set a time were Norris and Sargeant: it’s the former who set the provisional fastest time, in 1’28″741. Oscar Piastri then followed, almost six tenths behind his teammate and leader. The 2023 F1 cars have made significant progress, as the previous circuit record belonged to Charles Leclerc for his pole position (1’28″796).

The times have fallen one after the other, but Lando Norris held off the successive attacks from Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz for a long time! Charles Leclerc, the former track record holder, made a mistake in the last braking zone, even though he had the best second sector.

Alexander Albon also performed well in the pace by placing his Williams in the Top 5. But Max Verstappen came back to restore order, setting a blistering time of 1’28″255. Impressive as always, but Charles Leclerc is never far behind, placing his Ferrari just a tenth off the top spot.

An active end to the session

While Carlos Sainz narrowly missed setting the fastest time, the Mercedes cars somewhat fell back into line at the start of the last half hour of the day. Alexander Albon had a harmless off-track excursion.

All the lap times were set using soft tires and the drivers didn’t seem in a hurry to switch to “race work” mode. Fernando Alonso remained relatively quiet, but still managed to stay comfortably in the Top 5.

And Max Verstappen further broke the circuit record, with a time of 1’27″930. Mercedes’ double in FP1 seems far away now. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell had a hard time finding grip, certainly due to an unoptimized balance.

The last 20 minutes saw the first relay simulations. Nico Hülkenberg took the lead over his teammates, testing the medium tires. And George Russell was definitely not comfortable, as he went straight on at the beginning of the last sector.

And then, red flag: Charles Leclerc ended his session by going off track at turn 7. The Monégasque often makes this kind of mistake and it could undermine his confidence, especially since he was in third place in the rankings. His rear end slipped when he went too far to the outside.

The drivers returned to the track for four short minutes. The standings have not changed: Max Verstappen has once again solidified his dominance by securing the fastest time. However, the track time for race pace has been significantly compromised.