F1 Miami Grand Prix: Free Practice over, Oscar Piastri leads, with Charles Leclerc securing second spot, and Max Verstappen secures third

TOI Sports Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Updated: May 2, 2025, 23:32 IST

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Oscar Piastri of McLaren dominated the Miami Grand Prix's Free Practice, followed by Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. The session faced disruption due to a late crash involving Haas' Oliver Bearman, resulting in a red flag. Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon surprisingly secured spots in the top five, while Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton struggled to set competitive times.

F1 Miami Grand Prix: Free Practice over, Oscar Piastri leads, with Charles Leclerc securing second spot, and Max Verstappen secures third (Image Source: Instagram)

As Miami heats up, both with the temperature and the Miami Grand Prix, the Free Practice session of F1 is over, and reigning championship leader, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri has snatched the top spot, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc leading the second spot, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen securing the third spot.

Oscar Piastri leading the free practice

McLaren ace Oscar Piastri topped the spot, while he faced a disrupted ending. While Charles Leclerc secured second spot and Max Verstappen secured the third spot, in some stunning results, Williams' Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon also finished in the top five.
Oscar Piastri has led the headlines, and for all the right reasons. Even while his teammate, Lando Norris was tracking ahead of Piastri on his lap, he couldn't finish it before the red flag.
Unfortunately, neither of the Mercedes drivers were able to set a soft-tyre time either. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton also struggled.

Issak Hadjer secured the sixth spot, while George Russel secured the seventh spot. Yuki Tsunoda was at the eight spot, and Kimi at ninth.

While both Alpines had just got on track, they were locked out immediately with the red flag.
Max Verstappen fought his first lap on soft tyres but he lost some time in the second part of the track. It feels like the soft tyres lose grip in the second half of the lap.
Securing his spot, Charles Leclerc went faster than Verstappen by 0.074 seconds, however, Oscar Piastri quickly beat him with a time of 1 minute 27.128 seconds.
Even Fernando Alonso managed to move up to eighth place, he was just slightly faster than Nico Hulkenberg.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz had tried again on softs , while he found the soft spot with a time of 1:27.678. His teammate, Alex Albon was on a fast lap too but got slowed down near the end by Kimi Antonelli.

Has Oliver Bearman met with a crash

In an unfortunate turn of events, a crash erupted during the free practice, leaving Haas' Oliver Bearman lose during the final four minutes of running ahead of the sprint shootout, leaving Oscar Piastri on top.

Bearman brought out a red flag with a crash with five minutes left on the clock.
Also Read: Pizza for $18, fried calamari for $23, beer for $13 — Here’s what fans are spending at F1’s Miami Grand Prix

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TOI Sports Desk

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