FP3: Verstappen sets lap record to head final practice in Miami
Reigning double world champion Max Verstappen set ominous pace in the third and final practice at the Miami Grand Prix to head Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and his teammate Sergio Perez.
Championship leader Max Verstappen set a a flurry of fastest laps on the resurfaced Miami International Autodrome in the final 60-minute practice with his best effort of 1m27.535s leaving him atop of the leaderboard 0.406s clear of second fastest Charles Leclerc.
The Dutchman, who set a new unofficial lap record in yesterday’s Free Practice 2, managed to lower the benchmark by a further four tenths of a second, underlining that he is the driver to beat in the afternoon’s qualifying session.
Perez was once again unable to keep up with the pace of his teammate, finishing down in P3 over half a second adrift of Verstappen’s benchmark. Carlos Sainz continued to impress today after his disastrous Baku race weekend, ending up fourth fastest.
It was a strong showing from the Alpine pair of Ocon and Pierre Gasly in fifth and sixth, respectively, ahead of the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas in seventh.
What a save from @LandoNorris! 🧤#MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/RFdURjLSgH
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 6, 2023
After a day which was marked by strong performance and a heavy shunt, Nico Hulkenberg displayed great speed in the final practice, putting his Haas Ferrari eighth with his team mate Kevin Magnussen ending up P11.
Aston Martin endured a difficult session with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll finishing down in P12 and P14 respectively. The Spaniard appeared to post impressive sector times, but he was unable to put a good lap together in the hot and tough conditions.
It was also a tough FP3 for Mercedes as George Russell ended up a second off the pace, while teammate Lewis Hamilton was a further tenth back and could only finish 13th.
Despite their significant upgrade package that debuted in Azerbaijan just a few days ago, McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were 18th and 19th with AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries rounding out the leaderboard in the final practice.
Results
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda Rbpt | 1:27.535 | 17 | |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:27.941 | +0.406s | 25 |
| 3 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda Rbpt | 1:28.050 | +0.515s | 21 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:28.125 | +0.590s | 26 |
| 5 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 1:28.407 | +0.872s | 24 |
| 6 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 1:28.428 | +0.893s | 23 |
| 7 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo Ferrari | 1:28.456 | +0.921s | 18 |
| 8 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | 1:28.497 | +0.962s | 15 |
| 9 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 1:28.561 | +1.026s | 19 |
| 10 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:28.606 | +1.071s | 19 |
| 11 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:28.607 | +1.072s | 13 |
| 12 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:28.618 | +1.083s | 23 |
| 13 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:28.718 | +1.183s | 22 |
| 14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:28.723 | +1.188s | 23 |
| 15 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo Ferrari | 1:29.074 | +1.539s | 18 |
| 16 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Alphatauri Honda Rbpt | 1:29.179 | +1.644s | 19 |
| 17 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams Mercedes | 1:29.264 | +1.729s | 19 |
| 18 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | Mclaren Mercedes | 1:29.375 | +1.840s | 17 |
| 19 | 4 | Lando Norris | Mclaren Mercedes | 1:29.401 | +1.866s | 17 |
| 20 | 21 | Nyck De Vries | Alphatauri Honda Rbpt | 1:29.447 | +1.912s | 21 |
