Miami GP - Free Practice

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Crypto.com Miami GP

Free Practice 1

May 3, 2024

Verstappen from Red Bull sets the fastest time during practice for the Miami Grand Prix.

During the only practice session on Friday, Max Verstappen from Red Bull set a strong start for potentially winning three consecutive Miami Grand Prix races by recording the quickest time, while Oscar Piastri from McLaren followed closely in second place on the timesheets.

Verstappen, the winner of both races at the newly introduced track in the 2022 F1 calendar, timed his fastest lap in the last moments of the one-hour session.

His lap time of 1:28.595 at the Miami International Autodrome was 0.105 seconds quicker than Piastri's.

Carlos Sainz, who is the only driver besides Verstappen to achieve a race victory this season, secured the third position in what proved to be a mixed morning for Ferrari. Charles Leclerc's session was disrupted when he spun and came to a stop on the track after just 10 minutes, leading to a red flag being waved.

George Russell of Mercedes claimed the fourth fastest time, with Lance Stroll of Aston Martin following closely behind.

Sergio Perez from Red Bull, who secured pole position in Miami last year, crossed the finish line in sixth place, just ahead of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes.

The session was eventful for Alpine's duo, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, raising hopes that the struggling team could score their first points of the season in Florida.

Gasly was the fastest towards the end of the practice session, securing the 10th position, while his teammate Ocon finished in ninth place.

For the second Grand Prix in a row, the weekend will include a sprint race along with just one practice session.

Verstappen emerged victorious in the previous sprint race in China and heads to Florida with four wins out of five races, holding a 25-point advantage over his teammate Sergio Perez.

The 26-year-old Dutch driver won the inaugural race at the Hard Rock Stadium in 2022 and repeated his success from ninth place last May.

Verstappen has secured pole position in all five races this season, becoming the only driver in this century to achieve such a feat. The last driver to claim the first six poles of a season was the French legend Alain Prost with Williams in 1993.

Furthermore, Verstappen is currently on a winning streak of six consecutive races in the United States.

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