Oscar Piastri Leads Shortened F1 Miami GP Practice After Bearman Crash

 F1 Miami GP: Oscar Piastri tops practice session cut short by Oliver Bearman crash

Oscar Piastri set the fastest time in the shortened first practice session for the Miami Grand Prix, which was red-flagged after Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman crashed. The McLaren driver posted a 1m 31.979s on soft tyres, narrowly edging out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 0.069s, while Carlos Sainz took third for Ferrari.  

The session was interrupted when Bearman, making his second FP1 appearance of the season with Haas, lost control at Turn 16 and hit the barriers. The impact damaged the rear of his car, bringing out the red flag with just over 10 minutes remaining. The session was not resumed, leaving teams with limited running ahead of FP2.  

Bearman, standing in for Kevin Magnussen as part of Haas’s mandatory rookie sessions, had been running near the bottom of the timesheets before the incident. The British driver walked away unharmed, but the team faces a repair job ahead of the second practice.  

Behind the top three, Lewis Hamilton took fourth for Mercedes, followed by Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin. Lando Norris, who won last time out in Miami, was sixth, while Charles Leclerc struggled with balance issues in his Ferrari, finishing seventh.  

The truncated session left several drivers with minimal laps completed, including Sergio Perez, who only managed eight laps in his Red Bull. With limited data gathered, teams will have to adjust their programs for the remainder of the weekend. FP2 is set to provide a clearer picture of the competitive order ahead of qualifying and Sunday’s race.