Charles Leclerc topped the times in Friday’s extended Free Practice 1 at the Miami International Autodrome, clocking a 1:29.310 to lead Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. Lewis Hamilton took fourth and Kimi Antonelli fifth as Mercedes encountered problems late on during the only practice session of this Sprint-format weekend.
After a five-week April break and recent rule refinements, FP1 was lengthened to 90 minutes, giving the 11 teams and 22 drivers extra runway to reacclimatise and evaluate a raft of updates. Running began at 1200 local time in hot, humid conditions around the 5.412-kilometre circuit, with most crews opening on the hardest compound for initial systems checks and baseline laps.
Early on, Lando Norris set the pace in the mid-1m30s before Verstappen and the Ferraris of Leclerc and Hamilton slotted in behind. Aston Martin kept both cars in the garage with a power issue and only joined proceedings just over 20 minutes into the session, while Pierre Gasly reported a “very strange smell” inside his Alpine. George Russell also noted that his turbo was “making a lot of noises… a bit like a steam train.”
With further countermeasures introduced to reduce engine vibrations and improve reliability, there was added manufacturer attention on power unit behaviour. In the development race, Ferrari ran an updated version of their ‘flip-flop’ rear wing and Red Bull trialled a rotating concept of their own, as both outfits pursue pace in the hunt to close down Mercedes. Aston Martin, by contrast, was the only team not to declare aerodynamic updates this weekend.
At the half-hour mark, championship leader Antonelli headed the order on a 1:30.079, leading Leclerc, Norris, Verstappen and Hamilton. Russell’s session remained scrappy with a heavy double lock-up that flat-spotted both front tyres, forcing a return to the pits.
As the track rubbered in, Leclerc reset the benchmark to 1:29.855, with Hamilton also finding time to move into third behind Antonelli. Notably, the leading trio had yet to swap their hard tyres for mediums or softs at that stage, hinting at further gains to come.
Aston Martin rolled the dice first on the soft compound, but Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso could only reach 19th and 18th respectively, roughly three seconds adrift. Stroll also drew the ire of rivals by appearing to delay Antonelli and Sergio Perez on separate laps as the field jostled for track position.
The closing 20 minutes brought widespread soft-tyre runs and a rush of green and purple sectors. Leclerc’s late 1:29.310 proved decisive, putting him almost three-tenths clear of Verstappen and a further tenth ahead of Piastri. Hamilton remained in the mix despite abandoning a late attempt after encountering a slow-moving Audi. Mercedes’ session ended on a sour note, with Antonelli unable to complete a lap as the clock wound down.
With only one practice session on a Sprint weekend, teams now turn directly to competitive running. The key storylines to watch include how Ferrari and Red Bull’s upgrades translate under pressure, whether Mercedes can tidy up reliability, and if Aston Martin can overcome their early power issues as the Miami weekend ramps up.
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*Originally published on [News Formula](https://newsformula.one/article/leclerc-heads-verstappen-in-extended-miami-fp1-as-mercedes-hit-trouble). Visit for full coverage.*
