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The 2023 F1 Miami GP kickstarted with the first free practice that ended with a Mercedes 1-2. In a last-minute effort from both Mercedes drivers, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton leapfrogged the entire field to finish the session on top of the standings.
George Russell topped the session with a time that was a couple of tenths quicker than what Lewis Hamilton was able to do while Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari was third.
Max Verstappen finished the session in fourth after leading it for the most part while Carlos Sainz was fifth. With the first hour running in the 2023 F1 Miami GP done and dusted, what did we learn? Let's find out.
2023 F1 Miami GP FP1: Key Learnings
#1 Max Verstappen and Red Bull are ominously quick
Don't be fooled by the timesheets at the end of the session as a lot of it has to do with track evolution and fresh tires. With everything on an even keel, Red Bull looks significantly better overall. The car looks the best on the track and the laptime shows.
Having said that, while all of this is true for Max Verstappen and Red Bull, it's not for Sergio Perez. The Mexican is still figuring things out for the 2023 F1 Miami GP as he had a somewhat muted start to the session. Verstappen however is looking menacing as the lap times from the Red Bull driver are just incredible even if we compare it with Perez.
#2 The picture is murky with the chasing pack
There's still a lack of clarity over how the chasing pack sorts itself out. The last soft run from Mercedes was impressive but it's hard to read too much into it considering the tire life and track evolution.
Ferrari on the other hand were trying different things on their car as the team evaluated their upgrades while Aston Martin appear to have fallen behind a little in terms of performance.
It's still early days for now and when it comes to drawing a direct comparison with Red Bull, it's just hard to do. Ferrari could challenge the team for pole during the 2023 F1 Miami GP qualifying but we still need to see more to make a more educated claim. For now, though, the three teams in the chasing pack are within touching distance of each other with not much to choose.
#3 Thermal degradation could be a major factor in this race
The track surface for the 2023 F1 Miami GP has been relaid and the new surface is expected to have a lot more grip. Looking at the lap times and comparing them to last season, that is certainly evident. Having said that, the other factor that could play a major role is the track temperature.
If the impending rain does not make an appearance during the 2023 F1 Miami GP weekend, then thermal degradation is something that could play a role during the weekend, especially in the race.
#4 AlphaTauri are struggling once again
AlphaTauri, as expected, are back to their normal habitat - near the back of the grid as the car was just not comfortable on track. Nyck de Vries did give the team a scare when he spun during a lap but fortunately was able to keep his car running.
Having said that, one look at the timesheets and it's hard to deny that the Faenza-based team is struggling this weekend. Both Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries did not have great laptimes and the performance does appear to be par for the course.
#5 McLaren could be in the fight with Alpine
The laptime put together by Oscar Piastri is certainly going to make Alpine take notice. The laptime did eventually get shuffled down the order as the session continued but when the Australian had done the lap, it was comparable with the kind of laps the Alpine duo had done.
The 2023 F1 Miami GP has seen Alpine find a much better setup after the chaos of Baku but it also appears that a challenge from McLaren is certainly on the horizon if laptimes are any indication.
With the top four just out of reach, we could see both McLaren and Alpine fight it out amongst themselves for P5 in the constructors' championship this season. In all likelihood, it would start at the 2023 F1 Miami GP as upgrades from both cars take effect.
