Miami Grand Prix Is Underway, 20 Drivers Are Fighting for the F1 Podium

As of now, we are just hours away from the official qualifying session at round 5 of the 2022 Formula 1 season in Miami. Drivers will have another warm-up session before that, while the main race is scheduled to take place tomorrow, starting at 3.30 PM (EDT).

But let's have a look at how drivers handled the first two practice sessions. Charles Leclerc proved his worth yet again during FP1, as he drove the Ferrari F1-75 to the top spot on the grid. After quite a long stint of 26 laps, he managed to secure a time of 1:31.098.

Carlos Sainz was also one of the Top10 fastest drivers of the first session, although his time of 1:31.528 had him sitting in 6th overall. George Russell was once again the faster of the two Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 drivers as he managed to get up to P2.

His pace was only 0.071 seconds slower than that of Charles Leclerc. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton ended up further down the grid in P8. Even so, the gap to the top-ranking driver was of under 1 second, which just goes to show that we're talking about godlike skills here.

Both Red Bull Racing athletes put on a strong show in FP1, finishing the session in P3 and P4. Looking at their fastest laps, they were separated by just 0.024 seconds. Both Verstappen and Perez are strong contenders for the 2022 F1 Title, as they're right behind Leclerc in the overall standings. Piere Gasly was the fastest Alpha Tauri driver of the first practice session, and he even managed to secure a well-deserved P5 ahead of Carlos Sainz.

Alexander Albon hasn't had a great start to the season, as he's down in P17 with just 1 point so far. But the 26-year-old Thai driver has yet to reveal his full potential. The fact that he managed to get P7 in FP1 supports that claim, but we'll just have to see how he fairs on Sunday.

HAAS fans were excited to see Kevin Magnussen in P9 but probably less happy to witness Mick Schumacher in P19. Daniel Ricciardo secured P10 for McLaren Mercedes, with a time of 1:32.592. Lando Norris was slightly slower in real life than he was in his F1 22 test, at least for FP1.

He would go on to considerably improve his rhythm in FP2, securing a fast lap of 1:30.535. How many people on this planet can brag about being faster in real-life racing than on the simulator? George Russel was the fastest man in this second session, leaving Charles Leclerc 0.106 seconds behind.

He was also the only driver to go faster than 1:30, but we'll probably see more of that in the qualifying session today. Lewis Hamilton continued to push hard throughout the day, and his efforts paid off: P4 with a time of 1:30.179.

Sergio Perez continued to display some solid skills in FP2, finishing in P3 overall. But his teammate wasn't so fortunate. Max Verstappen had to deal with an overheating gearbox in the first part of the day and was later forced out of FP2 due to a hydraulics issue.

That being said, he didn't even manage to set a lap time. Ferrari had their share of bad luck as Carlos Sainz crashed early into the session. Still, after 9 laps, he secured a time of 1:30.964, just enough to have him sitting in P11.

Fernando Alonso reminded everyone why he is still considered one of the best F1 drivers of all time, as he claimed P5 after a total of 20 laps. Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly were not far behind, but the most unexpected driver in the top 10 was Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu.

He is the first-ever F1 driver to come from China and one of the youngest on the grid this year. Alpine Renault driver Esteban Ocon was slightly over 2.5 seconds faster in FP2 compared to the first session, and so he managed a P9 finish, which saw Kevin Magnussen sitting in P10.

Valtteri Bottas also had a difficult day in Miami, as he spun out during FP1 after just 13 laps. He is just 4 points behind his former teammate, Lewis Hamilton, in the overall rankings. But with less practice during the first day in Miami, he's going to have a tough time for the remainder of the weekend. This should be one of the most exciting races of the year so far!