George Russell and Lewis Hamilton record one-two finish in FP1 at Miami Grand Prix

Hamilton, Miami, Mercedes, 2023 — Photo: © LAT Images

Miami Grand Prix

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton record one-two finish in FP1 at Miami

Russell topped the timesheet ahead of his Mercedes team-mate despite enduring a steering issue

Dan Davis

Friday 5 May 2023 21:11 Updated: 00:36

Mercedes recorded a one-two in the first practice session ahead of this weekend's Miami Grand Prix, with George Russell topping the timesheet despite enduring an early steering issue and returning to the team garage.

At the end of a session that offered little grip to drivers, with several careering off the track and Nico Hulkenberg crashing and causing a red flag, Russell emerged on fresh tyres in the closing stages and set a time of 1 minute 30.125sec.

Behind him, Lewis Hamilton, who initially set the fastest lap before being usurped late on by his team-mate, clocked a time of 1:30.337s.

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Russell was forced to spend much of the session watching on as mechanics worked on his car but eventually took to the circuit for the final 15 minutes.

Charles Leclerc came home third ahead of fourth-placed Max Verstappen, the world champion having dominated the session before slipping down the standings.

Meanwhile, Sergio Perez, the winner last time out in Azerbaijan, found himself down in 11th place.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was fifth fastest, ahead of Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin.

The session had been halted for nine minutes after the red flags were waved following Hulkenberg's incident, with the Haas driver losing control through turn three and spinning sideways into the barriers.

An under-fire Nyck de Vries was also involved in a shunt, continuing his testing debut year. Early in the session, his AlphaTauri spun and tapped the wall, forcing him out of the rest of the hour while repairs were made.

Russell's steering woes

Just moments after making his way out at the start of the session, Russell complained about a steering issue over the radio before quickly doubling down.

Despite initially being informed Mercedes could do little during the session, Russell dived into the pits, allowing mechanics to set about working on the steering rack.

It soon transpired that the team ran a development item that proved too heavy, forcing Mercedes to change the rack.