“Florida Weekend Kicks Off First of Three F1 Races on US Soil in 2023”

Florida weekend marks first of three F1 stints on US soil in 2023

In the midst of intense heat Florida a Formula 1 started work on the Miami GPthe fifth race of the 2023 season. And in a first free practice session on a hot track with no grip, it gave George Russellin a double Mercedescom Lewis Hamilton in second, while Charles Leclerc was the third.

The top 10 were completed by Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon.

The drivers wasted no time and soon left the pits as soon as the 60-minute regressive started. With the lack of support races, the cars suffered from a lack of grip, and it was common to see drivers drifting through the corners.

10 minutes into the session, a quick yellow flag for De Vries, who spun in the middle sector.

After the initial 15 minutes, the lead was Verstappen, who scored 01min31s826 with hard tyres, 1s114 ahead of Hamilton in second on medium. Sainz was third, at 1s333, with Pérez and Alonso completing the top 5, while Leclerc was sixth and Russell still had no time.

By the halfway point of the session, the soft tires were starting to make their first appearances. At this point, Verstappen was leading with 01min31s054, 0s338 ahead of Hulkenberg, with Pérez in third and Maagnussen in fourth, all in red compounds. Albon was fifth, at 0s849. Leclerc was sixth, ahead of Alonso and Hamilton, with Sanz P11 and Russell P17.

With 26 minutes left, red flag. Hulk lost control of the car and ended up crashing in the first sector, breaking the suspension and the front wing.

The session was restarted eight minutes later, and even before the green flag the pit exit was already crowded, with the pilots looking to acquire mileage in addition to rubberizing the track to improve grip.

The restart brought a moment that reminded fans of 2021, when Hamilton and Verstappen appeared to jostle for track position during the warm-up lap.

When the clock entered the last 10 minutes, Verstappen led with 01min30s549, 0s444 ahead of Sainz, with Leclerc in third, Alonso in fourth and Hulkenberg in fifth, while Pérez was sixth, Russell 16th and Hamilton 17th, the last two still without time on soft tyres.

In the end, it gave George Russell. The Brit from Mercedes was the fastest in the session with 01min30s125, with Lewis Hamilton in second and Charles Leclerc rounding out the top three in FP1. The top 10 were completed by Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon.

Formula 1 returns to the Miami track this Friday for the second free practice session. FP2 starts at 6:30 pm, with broadcast from Band sports it’s yes F1TV Pro. And stay tuned! As soon as FP2 is over you have free friday LIVE on channel Motorsport.com on YouTube, with a full breakdown of the first day of activities in Florida. Don’t miss it!