After posting the second best lap in the first Miami Grand Prix practice period, Mercedes’s George Russell topped the chart in the second session on Friday.
Russell recorded a best lap time of 1:29.938 around the street course. He made 18 laps during the session.
“We always knew that the warm conditions here in Miami would suit our car better – we’ve suffered with getting temperature in the tyres at previous races so that’s a big factor here,” Russell said. “The car is running well but it’s only Friday, we’re not getting carried away. It’s probably been the most productive Friday we’ve had this season in terms of learning. We know that the porpoising will always be there but maybe it’s working at a lower range compared to where we were previously. You generally have races that go in your favour and some that go against you – Imola obviously wasn’t a strong circuit for us but from what we’ve seen so far, the car seems to work well around Miami. It’s a unique circuit, I was a bit unsure how I would take to the slow-speed tight section underneath the bridge, it’s a bit of a head-banger through there, but for the rest, they’ve done an amazing job – undulating in sections, with high-speed corners, I think it’s great for the fans.”
In second was Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver had been fastest in the first session.
The top five was completed by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
The practice period was plagued by multiple incidents, including some involving Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and a spin by Perez.
“It’s been a difficult day for every driver today,” Perez said. “I think it was a very messy session this afternoon, in total I did one medium lap and two soft laps. On the high fuel there was nothing we could do because of all the red flags and the time we lost. We are basically going blind into the race and I think most people are in the same boat as us.”
Sainz caused the first red flag of the session when he spun and crashed in Turn 14 with 40 minutes left.
Defending champion Max Verstappen wasn’t able to record a lap. During his out lap, he brought his car back to garage after smoke was seen coming out of his rear brake duct.
“It was not a good day for us, we wanted to get out there and learn the track and get fully up to speed but things didn’t go to plan,” Verstappen said. “We just had some hydraulic issues, as soon as I went out I couldn’t really steer and also my breaks were on fire, so there were a few problems. We don’t have a huge amount of information and data for my car which could prove difficult for qualifying and the race but we will do our best. Of course, I will try to catch up tomorrow, we will work very hard as a Team to overcome the issues and hopefully we will be in a good place come qualifying tomorrow.”