Russell leads Mercedes 1-2 in Miami FP1
Russell-Hamilton lead Miami FP1, with rivals nipping at their heels. Mercedes fine-tunes W14 ahead of Imola updates. Ferrari introduces new floor, Leclerc & Verstappen in hot pursuit.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton led the proceedings in Miami's first practice session, setting their fastest laps on the soft compound in the final minutes.
Mercedes hope to introduce updates at the upcoming Imola GP, so the emphasis this weekend will be on optimising the W14 in its current state - rather than unlocking performance from an upgrade.
At least for now, the Silver Arrows can be satisfied with their competitiveness. However, the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari almost certainly have some lap time in hand.
Leclerc was just three-tenths behind Russell in P3 and about a tenth ahead of Championship leader Max Verstappen in the RB19.
Both Ferrari drivers will run a new floor this weekend as Ferrari looks to close the gap to the front.
Pierre Gasly set a strong lap to put Alpine in an encouraging P6, as the French outfit looks for a much-needed boost heading after a difficult weekend in Baku.
The Aston duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were 7th and 8th, respectively, keeping the AMR23 within touching distance of its direct rivals.
Nico Hulkenberg showed some promising pace to finish 9th-fastest, setting a strong lap early in the session that remained competitive even whilst other drivers went on the soft later in the session.
Unfortunately for the 35-year-old, a mistake in the first sector put him into the barriers and out of the session - giving the Haas mechanics plenty of work to do before practice 2.
Nyck de Vries completed just 10 laps in the session, seemingly limited in his running by an issue in his AT-04.
As in the first four rounds of the year, F1's midfield teams were closely matched - separated by only a few tenths at the lower end of the timing sheets.
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