MIAMI: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc inched past his Mercedes opponent George Russell by the barest of margin to lead the practice session of the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, here on Friday.
The 24-year-old from Monaco clinched the top spot in the practice session clearing Merecedes’s Russell by a mere 0.071 seconds. He also clocked the best lap in one minute and 31.098 on soft tyres to outrun his opponents.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull, who has won two of his four races this season, temporarily led the standings until hitting the wall on a green track and spending most of the practice in the garage. He finished third fastest, 0.179s behind the leader Leclerc.
🏁 CLASSIFICATION (END OF FP1) 🏁
Leclerc, Russell and Verstappen lead the way in @f1miami #MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Mf4L58Zj0G
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 6, 2022
Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s teammate, finished fourth as the second Red Bull, ahead of Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, and Williams’ Alex Albon.
A seven-time champion Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton finished eighth after obtaining a late exemption to preserve his nose stud following the sport’s bling ban.
The final race of the ongoing Miami Grand Prix will contest during the early hours of Monday with Leclerc starting from the pole position.
READ: WATCH: Mohammad Amir takes three wickets against Hampshire
