Mercedes' George Russell sets the pace in P2, a tenth ahead of Charles Leclerc; Lewis Hamilton fourth while Carlos Sainz crashes Ferrari and Max Verstappen has reliability issues in Red Bull; watch whole Miami GP weekend live only on Sky Sports F1
Saturday 7 May 2022 10:37, UK
Lando Norris and Sergio Perez have criticised the track at the first Miami Grand Prix after several drivers struggled with the surface in the opening practice sessions.
McLaren's Norris took P6 after Friday's second session but was far from happy with race conditions.
"It is extremely tricky. It is very bumpy in some areas which is not quite what we were expecting," Norris told Sky Sports. "I think everyone was expecting it to be very smooth and beautiful but it's not."
Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas spun backwards into the tyre barrier at turn seven, damaging his car's rear wing in the first practice session, while Ferrari's Carlo Sainz crashed into turn 14.
"The surface is very tricky as well, because you go off line anywhere and it is pretty much game over and you end up in the wall - it's punishing let's say," Norris added.
"That is why you have seen quite a few people ending up in the barriers. I feel like it isn't going to be great for racing now. That is the negatives, but the positives are it is still a good track."
Red Bull's Sergio Perez agreed with Norris's concerns, saying: "I am really disappointed there is no grip off-line. It's a shame because I think the racing will be bad due to that.
"It's wet on that side; it feels very gravelly. Racing will be hard. I think it's going to be an interesting race.
"We are all in the same boat. We don't know exactly where we are."
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said drivers would have to find a way to handle the corners. "There's only really one line; you go off line and there's zero grip," he said.
"That's going to make racing a little bit tricky but they are finding their way into it and finding the balance and setup compromise for the types of corner that you've got here. It's quite challenging."
George Russell of Mercedes was on top of the timesheets with the fastest lap in second practice, 0.106 of a second faster than Ferrari's overall leader Charles Leclerc.
Danica Patrick, 2008 IndyCar race-winner
"I was surprised to hear them [Norris and Perez] say there's not going to be good racing.
"I thought it looked like the track was really exciting, with these fast corners and then the slow ones, hard breaking zones, long straightaways, DRS. But I do hear what they're saying about it being really dirty off line and it being like ice.
"There's stuff you can do overnight, so hopefully Formula One can do a good job of cleaning the track off, sweeping it and getting a clean line - especially in the straightaways, so that people can go off line and pass. That is going to be really important.
"I think it's still going to be exciting, just a different kind of exciting."
Jensen Button, 2009 F1 world champion
"There will still be overtaking. There's DRS.
"It will be interesting to see what the guy does that is in front. If he sees a guy with DRS in behind him, is he going to pull to the inside to cover the line when he knows it's dirty and going to be tricky to break, or does he stay on the racing line and break where he knows?
"I don't know because I haven't driven the circuit, but I'd probably stay on the racing line.
"But that's why it's exciting. We don't know what is going to happen in the race."
Saturday, May 7
2pm: W Series Qualifying
5.45pm: Miami GP Practice Three (session starts 6pm)
7.10pm: W Series Race One**
8.15pm: Miami GP Qualifying Build-up
9pm: Miami GP Qualifying*
10.45pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook*
Sunday, May 8
3.20pm: W Series Race Two
7pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Miami GP Build-up
8.30pm: THE MIAMI GRAND PRIX*
10.30pm: Chequered Flag: Miami GP Reaction*
11.30pm: Ted's Notebook*
*Simulcast on Sky Sports Main Event (qualifying and race build-up simulcast from 8.30pm and 7.30pm respectively)
**Simulcast on Sky Showcase
