MIAMI, United States —
George Russell confirmed Mercedes recovery from
their early season problems when he topped the times in Friday’s second free
practice for this weekend’s inaugural Miami Grand Prix.
اضافة اعلان
Making the most of reliability problems for world
champion
Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team, the 24-year-old Briton clocked a
best lap in one minute and 29.938 seconds to outpace championship leader
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari by 0.106.
His performance
suggested that, following four poor early season races, the Silver Arrows’
package of aerodynamic upgrades was working.
Sergio Perez of
Red Bull was third, a further tenth
adrift, narrowly ahead of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the second
McLaren.
Hamilton was given a late exemption to take part in
the event with his nose ring following a clampdown on “driver bling”, having
removed all of his other jewelry shortly before the opening session.
Fernando Alonso was fifth for Alpine ahead of
McLaren’s
Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly of Alpha Tauri in a session interrupted
by two red flags on a warm, dry day at the new Miami International Autodrome.
Leclerc had topped the times ahead of Russell in the
opening morning session, but was unable to repeat the feat in the afternoon
when Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz crashed again.
In front of an enthusiastic sellout crowd in Miami
Gardens, the session began with Esteban Ocon setting the pace on mediums, the
track having cooled to 44 degrees following a frantic morning session topped by
Leclerc.
It did not last long for the Alpine driver as he was
soon outpaced by Sainz before Leclerc took command and the Ferrari men traded
fastest laps.
Verstappen missed the early action as Red Bull
decided to change his gearbox after he had grazed a wall during the first
session.
Valtteri Bottas, of
Alfa Romeo, was also inactive
after his morning crash.
Perez, in the second Red Bull, managed to split the
Ferraris after 23 minutes before Sainz triggered the second red flag of the day
when he spun backwards into the barriers at Turn 14.
He was unhurt, but after setbacks in Melbourne and
Imola, it was another blow to his confidence.
After a 12-minute delay, during which Perez’s crew
helped on the world champion’s car, Verstappen emerged to join the fray only to
be called back to the pits.
“I can’t steer,” said Verstappen, who was almost
involved in a collision with Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin as he struggled.
He returned to the track, but the rear brakes on his
car overheated and caught fire – as chief rival Leclerc went fastest on softs
in 1:30.044 only to be surpassed by Russell in 1:29.938, a lap that confirmed
the Silver Arrows revival.
With 20 minutes remaining, Russell led Leclerc and
Perez with Hamilton fourth and Verstappen frustrated without a timed lap. His
problem was diagnosed as a hydraulics issue.
Another red flag followed, with 12 to go, when
Nicholas Latifi pulled up and stopped in his Williams, before a final flurry of action.
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