Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets in the only practice session ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris both came close to beating Leclerc’s best lap on soft tyres but were ultimately unable to improve their times at the end of the session.
Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli set the second-fastest time after running on hard tyres earlier, but a power unit issue prevented him from returning to the track for the late soft-tyre runs.
Lando Norris began his soft-run strongly and appeared poised to take the top spot. His lap was compromised, however, when he encountered Alexander Albon’s slow Williams on the racing line approaching turn 17 and ran wide while trying to avoid contact.
Max Verstappen finished the session second-fastest behind Leclerc. He again complained about downshifts during the session but still managed to lap within three-tenths of the Ferrari’s benchmark.
Oscar Piastri completed the top three, giving three different teams representation in the top positions and leaving Mercedes out of the podium spots. Piastri had a light brush with the barrier at the exit of turn 16 later in the session.
Ferrari had both cars in the top four and might have been even closer to the front were it not for a few incidents. Lewis Hamilton went wide at turn 17 on his quickest lap and later went off track to avoid Nico Hülkenberg circulating slowly in his Audi.
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The Mercedes runners followed, with Antonelli ahead of his team mate despite George Russell being the only one of the pair to post a flying lap on soft tyres. Norris was classified next after his lap was spoiled.
Pierre Gasly produced a strong lap to place his Alpine ahead of Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull. Alpine brought most of their upgrade package to the session, but only Gasly ran the revised rear wing because a single example had been completed earlier than planned.
Carlos Sainz Jnr put the updated Williams into the top 10, with team mate Alexander Albon split by Franco Colapinto’s Alpine.
Aston Martin were delayed into the session after experiencing power supply problems in their garage and only joined the track after around 20 minutes. That late start frustrated Antonelli and Sergio Perez, who both reported being impeded by Lance Stroll on track.
The extended 90-minute session ran uninterrupted, giving teams plenty of time to evaluate how recent rule changes have affected their cars. Despite adjustments to energy harvesting, cars continued to show signs of ‘clipping’ well before the end of the acceleration zone leading to turn 11. The sprint qualifying session later today will provide a clearer picture of whether those changes have had any significant effect.
2026 Miami Grand Prix first practice result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-26 | 1’29.310 | |
| 2 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford | RB22 | 1’29.607 | 0.297 |
| 3 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL40 | 1’29.758 | 0.448 |
| 4 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | SF-26 | 1’29.777 | 0.467 |
| 5 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | W17 | 1’30.079 | 0.769 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W17 | 1’30.100 | 0.790 |
| 7 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL40 | 1’30.208 | 0.898 |
| 8 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Mercedes | A526 | 1’30.587 | 1.277 |
| 9 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford | RB22 | 1’30.873 | 1.563 |
| 10 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW48 | 1’30.930 | 1.620 |
| 11 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine-Mercedes | A526 | 1’31.015 | 1.705 |
| 12 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW48 | 1’31.024 | 1.714 |
| 13 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | VF-26 | 1’31.091 | 1.781 |
| 14 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | R26 | 1’31.111 | 1.801 |
| 15 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | R26 | 1’31.595 | 2.285 |
| 16 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | VF-26 | 1’31.635 | 2.325 |
| 17 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford | 03 | 1’31.648 | 2.338 |
| 18 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac-Ferrari | MAC-26 | 1’32.047 | 2.737 |
| 19 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Honda | AMR26 | 1’32.593 | 3.283 |
| 20 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac-Ferrari | MAC-26 | 1’32.762 | 3.452 |
| 21 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford | 03 | 1’32.862 | 3.552 |
| 22 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Honda | AMR26 | 1’32.959 | 3.649 |
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2026 Miami Grand Prix
- Miami stats: Mercedes have now won at every track on the F1 calendar – so far
- F1 drivers say they are still at the mercy of their power units over a flying lap
- McLaren’s Miami GP radio messages show the scars of Qatar GP tactical error
- ‘This is not the level F1 should be’: Norris tells F1 to ‘ditch the battery’
- Lawson was right: Racing Bulls should not have ordered him to let Verstappen past
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