What happened in second F1 practice at Miami GP

Championship leader Max Verstappen put his Red Bull well clear of the chasing pack in second Formula 1 practice at the Miami Grand Prix.

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Key moments:

> Verstappen almost four tenths clear

> Ferraris next best ahead of Perez

> Third-fastest Leclerc later crashes at Turn 6

> Russell’s Mercedes “three-wheeling” and 15th

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Verstappen issued more complaints about his headrest during the session, akin to the ones he had during the Azerbaijan GP weekend, but that didn’t slow his progress as he was regularly at the top of the times.

He immediately matched the pace set by George Russell to top first practice on his first lap on FP2, and set his fastest time of the session on his fifth lap on soft tyres.

That effort, a 1m27.930s, left him 0.385 seconds clear of the chasing pack – led in FP2 by the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.

Sainz’s team-mate Charles Leclerc was third, but he later brought out the only red flag of the session when he had a snap, caught it but then went straight on into the barrier through the long Turn 6/7 left-hander while on a long run.

🚩 RED FLAG 🚩

Leclerc into the barriers at Turn 7 #MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/5D0ryqyp3G

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 5, 2023

That brought the session to a halt with under 10 minutes remaining, though cars were able to return to the track with four minutes left on the clock.

The second Red Bull of Sergio Perez was fourth fastest and close to half a second off his pacesetting team-mate Verstappen, though there was a gap of 0.241s behind him to Fernando Alonso in fifth.

Alonso’s Aston Martin, baulked by the Alpine of former team-mate Esteban Ocon through the tight section at the end of the second sector during the end-of-session long-running, was 0.081s ahead of Lando Norris, an impressive sixth for McLaren.

The McLaren appeared a better prospect at last weekend’s race in Baku than it had at the start of the session but Norris’s FP2 lap in Miami was a particular standout given he was the first to attempt a qualifying simulation lap in the session.

That proved to be his best effort in the session and to underline the point, Sainz was closest to him but still 0.091s down on the initial runs with Alonso 0.357s back at the time.

Lewis Hamilton was seventh in the fastest of the Mercedes W14s that secured a one-two in first practice, but his table-topping team-mate in that session, Russell, had a far trickier time in FP2.

Russell complained about the placement of Oscar Piastri’s McLaren on the inside line through the Esses – or at least the turbulent effect of it being there – on his first qualifying sim run as he went only 15th.

He later reported that he thought the car was “three-wheeling through the left-hander, Turn 2” as he improved again but only back up to 15th, then endured a spin on his long-run attempt before the red flag.

Behind Hamilton, the second Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, Ocon’s Alpine, and Alex Albon – who for a second session in a row had to take to the escape road at Turn 17 – completed the top 10.

Practice 2 Results