FP1: Leclerc beats Verstappen to top sole Miami practice session

Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets as Formula One returned from its enforced five‑week break with a single, extended practice session at the Miami Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver made immediate use of the Scuderia’s substantial upgrade package to deliver a 1m29.310s, finishing almost three tenths clear of Max Verstappen and confirming the early promise of the revised SF‑26.

The session, lengthened from 60 to 90 minutes due to the Sprint format and the raft of rule refinements introduced this weekend, offered teams their only opportunity to evaluate aerodynamic updates, recalibrated energy‑management parameters and revised tyre‑usage guidelines before parc fermé.

With the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix creating an unusually long gap in the calendar, the extended FP1 became a crucial reset point for the entire field.

Ferrari arrived in Miami with the most extensive development package of the weekend, including a revised version of their distinctive ‘flip‑flop’ rear wing. Leclerc quickly demonstrated the potential of the updated car, lowering the benchmark several times before ending the session with a commanding advantage.

Lewis Hamilton backed up Ferrari’s strong start by finishing fourth, albeit 0.467s behind his team‑mate after encountering traffic in the final minutes.

Red Bull also unveiled a significant upgrade, headlined by a rotating rear‑wing concept that visually echoes Ferrari’s upside‑down design. Verstappen used the new package to secure second place, 0.297s off Leclerc, while Isack Hadjar completed a productive session for the team by placing ninth.

Oscar Piastri delivered an encouraging third place for McLaren, whose heavily revised MCL40 has been described internally as a “completely new car”.

The Australian finished 0.448s off Leclerc, while Lando Norris was left with an unrepresentative time after being forced to take evasive action to avoid Alex Albon’s Williams at Turn 17 during his soft‑tyre run. Norris ultimately ended the session seventh.

Mercedes, winners of all three races so far in 2026, endured their most difficult session of the season. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli briefly led the times on hard tyres with a 1m30.079s, but a power unit issue prevented him from completing a soft‑tyre run. He finished fifth, just ahead of George Russell, who struggled with a scrappy lap and a late lock‑up at the final corner.

The team’s reliability concerns were compounded by Russell’s early complaint that his turbo was “making a lot of noises… a bit like a steam train”, prompting further checks in the garage.

Aston Martin endured a frustrating start as both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll remained in the garage for more than 20 minutes due to a Honda power unit issue.

When they eventually joined the session, neither driver was able to recover lost ground, with Alonso finishing 19th and Stroll last. Honda engineers, already under scrutiny after recent vibration‑related reliability concerns, will face a busy evening of analysis.

Pierre Gasly delivered a strong eighth place for Alpine despite reporting a “very strange smell” in the cockpit early on. Carlos Sainz completed the top ten for Williams, while Franco Colapinto and Albon followed closely in P11 and P12.

Haas and Audi occupied the next group of positions, with Ollie Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Nico Hülkenberg and Esteban Ocon all within a tight midfield cluster. Arvid Lindblad, Valtteri Bottas and the Aston Martins rounded out the order.

With only one practice session available before qualifying and the Sprint, teams treated FP1 as a hybrid of testing and setup work. The combination of new upgrades, revised regulations and the extended break created a session rich in experimentation, traffic, and late‑session soft‑tyre runs.

Leclerc’s pace, combined with Ferrari’s aggressive development push, suggests the Scuderia may be poised to challenge Mercedes’ early‑season supremacy.

Red Bull’s upgraded RB22B also appears to have made a step forward, while McLaren’s wholesale redesign has immediately placed the team back in the fight at the front.

Mercedes, meanwhile, face a rare moment of vulnerability heading into the competitive sessions, with reliability concerns overshadowing their otherwise dominant start to 2026.