Russell tops Miami FP2 for Mercedes, disaster for Verstappen

George Russell put the upgraded Mercedes Formula 1 car on top in the second Miami Grand Prix practice, while Max Verstappen didn’t set a laptime at all.

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Key moments

– Verstappen late out after FP1 damage then has immediate failure
– Russell beats Leclerc to top spot
– Sainz crashes again
– Perez spins twice
– Latifi causes red flag too

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Verstappen was stuck in the garage initially in practice two as Red Bull completed a gearbox change as a precaution following a brush with the wall in the earlier session.

But when he got going, Verstappen instantly had what was later diagnosed as a hydraulic failure.

He managed to limp back to the pits, but was visibly struggling to steer the car – having a near-miss with Lance Stroll as a consequence – and also developed a fire on the Red Bull’s right rear wheel.

Trouble for Max Verstappen 😩

His right rear brake is seemingly on fire, with the Dutchman forced back into the pit lane! #MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/5C7xYiN3hK

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 6, 2022

While that was unfolding, Russell put in a 1m29.938s to continue Mercedes’ encouraging day by knocking championship leader Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari off first place by 0.106s.

Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz had battled with him for the top spot at first, before having a high-speed spin into the barriers that ended his day and caused a red flag. He fell to 11th.

Despite two spins, one of them while passing Sebastian Vettel, Sergio Perez upheld Red Bull honour by taking third.

Lewis Hamilton backed up Russell’s pace with fourth in the other Mercedes, followed by Fernando Alonso’s Alpine and Lando Norris’s McLaren.

Plenty of other drivers had incidents: Kevin Magnussen and Vettel among the additional spinners.

The session’s second red flag came late on when Nicholas Latifi parked his Williams having initially speculated that he might have a loose wheel.

After his practice-one crash, Valtteri Bottas’s Alfa Romeo didn’t take part in practice two.

Practice 2 Results