Verstappen sets ominous pace, Mercedes struggle in final practice
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Verstappen set a flurry of fastest laps, the best of which – a 1m27.535s – left him 0.406s clear of Leclerc as the Red Bull driver underlined that he is the man to beat heading into qualifying in Miami. F1 2023 Miami Grand Prix – Final Practice ResultsIs Max Verstappen a HYPOCRITE? | F1 2023Video of Is Max Verstappen a HYPOCRITE? | F1 2023Sergio Perez put his Red Bull third but was over half a second adrift of teammate Verstappen as Carlos Sainz was fourth-quickest for Ferrari. It was an impressive session for Alpine as Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly took fifth and sixth, ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg. Alex Albon was ninth in his Williams, ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, who completed the top-10 order.
It was a tough FP3 for Mercedes as Russell ended up a second off the pace, while teammate Lewis Hamilton was a further tenth back and could only finish 13th. Neither Mercedes drivers were happy with the drivability of their W14 cars, with both reporting vibration issues. After a difficult second practice on Friday, Hamilton described Mercedes’ practice pace as a “kick in the guts” and said his team “desperately” need car upgrades. No one hit the barriers in final practice but there were some near-misses for Hulkenberg and McLaren’s Lando Norris, while several drivers were caught out under braking at Turn 17. Related Engineer who Tost ‘didn’t trust’ has left AlphaTauri Wolff’s advice for Horner as Red Bull seek to avoid F1 driver battle ‘paranoia’Qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix gets underway at 9pm UK time.
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