Are Mercedes coming back? George Russell set the pace in P2, one-tenth ahead of Charles Leclerc; Lewis Hamilton is fourth, while Carlos Sainz smashes Ferrari, and Max Verstappen has problems with reliability at Red Bull; Watch the entire Miami GP weekend live only on Sky Sports F1
From Matt Morledge to Miami
Last updated: 05.07.22 00:53
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Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz takes too much speed in corner 13 and exits P2
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz takes too much speed in corner 13 and exits P2
George Russell ended the impressive opening day of Mercedes at Miami’s inaugural GP by leading Exercise 2 as Formula One world champions sent out a statement at a much improved pace as their rivals ran into problems.
Mercedes has lacked pace all season, but it seems it is finally struggling after upgrades in America, where a real battle with three teams could lead the long-awaited street race.
Russell led Mercedes on Friday and after finishing second in the first session, he was the fastest overall in the cooler P2, beating Charles Leclerc by a tenth of a second with his 1: 29.938.
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Max Verstappen had just come out on the track, but was forced to return after his rear brake overheated
Max Verstappen had just come out on the track, but was forced to return after his rear brake overheated
Sergio Perez was third for Red Bull, while Lewis Hamilton was fourth and two tenths of his young teammate in Mercedes Russell, who is also behind in the championship.
But in reality, Mercedes could not have asked for a better start to the weekend – especially after the fastest teams in F1 2022, Ferrari and Red Bull, suffered in the second practice.
Carlos Sainz, after successive shunts in Australia and Imola, smashed his Ferrari to pull out a red flag, while Max Verstappen completed just one broken lap in the session with reliability issues.
In the absence of Sainz (11th) and Verstappen (19th) in front, Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris assured Alpine and McLaren to enter the weekend with high hopes after finishing fifth and sixth, while Pierre Gasley was not behind. much in the competitive AlphaTauri.
Valtteri Bottas, like Verstappen, didn’t get any time on board, failing to even get out of the garage after his P1 garage.
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Karun Chandhok analyzes the action from the second training session of the Miami GP.
Karun Chandhok analyzes the action from the second training session of the Miami GP.
The return of Mercedes: Miami’s quick start as Ferrari and Red Bull suffer
Although they have two podiums this year, Miami is the first time Mercedes enters the weekend as a real contender for Ferrari and Red Bull – and given their shape on Friday, they may even be favorites.
How then has Mercedes gotten from its myriad problems to leaders?
The answer is probably twofold. Mercedes has various upgrades for Miami’s Formula One debut – including a significantly different new front wing – that seems to have done its job of improving “pretending,” Silver Arrows’ biggest problem.
The track can also be a factor, as the setting with low clamping force – despite the higher maximum speed – also seems to facilitate forced jumping.
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Christian Horner says he knew “it was only a matter of time” that Mercedes was able to solve some of its problems after an impressive performance by George Russell.
Christian Horner says he knew “it was only a matter of time” that Mercedes was able to solve some of its problems after an impressive performance by George Russell.
In any case, Mercedes is now a very important factor for its rivals, especially considering their stop-start Fridays.
Ferrari will be happy, but not happy with their pace, while their weekend was harder than another mistake by Sainz under pressure, who took too much speed in turns 12 and 13 and finished in the barriers.
“I don’t know what happened there,” said the Spaniard.
Red Bull, meanwhile, have more concerns about their reliability as Verstappen failed to turn the wheel in anger at P2.
In a strange series of events, Red Bull detained Verstappen in the garage at the beginning of a one-hour preventive gear change session before releasing him, but Verstappen soon announced that he could not drive his car.
After a very slow lap, in which there was almost an accident with Lance Stroll and saw his brakes ignite, Verstappen returned to the pits and would not be seen again on the track.
Christian Horner told Sky Sports F1 that this was a problem with the hydraulics, which also caused damage to the brakes.
For the first time this year, Mercedes is the team that will win in one weekend. Watch all of Saturday’s live action on Sky Sports F1, with a final workout at 6pm before qualifying at 9pm.
Schedule for two Miami GP workouts
Team Driver Team 1) George Russell Mercedes 1: 29.938 2) Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.106 3) Sergio Perez Red Bull +0.212 4) Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.241 5) Fernando Alonso Alpine +0.434 6) Landlo Teleli +0.609 8) Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo +0.922 9) Esteban Ocon Alpine +0.923 10) Kevin Magnussen Haas +0.983 11) Carlos Sainz Ferrari +1.026 12) Daniel Ricciardo +11.2 McLaren …
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