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The first day of the Miami GP, with both the free practice sessions, concluded with George Russell leading the charge at the end of FP2. The sessions featured a lot of surprises, some good, some not so good.
Having said that, let's take a look at what we learned from the two sessions.
Miami GP FP1 and FP2: What did we learn?
#1 Red Bull's reliability is going to be a massive headache for Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen missed an entire session on a brand new track on a day when Ferrari looked as strong as ever and Mercedes might just have emerged as a contender for the first time this season. The Dutch driver can more or less be banked on to produce sensational results from whatever machinery he drives, but he cannot afford another DNF this season, especially not the third one in 5 races.
It's still not clear what happened or whether it was a hydraulic issue or a power unit issue. One thing that is clear, however, is that Red Bull is as fragile as glass at the moment, which is not a good sign for Verstappen, especially at the Miami GP.
#2 Mercedes "without porpoising" looks like a great car
The track layout for the Miami GP means that porpoising is not really a phenomenon for the cars here. The bouncing is not too much and is more or less manageable. As a result, Mercedes appears to have come alive and the team had George Russell right near the top of the classification for the two Free Practice sessions of the Miami GP.
Was fuel load or power unit manipulation the reason behind these lofty times? The picture could become clearer tomorrow. For now, though, the car for the Miami GP looks much better on track compared to the way it has for the season so far.
#3 Carlos Sainz melts again (as predicted)
Carlos Sainz's demeanor at Ferrari has started to change. Gone is the confident, chirpy, and consistent performer of the 2021 season. We now have someone that is error-prone, slightly underconfident, and doesn't look like the driver who beat Charles Leclerc in a straight fight last season.
Sainz spun out of the session once again. One has to wonder now whether the Spaniard is pushing a tad too hard in the car. We feel he needs to calm down and stop thinking about the title for a moment.
#4 Pressure mounts on Mick Schumacher
Mick Schumacher did not have the best of days in both the FP sessions of the Miami GP. Once again, the Haas driver was some distance away from the times set by Kevin Magnussen.
The Haas driver ended FP2 with his fastest time around 7 tenths of a second slower than his teammate. For an F2 and F3 champion, Schumacher's performance deficit against Magnussen is a bit of a shocker at the very least.
#5 The midfield seems bunched up yet again
The midfield teams somewhat encouragingly seemed more bunched up than the last few races. There is still an intrinsic pecking order that is in place but the gaps are not too big. If the timings are any indicator, then both AlphaTauri and Williams seem to have made some improvements.
For now, everything after the top 4 of Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren is a bit unpredictable. Overall though, what this does is it makes Miami worth a watch.
