Charles Leclerc fastest in upgraded Ferrari, Mercedes on back foot at F1 Miami Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc sets impressive pace for Ferrari, as Mercedes hit early trouble in Miami.
Charles Leclerc set the pace in his upgraded Ferrari as Mercedes started off on the back foot as the 2026 Formula 1 season resumed at the Miami Grand Prix.
The Monegasque made the most of the vast updates introduced by Ferrari in Miami to produce a 1m29.310 and end up quickest by 0.297 seconds from Max Verstappen in his Red Bull, which is also sporting a major upgrade including an eye-catching version of Ferrari’s unique upside-down rear wing.
Oscar Piastri was third-fastest for McLaren, whose revised MCL40 has been dubbed as a “completely new car”, with the Australian 0.448s adrift.
Lewis Hamilton finished fourth-fastest in the other Ferrari but lagged some 0.467s behind team-mate Leclerc, who bettered his own benchmark with a late improvement.
It was not a smooth session for Mercedes, who has been the team to beat so far in 2026, winning all three of the opening races in Australia, China and Japan.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fastest on hard tyres but a power unit problem denied him the opportunity to complete a soft tyre run at the end of the sole practice session, which was extended to give teams and drivers extra track time to adjust to rule changes that are being implemented from this weekend after an enforced five-week break.
Team-mate George Russell was sixth and nearly eight-tenths off the pace after a scrappy lap which saw the Mercedes driver run deep at the final corner.
Reigning world champion Lando Norris was only seventh but saw his soft tyre run ruined as he was forced to take evasive action to avoid Alex Albon’s Williams at Turn 17, leaving the McLaren driver with an unrepresentative time.
Pierre Gasly, Isack Hadjar and Carlos Sainz rounded out the top-10 order for Alpine, Red Bull and Williams respectively.
Aston Martin faced a delayed start to practice with both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll stuck in the garage with a Honda power unit problem.
When they eventually joined the action, they ended up towards the bottom of the timesheets, with Alonso taking 19th, ahead of Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas, Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bulls, and team-mate Stroll.
It is straight into competitive action next for the drivers, with sprint qualifying taking place at 9.30pm UK time.
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