F1 Miami GP: Max Verstappen sets ominous pace to top final practice as Mercedes struggle
Verstappen set a flurr🔯y of fastest laps, the best of which - a 1m27.535s - left him 0.406s clear of Leclerc as the Red Bull driver underlined that he is the man to beat heading into qualifying in Miami.
Sergio Pere☂z put his Red Bull third but was over half a second adrift of teammate Verstappen as Carlos Sainz was fourth-quickest for Ferrari.
It was an impressive session for Alpine as Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly took fifth and sixth,💝 ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg.
Alex Albon was ninth in his Williams, ahead of Mercedes’ Geﷺorg⭕e Russell, who completed the top-10 order.
It was a tough FP3 for Mercedes as Russell ended up a sღecond off the pace, while teammate Lewis Hami🍨lton was a further tenth back and could only finish 13th.
Neither Mercedes drivers were happ🐓y with the drivability of their W14 cars, with both reporting vibration🅺 issues.
After a diffi🅰c🥃ult second practice on Friday, Hamilton described Mercedes’ practice pace as a “kick in the guts” and said his team “desperately” need car upgrades.
No one hit the barrier𒀰s in final practice but there were some near-misses for Hulkenberg and McLaren’s Lando Norris, while several drivers were caug💧ht out under braking at Turn 17.
Qualifying for the Miami Grandไ Prix gets underwa✃y at 9pm UK time.
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