Max Verstappen was fastest in second practice for the Miami Grand Prix the Dutchman set a 27.930, putting himself nearly four tenths faster than the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz. Verstappen looked to show Red Bull’s dominance this season as the Ferrari’s couldn’t get close, Sainz’s teammate Charles Leclerc was third.
Verstappen had immediately sought to stamp his authority on the session as he went six tenths of a second quicker than anyone else with his opening lap. He looked once again the man at one with his Red Bull during the soft tyres. Sainz would initially close to just six hundredths of the world champion before Verstappen set his session-leading time with his next effort.
However Leclerc’s afternoon ended in the wall when he brought out the red flag going straight on at Turn Eight. tattooing the track surface with skid marks as the rear wheels locked. This caused a five-minute delay as Leclerc’s car was rescued, although the session ultimately resumed for a last-gasp attempt to collect long-run data.
Leclerc, who was handed a new gearbox prior to the session, ultimately remained third fastest behind Verstappen and Sainz. But it was a messy session with his crash partly caused by a snap of oversteer through Turn Seven, he was unable to slow the car down to avoid hitting the barriers.
Baku winner Sergio Perez placed fourth, almost half a second behind his Red Bull team-mate at the close of the session. It was a better session for the Mexican who was eleventh in FP1, however he was still nealy half a second off.
Fernando Alonso continued to underline Aston Martins status of best of the rest, he was fifth nearly a quarter of a second behind Perez. Lando Norris continued to show McLaren had made a step forwards going sixth over a tenth faster than Lewis Hamilton, another sign of progress for the team. Thanks to the boost from upgrades in Baku.
Both Alonso and Sainz did at one stage to fight with Norris for top spot, but Leclerc’s attempt was wreck by his lock up as he tried to capitaise on a fastest middle sector. Lance Stroll was eighth a second off the the pace, seven thousandths of a second faster than the Alpine of Esteban Ocon.
Hamilton himself made a few mistakes as he went a tenth faster than Lance Stroll. With Ocon going nearly a hundredth faster than Alex Albon, to complete the top ten and spilt the two Alpine’s with Pierre Gasly five hundredths behind the Williams. Kevin Magnussen survived a spin to go twelfth, a hundredth ahead of Guanyu Zhou.
Magnussen also had a brush with the wall at Turn fourteen early in the session but his Haas car escaped major damage, unlike team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in the opening session
Valtteri Bottas was fourteenth nearly two hundredths ahead of Mercedes George Russell. Russell had been caught in traffic during his qualifying simulation and complained about the car “three-wheeling” through Turn Two as he struggled for pace.
Oscar Piastri was nearly seven hundredths behind and six hundredths ahead of Nico Hulkenberg. The two Alpha Tauri were eighteenth and nineteen, Yuki Tsunoda going three tenths faster than Nyck de Vries with Logan Sargeant rounding out the field in twentflth. The Floridan just over a tenth behind the Dutchman
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