Verstappen bests Leclerc as Mercedes FLOUNDER – Miami GP FP3

Max Verstappen held off Charles Leclerc to finish fastest in the final practice session of the weekend at the Miami Grand Prix.

The championship leader set an impressive pace, lapping a time of 1:27.535 seconds around the Baku City Circuit, fending off Leclerc by 0.406secs.

While the top three felt predictable, unexpected strong performances from Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly in the Alpines saw the team take fifth and sixth on the leaderboard.

Ferrari also performed well, with Leclerc’s second place followed by team-mate Carlos Sainz in fourth.

However, some teams just couldn’t find the pace, with Mercedes and McLaren slipping down the rankings.

Lewis Hamilton couldn't make it into the top 10, while the McLarens ran in 18th and 19th by the end of the session.

Windy conditions

The weather was gusty out on track, leading several cars to wobble and teams to warn drivers of the conditions.

Perhaps as a by-product of the windy weather, several drivers made small mistakes around tough turns like 17. Alex Albon in the Williams and Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin both ran wide there.

Mercedes in trouble

Both Mercedes drivers complained of vibrations and a lack of pace throughout the session, and neither managed a time to scare the top four.

At the end of the session, Hamilton was running 13th and Russell 10th.

Vibrations were bothering Hamilton early in the session – he came over the radio to say: “Front tyres are vibrating already.”

Russell felt similarly but felt the issue came from a different sourcing, saying later on: “Lots of vibrations on the steering rack through that high speed.”

When it came to speed, neither driver felt satisfied. Hamilton said over the radio: “We seem to be losing a lot more on the straights.”

Russell felt similarly, saying: “Balance is OK, just struggling for overall pace.”

Both drivers must have their fingers crossed that the promised Imola upgrades can bring out the true speed of the car.

Qualifying simulations

As the clock dipped below the 10-minute point, all the drivers were on soft tyres and several made qualifying simulation laps, though Verstappen held off at the end of the session.

Gasly and Ocon made impressive gains, holding fifth and fourth until they were knocked further down the grid at the last minute by Leclerc's Ferrari.

In the final 10 minutes, however, several cars didn’t fare too well. Nico Hulkenberg clipped the kerb 'quite badly' and was concerned about the floor of his car, while Lando Norris experienced a huge lock up.

Yuki Tsunoda expressed frustration at his car, yelling over the radio: “It’s incredible, it’s so understeer!”

Logan Sargeant also found it tough, saying: “I’m really struggling to drive this at the moment. The balance is all over the place.”

Miami Grand Prix free practice 3 results

🏁 CLASSIFICATION (END OF FP3) 🏁

It's a Red Bull-Ferrari show at the top of the timesheets in final practice... up next: qualifying!#MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/oYqNuRuFhV

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 6, 2023

READ MORE: Miami Grand Prix could be a LOTTERY as F1 tyre chief reveals rain fears

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