Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc went fastest in first practice for the 2026 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, while Kimi Antonelli endured a frustrating session plagued by Mercedes power unit issues.
The session was extended to a full 90 minutes due to recent F1 regulatory tweaks, as the compressed Sprint weekend unfolded under the balmy Florida sun, marking the sport’s return after a five-week hiatus.
The paddock buzzed with anticipation as all teams except Aston Martin brought various upgrades including Ferrari’s new ‘macarena’ style rotating rear wing that became a focal point of intrigue.
As the lights turned green at precisely 12:00 local time, the pit lane erupted into activity with nearly every driver bolting out on the hardest tyre compound to gather baseline data around the 5.412-kilometre street-hybrid circuit known for its tight turns, high-speed straights, and unforgiving walls.
Lando Norris in the McLaren MCL40 was among the first to post a representative lap time, dipping into the mid-1:30 bracket, shadowed closely by Max Verstappen who debuted Red Bull’s new innovative rear wing mechanism inspired by Ferrari’s earlier concepts.
By the 15-minute mark, the track was alive with 20 cars—save for the Aston Martin duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, who were delayed by a power glitch in their garage—but the order remained fluid as engineers prioritized long-run simulations over outright pace.
Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton held steady in the top five initially, building confidence with a series of installation laps that highlighted Ferrari’s upgrades including revised floor and sidepod configurations aimed at clawing back ground from early-season frontrunners.
Midway through the 90-minute window, the narrative shifted subtly as teams transitioned toward medium compounds, probing setup balances for the impending Sprint Qualifying later in the evening.
The atmosphere remained drama-free, a welcome respite on a sprint weekend where every minute counts; no red flags interrupted the flow, though minor lock-ups peppered the timing screens—Norris smoking his fronts into Turn 11, and Verstappen dancing on the edge.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli later topped the provisional times with a 1:30.079, dethroning Norris as the Mercedes W17 dominated in straight-line speed.
Moments later, the young Italian’s frustration boiled over in a heated on-track moment when he was forced to check up behind a weaving Lance Stroll into the tight Turn 11 right-hander.
However as the clock ticked past the hour mark, reliability gremlins hit Antonelli—a suspected Mercedes power unit issue that denied him a soft-tyre run, confining his best effort to a 1:30.079 on hards, good for fifth.
His teammate George Russell fared marginally better but still nursed similar niggles, slotting into sixth as engineers scrambled to diagnose battery and engine sync problems before Sprint Qualifying.
This reliability hit came at a pivotal juncture for Mercedes, who had dominated pre-break but now risked ceding momentum to resurgent rivals amid whispers of FIA scrutiny on their engine mapping tricks from Japan.
Leclerc ultimately unleashed his purple sector masterpiece in the final 20 minutes, bolting on fresh softs and extracting every ounce from the Ferrari’s upgrades, to deliver a 1:29.310 that stood unchallenged as Miami GP practice benchmark.
Verstappen settled for second, 0.297 seconds off Leclerc, with Piastri making it three manufacturers in the top three, a testament to the 2026 regs’ parity push.
Hamilton consolidated fourth, while Mercedes duo of Antonelli and Russell took fifth and sixth respectively. Further back, Norris masked true McLaren pace in seventh after brushing Albon’s Williams in traffic, a near-miss that cost him a clean hot lap.
READ MORE:
Full 2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix FP1 Results
Full 2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix schedule: Start times, where to watch
