Miami Grand Prix, FP1: latest F1 practice updates

Telegraph

02-05-2025

Latest updates
Kieran Crichard
02 May 2025 5:36pm
5:36PM
Verstappen goes fastest
Most of the drivers are out on mediums, other than the two RB's of Hadjar and Lawson.
He is a new dad and Verstappen has gone to the top of the timesheets, two tenths ahead of Piastri.
5:34PM
New father
Verstappen has just become a father to daughter Lily and he has made his way onto the track with an upgraded floor on his Red Bull.
Very early doors but Piastri goes top of the timesheets on a set of medium tyres.
Norris comes over the team radio and has complained about a few things in his cockpit. He comes into the pits and removes what looks like a torch! Very strange!
5:30PM
Go, go, go!
The green light is showing at the end of the pit lane and practice is under way. With this being a sprint weekend, this one hour of practice is going to be essential so we should have plenty of running. It is nearly 30 degrees in Miami, with the track temperature being close to 40.
Our current Divers' Championship leader Piastri is one of the first out onto the track.
5:27PM
Tyre chat
We have gone a step softer with the tyres than we did last year in Miami. The one and only practice session of the weekend is just moments away.
5:23PM
Sky's Jenson Button on Max Verstappen
'The moment that stands out so far is Verstappen's qualifying lap in Suzuka.
'This year he has stepped it up. He does not have the best car, far from it, but he has still dragged something out of the car and to get pole at Suzuka, where you need to be brave, was very impressive. His game has risen and it is impressive to see.'
5:20PM
Sky's Martin Brundle on Lando Norris
'I think his head is, perhaps, with a bit of pressure off him. He is now not leading the championship, he is now the hunter. He has got all the talent, all the speed, he has prepared all of his life for this moment. What he should realise, is that victory in Melbourne – if you can win that race, you can win anything in a Formula 1 car.
'But he has got some tough competition. Mercedes are not going to stand still. They have got a big upgrade coming at Imola, for example. Ferrari think they know a way forward as well. The drivers and teams need to be scoring every point that is on the table.'
5:08PM
Senna's 1992 Belgian GP helmet sells for record price
The helmet that Ayrton Senna was wearing when he famously helped to rescue an unconscious rival at Spa-Francorchamps in 1992 has sold for a world record £720,000.
Senna, who died tragically in a crash two years later aged 34, was wearing the Shoei helmet, painted in his signature yellow, green and dark blue, at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1992, when he raced for McLaren.
The Brazilian driver stopped in qualifying for that race to help stricken Ligier driver Érik Comas, running back through the smoke at great personal risk, cutting the car's engine and holding Comas's head until paramedics arrived. The Frenchman had been knocked unconscious following a heavy crash at Blanchimont corner.
5:00PM
Ferrari's blue makeover bombs with fans
Ferrari
For the second year running – and to mark the one-year anniversary of HP becoming their title sponsor – Ferrari have chosen to incorporate the blue and white of the computer hardware company into their Miami livery. The SF25's engine cover, rear wing and wheel covers will all feature extra blue and white graphics this weekend, while Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will sport completely different race suits in white and blue to complement the design.
To say the livery has received a mixed reception from fans would be an understatement. One comment on Ferrari's social media post said: 'This is the equivalent of putting pineapple on a pizza.'