05 May 2023 , 22:27
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Charles Leclerc did not enjoy ideal preparation for the Miami Grand Prix as he lost control of his Ferrari during practice and crashed into a barrier.
The Miami track has been resurfaced this year with the hope of providing better grip for the drivers. But anyone who ventured off the racing line in practice was finding that the rest of the tarmac was fraught with danger.
Everyone was slipping and sliding about with most of them locking up and twitching, while some others made use of the run off areas to avoid a crash. But Leclerc was not so lucky as he slammed on the brakes after losing control of his rear, but could not avoid hitting the barrier.
The impact was not too hard and Leclerc was uninjured, but his front wing was smashed into pieces and the suspension looked damaged. Leclerc hung his head in disappointment in the cockpit of his car before clambering out so he could be ferried back to the pit lane.
With less than 10 minutes to go in the session and the red flags flying, it looked as though there would be no more on-track action. But the marshals moved swiftly to take the car off the track and clear up the debris so the others could get back out and complete a couple more laps before the clock hit zero.
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Leclerc was not the only one who crashed on Friday, as Nico Hulkenberg hit the wall in FP1. Fortunately, the impact was not too hard and the damage not too serious to prevent Haas from fixing it in time for him to head back out and complete the second session in full.
Leclerc waved to fans as he trudged away from his stricken Ferrari (Getty Images)The Mercedes drivers did well in FP1 with George Russell topping the timesheets and Lewis Hamilton in second. But it was business as usual in the second session of the day as Max Verstappen flexed the muscles of his Red Bull to set the fastest time.
Not that it was an entirely smooth session for the defending champion. He had problems with his headrest which was restricting his head movement and led to him swearing angrily over the radio about it.
Speaking to Sky during the session, team boss Christian Horner explained: "It's very much a prescriptive part. There's a part of it that's catching on the back of the headrest. We need to get permission from the FIA to make sure that any modifications are compliant. I think we've got a quick fix for it now."