Training Miami: Ferrari with best time, but Mercedes does not show everything

– Charles Leclerc was the fastest driver in the only Free Practice of the Formula 1 in Miami, (Get the complete practice results here!) which was held over 90 minutes instead of the usual 60 minutes.

The Ferrari driver set the best time of the session in 1:29.310 minutes and had a three-tenths of a second lead over Max Verstappen, who finished second in the Red Bull. Third was Oscar Piastri (McLaren/+0.448) ahead of Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari/+0.467).

However, some drivers had trouble putting together a clean lap in the hectic final phase. Hamilton was on a good pace but made a mistake in the last corner and lost a lot of time. The same applies to world champion Lando Norris (McLaren), who was held up by Alexander Albon (Williams) in the final corner and had to settle for seventh place.

World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) could not intervene in the time attack at the end because he was kept in the garage with a power unit problem. He finished fifth ahead of teammate George Russell.

There is also no particularly representative time from Nico Hülkenberg (15th), as he completely locked up in turn 1 at the end of his only attempt and went into the runoff area.

The most important points in brief:

Result: 1st Free Practice in Miami
Photos: Miami Grand Prix 2026

Why did the practice last 90 minutes?

Originally, the practice was supposed to start at 18:30 and last 60 minutes – as usual. But before the weekend in Miami, it was announced that the first session would start half an hour earlier and last 90 minutes.

F1: Miami Grand Prix (USA) 2026

The background of the adjustment is the rule changes announced by Formula 1 during the break. Teams and drivers have half an hour more with the new schedule to familiarize themselves with the changes.

Because Miami is a sprint weekend, there is only one practice on Friday before the sprint qualifying later in the day. Therefore, it was agreed to extend the duration of FP1 by 30 minutes once.

Were there any problems?

No spectacular ones. Many drivers locked up, some smelled strange things in their cockpit like Piastri or Pierre Gasly (Alpine), although the cause is not clear. The biggest problems were once again found at Aston Martin, who took a lot of time getting out due to recurring power unit issues.

In the end, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were still able to complete a regular program.

Antonelli was kept in the garage at the end with a power unit problem. There were no major incidents or accidents.

How do the long runs look?

Even though Mercedes was not at the top of the timing sheets, the long runs show that the Silver Arrows are still the benchmark. Second force is Ferrari, which already had three (Leclerc) and six tenths (Hamilton) deficit on average.

Although the basic order seems to have changed little, the chasing teams may have closed in on Mercedes. In the first three races of the season, Ferrari was still on average 0.53 seconds per lap behind – so about two tenths could have been made up here.

Behind them are McLaren and Red Bull, basically on par with just under nine tenths of a second deficit. Notably: Red Bull is especially fast on the straights and clearly achieved the top speed with Max Verstappen. However, the team still lacks downforce, so while they were fast in the third sector, they still had deficits in the other two.

Conversely, McLaren was especially fast in the corners but lost time on the straights.

In the midfield, Haas and Alpine continue to have the edge over the competition.

What’s next at the Miami Grand Prix 2026

At 22:30, the sprint qualifying is on the program. The day’s events from Friday (May 1) will then be analyzed from 1 a.m. by Kevin Scheuren and Kevin Hermann in the livestream on the Formel1.de YouTube channel, with a look at the long run data from the first practice as well.

Formula 1 Saturday (April 2) in Miami begins at 6 p.m. with the sprint. At 10 p.m., the qualifying for the race on Sunday follows. Kevin Scheuren and Stefan Ehlen will report from 1 a.m. in the YouTube livestream and discuss all important topics about qualifying and the sprint.

On Sunday, the race start in Miami is scheduled for 10 p.m. At 2 a.m. CEST, Kevin Scheuren and Stefan Ehlen will start their Grand Prix analysis. As always, channel members can ask their questions live.

All information about streams and TV broadcasts in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland can be found in our current overview. Details about the weather forecast are available in our preview.

After Miami, Formula 1 will take a short break. The next Grand Prix will take place on May 24, 2026, in Montreal (Canada). (View the 2026 race calendar here!)