George Russell set the fastest time during second practice for Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix as Mercedes showed front-running pace for the first time in the 2022 season.
Mercedes has struggled through the early phase of 2022 with its recalcitrant W13 but brought a smattering of updates for the inaugural event in Miami as it seeks to remedy its issues.
During a hot and humid second session in Miami on Friday afternoon Russell set a time of 1:29.938s to finish 0.106s up on championship leader Charles Leclerc.
Lewis Hamilton reinforced Mercedes’ pace by finishing fourth, 0.241s behind his team-mate, with Sergio Perez third for Red Bull.
Perez spun through Turn 8 early in the session but narrowly avoided contact with the wall.
It was a difficult session for Leclerc’s team-mate and his primary title opponent.
Carlos Sainz had a clumsy accident through Turn 13 early in the session after losing control of the car on the entry to the corner.
Max Verstappen suffered a right-rear fire on his out-lap and returned to the garage, where he stayed for the remainder of the one-hour session.
Fernando Alonso was fifth for Alpine, ahead of lead McLaren driver Lando Norris, while Pierre Gasly was seventh for AlphaTauri.
Zhou Guanyu set an eye-catching lap in the sole surviving Alfa Romeo to classify eighth, a thousandth of a second in front of Esteban Ocon.
Zhou’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas did not run in the session following his crash in the earlier running.
Kevin Magnussen rounded out the top 10 for US team Haas and had a spin through Turn 7 late on.
Sainz wound up 11th following his early crash and was left with only nine laps on the board.
The session was also halted late on when Nicholas Latifi parked his Williams after complaining of a loose rear-right corner.
Saturday’s final practice session is scheduled for 13:00 local time
Position
Driver
Team
Time Gap
Laps
1
George Russell
Mercedes
1:29.938
17
2
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
1:30.044 0.106
20
3
Sergio Perez
Red Bull
1:30.150 0.212
17
4
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
1:30.179 0.241
17
5
Fernando Alonso
Alpine
1:30.372 0.434
19
6
Lando Norris
McLaren
1:30.535 0.597
19
7
Pierre Gasly
AlphaTauri
1:30.547 0.609
19
8
Guanyu Zhou
Alfa Romeo
1:30.860 0.922
23
9
Esteban Ocon
Alpine
1:30.861 0.923
19
10
Kevin Magnussen
Haas
1:30.921 0.983
18
11
Carlos Sainz Jr
Ferrari
1:30.964 1.026
9
12
Daniel Ricciardo
McLaren
1:31.208 1.270
22
13
Yuki Tsunoda
AlphaTauri
1:31.260 1.322
22
14
Sebastian Vettel
Aston Martin
1:31.393 1.455
22
15
Mick Schumacher
Haas
1:31.587 1.649
20
16
Lance Stroll
Aston Martin
1:31.631 1.693
22
17
Alex Albon
Williams
1:31.710 1.772
21
18
Nicholas Latifi
Williams
1:32.913 2.975
14
19
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
1
20
Valtteri Bottas
Alfa Romeo
