F1 Miami Grand Prix 2026 Practice Results and Report

Charles Leclerc kicked the 2026 Formula 1 season back into life with the fastest time in the only practice session for the Miami Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver put in the perfect rehearsal for sprint qualifying at the Miami International Autodrome with a best lap of 1:29.310s, faster than Max Verstappen's Red Bull and McLaren driver Oscar Piastri as cars returned to the track for the first time since March.

But Mercedes was the story of the session, with struggles on both sides of the garage and a lack of ultimate pace, as rivals brought upgrades to their cars to try to stem the early-season dominance displayed by the Silver Arrows.

Leclerc on top

With an extra half an hour to give teams and drivers the chance to dial back into the season with upgrades aplenty on the cars following the five-week break, there was unsurprisingly a frenzy of activity early on.

A strong 90 minutes of practice in the bag 👌 pic.twitter.com/A0O5N7uyqc
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) May 1, 2026

For once, there were no power issues with the Aston Martin cars powered by Honda, but neither Fernando Alonso nor Lance Stroll took part for the first 25 minutes as power issues hit the team's computer systems.

Grip was low early on as a number of drivers ran into the run-off areas after lock-ups - the biggest of which for Gabriel Bortoleto in the Audi, Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari and Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bulls machine, sporting a special yellow livery for the weekend.

George Russell faced time in the garage after complaining about noises from his turbo, though Mercedes couldn't pinpoint the issue while the Briton was on track.

Turn 1 continued to be troublesome for drivers throughout the session, with lock-ups on the outside front - uncommon with the inside, unloaded tire usually the one to under-rotate.

Off goes Bortoleto at Turn 1 💨

He gets his Audi slowed, turned around and back out onto the track promptly 👇#F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/Vur5U9zxTm
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 1, 2026

Soft tires were finally on show in the final 15 minutes of the 90-minute session to provide an indication of where the pace lies ahead of the rest of the weekend, but Kimi Antonelli wasn't given the chance as a power unit issue confined the championship leader to the garage.

When the chequered flag fell, there was a shake-up to the order from what was seen in the opening three rounds of the championship as Leclerc led Verstappen and Piastri.

Hamilton was fourth, only after a near miss with Audi's Nico Hulkenberg on his final soft tire attempt.

Antonelli was fifth fastest with his hard tire run, with Russell only sixth on the softs, though he did make an error at Turn 17.

Lando Norris was seventh after being impeded by Williams' Alex Albon, with Alpine's Pierre Gasly eighth.

Isack Hadjar was ninth in the second Red Bull, ahead of Carlos Sainz, who rounded out the top 10.

Franco Colapinto put the second Alpine 11th on the timesheet with Albon 12th and Oliver Bearman the lead Haas in 13th.

Nico Hulkenberg, Audi, Miami GP 2026, FP1 — Nico Hulkenberg, Audi, Miami GP | Audi Revolut F1 Team

Audi duo Bortoleto and Hulkenberg were next, with Esteban Ocon and Liam Lawson 16th and 17th.

Sergio Perez was the last of those within three seconds of Leclerc's times for Cadillac in the team's first home session, with Alonso separating the Mexican from teammate Valtteri Bottas.

Lindblad suffered with issues and was 21st in the Racing Bull, with Stroll slowest.

F1 Miami Grand Prix FP1: Results

Position / Driver / Team	Gap [s]
1. Charles Leclerc / Ferrari	1:29.310
2. Max Verstappen / Red Bull	+0.297
3. Oscar Piastri / McLaren	+0.448
4. Lewis Hamilton / Ferrari	+0.467
5. Kimi Antonelli / Mercedes	+0.769
6. George Russell / Mercedes	+0.790
7. Lando Norris / McLaren	+0.898
8. Pierre Gasly / Alpine	+1.277
9. Isack Hadjar / Red Bull	+1.563
10. Carlos Sainz / Williams	+1.620
11. Franco Colapinto / Alpine	+1.705
12. Alex Albon / Williams	+1.714
13. Oliver Bearman / Haas	+1.781
14. Gabriel Bortoleto / Audi	+1.801
15. Nico Hulkenberg / Audi	+2.285
16. Esteban Ocon / Haas	+2.325
17. Liam Lawson / Racing Bulls	+2.338
18. Sergio Perez / Cadillac	+2.737
19. Fernando Alonso / Aston Martin	+3.283
20. Valtteri Bottas / Cadillac	+3.452
21. Arvid Lindblad / Racing Bulls	+3.552
22. Lance Stroll / Aston Martin	+3.649

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