George Russell led a Mercedes 1-2 during the opening practice session for Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix on Friday afternoon.
In hot and sunny conditions at a resurfaced Miami International Autodrome the Mercedes drivers set their best laps during the closing stages of the one-hour session.
READ MORE: F1 2023 Miami GP – FP1 Results
Russell’s programme had been compromised by a steering rack change after an initial test item was deemed too heavy, forcing Mercedes to revert to the earlier specification.
Russell wound up with a final time of 1:30.125s to finish 0.212s clear of team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari while World Champion Max Verstappen – last year’s Miami winner – was fourth.
There was one stoppage during the session after Nico Hulkenberg crashed.
Hulkenberg drifted wide through Turn 2 and lost the rear of the VF-23 before spinning into the wall.
The right-rear of Hulkenberg’s car sustained damage in the impact as the German’s first experience of the circuit came to a premature conclusion.
Hulkenberg still wound up ninth in the session despite his accident.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was fifth, with Pierre Gasly sixth for Alpine, ahead of the Aston Martin duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Logan Sargeant, the first US driver to race at an American round since 2015, was a low-key 19th, four spots behind team-mate Alex Albon.
Albon had a moment in the session, spinning at Turn 17, though he was able to recover the FW45 and resume his programme.
Nyck de Vries’ difficult season continued as he spun at Turn 11 and tapped the wall.
The AlphaTauri driver ended up with only 10 laps to his name through the course of the hour.
Second practice is scheduled for 17:30 local time
