Piastri tops Miami GP practice after Bearman crash

Oscar Piastri comfortably led the sole practice session for the Miami Grand Prix after a late red flag for a crash involving Oliver Bearman truncated running.

Bearman’s Haas was already threatening to break from his control through the tight Turn 11 before snapping free completely as he got on the power for the long right-handed Turn 12. The rookie spun backwards and smacked the wall with the right-hand side of his car, bringing an immediate end to his session and triggering a red flag with less than five minutes on the clock, effectively ending practice early.

The timing worked fine for Piastri, who had just completed his sole soft-tire lap to rocket to the top of the order. McLaren’s championship leader logged a best lap of 1m27.128s, putting him 0.356s clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as the second-quickest driver.

Max Verstappen, having arrived late to the weekend after the birth of his first daughter, completed the top three after some mid-session suspension tweaks, the Red Bull Racing driver 0.43s off the pace.

But Bearman’s stoppage was frustrating for Piastri’s teammate, Lando Norris, who was only two-thirds of the way around his lap when the red flags flew.

Norris, winner in Miami for the first time last season, was 0.345s down on Piastri at the end of the first sector, but a purple second sector brought him to within 0.172s when he had to abandon the time, leaving him 12th in the order.

Additionally frustrating for the team is a post-session investigation into releasing Norris with a car in an unsafe condition, having appeared to have left a flashlight in his cockpit at the beginning of the practice hour.

Without the Briton in the mix, Williams teammates Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon were able to end the session fourth and fifth, 0.55s and 0.827s off the pace respectively and ahead of Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bulls entry, the Frenchman a further 0.013s adrift.

George Russell was seventh despite being caught out by the red flag, having not yet switched to the soft compound as he embarked on a long 17-lap race stint simulation during the second half of the session.

The same applied for his teammate, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who was ninth in the order without a run on softs, the Mercedes pair sandwiching Yuki Tsunoda in eighth.

Fernando Alonso completed the top 10 in a loose-looking Aston Martin ahead of Liam Lawson and the out-of-position Norris.

Lewis Hamilton was on his out-lap on soft tires when the red flag ended his session early, leaving him 13th ahead of Sauber teammates Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto. The crashed-out Bearman was 16th ahead of Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon and Jack Doohan, none of whom completed their soft laps before the red flag.

Ocon was summoned to a post-session stewards hearing for blocking Norris early in the session, having been meandering on the racing line into the final hairpin before both drivers veered to the inside in an attempt to avoid each other.

Lance Stroll completed the order more than 1.1s slower than teammate Alonso despite completing his run on soft tires.