Verstappen quickest by four tenths from Leclerc in final Miami practice

Max Verstappen set the pace in the final practice session for the Miami Grand Prix, four tenths of a second quicker than Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari.

The championship leader set a new fastest time of the weekend so far to set the pace in the final hour of practice, while Leclerc was the only other driver to break under the 1’28 barrier. Sergio Perez was third-fastest in the second Red Bull.

The final hour of practice ahead of qualifying began with clouds hanging over Hard Rock Stadium with track temperatures just south of 30C for the third consecutive session. Esteban Ocon was the first driver to take to the circuit and he duly set the first lap time of the day with a 1’31.125 on the medium compound tyres.

There was not a great rush onto the circuit with many of the field content to remain in the garage and allow their rivals to rubber up the track on their behalf. Red Bull took to the track on soft tyres, with Perez going quickest of all. He was soon eclipsed by team mate Verstappen, who posted a 1’27.969 – almost matching his best overall time from Friday.

After complaining of low grip available from the circuit on Friday, drivers continued to find grip was at a premium on Saturday. Nico Hulkenberg, who crashed at turn three in the opening practice session, ran off the circuit at turns six, seven and eight, while Fernando Alonso had a brief off at the tight turn 17 hairpin in the Aston Martin.

Verstappen improved his best time to produce a new overall best lap of the weekend, setting a 1’27.535. Carlos Sainz Jnr also improved to move into second place in the times, but almost six tenths of a second behind the world champion. Perez was third-fastest in the second Red Bull, while the two Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly sat in fourth and fifth.

In the later minutes of the session, Perez briefly jumped up to second behind his team mate, but was still have a second behind Verstappen’s best. Then Leclerc put his Ferrari in between the two Red Bulls with a lap a tenth of a second faster than Perez but still four tenths behind Verstappen’s fastest time. Verstappen returned to the track in the final few minutes, but only to carry out a practice start, rather than try and improve his own best time, Red Bull ensuring he reached the arrived at the start/finish line seconds before the chequered flag appeared.

Verstappen ended the final session comfortably quickest, followed by Leclerc second and Perez third in the second Red Bull. Sainz was fourth fastest in the Ferrari ahead of the two Alpines of Ocon and Gasly. Valtteri Bottas was seventh in the Alfa Romeo ahead of Hulkenberg in eighth and Alexander Albon in ninth. George Russell completed the top ten for Mercedes.

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2023 Miami Grand Prix third practice result

Position	Number	Driver	Team	Model	Time	Gap	Laps
1	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	RB19	1’27.535		18
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	SF-23	1’27.941	0.406	26
3	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	RB19	1’28.050	0.515	22
4	55	Carlos Sainz Jnr	Ferrari	SF-23	1’28.125	0.590	27
5	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine-Renault	A523	1’28.407	0.872	25
6	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine-Renault	A523	1’28.428	0.893	24
7	77	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	C43	1’28.456	0.921	19
8	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas-Ferrari	VF-23	1’28.497	0.962	16
9	23	Alexander Albon	Williams-Mercedes	FW45	1’28.561	1.026	20
10	63	George Russell	Mercedes	W14	1’28.606	1.071	20
11	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari	VF-23	1’28.607	1.072	14
12	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin-Mercedes	AMR23	1’28.618	1.083	24
13	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	W14	1’28.718	1.183	23
14	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin-Mercedes	AMR23	1’28.723	1.188	24
15	24	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	C43	1’29.074	1.539	19
16	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri-Red Bull	AT04	1’29.179	1.644	20
17	2	Logan Sargeant	Williams-Mercedes	FW45	1’29.264	1.729	20
18	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren-Mercedes	MCL60	1’29.375	1.840	18
19	4	Lando Norris	McLaren-Mercedes	MCL60	1’29.401	1.866	18
20	21	Nyck de Vries	AlphaTauri-Red Bull	AT04	1’29.447	1.912	22

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Combined session times

Position	Number	Driver	Team	FP1 time	FP2 time	FP3 time	Gap	Laps
1	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1’30.549	1’27.930	1’27.535		1
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1’30.449	1’28.398	1’27.941	0.406	3
3	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	1’31.566	1’28.419	1’28.050	0.515	4
4	55	Carlos Sainz Jnr	Ferrari	1’30.724	1’28.315	1’28.125	0.590	2
5	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine-Renault	1’31.542	1’28.937	1’28.407	0.872	9
6	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine-Renault	1’31.104	1’29.098	1’28.428	0.893	11
7	77	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	1’31.902	1’29.189	1’28.456	0.921	14
8	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas-Ferrari	1’31.392	1’29.393	1’28.497	0.962	17
9	23	Alexander Albon	Williams-Mercedes	1’31.903	1’29.046	1’28.561	1.026	10
10	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1’30.125	1’29.216	1’28.606	1.071	15
11	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari	1’31.853	1’29.171	1’28.607	1.072	12
12	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin-Mercedes	1’31.231	1’28.660	1’28.618	1.083	5
13	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1’30.337	1’28.858	1’28.718	1.183	7
14	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin-Mercedes	1’31.337	1’28.930	1’28.723	1.188	8
15	4	Lando Norris	McLaren-Mercedes	1’31.997	1’28.741	1’29.401	1.206	6
16	24	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	1’32.134	1’29.181	1’29.074	1.539	13
17	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri-Red Bull	1’32.169	1’29.613	1’29.179	1.644	18
18	2	Logan Sargeant	Williams-Mercedes	1’32.619	1’30.038	1’29.264	1.729	20
19	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren-Mercedes	1’31.810	1’29.339	1’29.375	1.804	16
20	21	Nyck de Vries	AlphaTauri-Red Bull	1’34.637	1’29.928	1’29.447	1.912	19

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