Max third quickest in Miami FP3

Published on 07 May 2022 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen finished the third and final practice session of the Miami Grand Prix in third place. Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Perez was quickest ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

At the start of the session, Max is the first driver out on the Miami street circuit, keen to regain some valuable track time after several technical issues limited his running on Friday. The Dutchman is also the first driver to set a lap time in FP3.

Twelve minutes into the session, Kevin Magnussen has spun at turn seventeen. The Haas driver is able to quickly resume with only a brief yellow flag being waved. Soon after, the session is red-flagged. Esteban Ocon crashed his Alpine at turn fourteen, giving his mechanics a busy lunch-time challenge to reassemble his car ahead of qualifying.

After ten minutes the session is resumed. With half an hour left, it is busy on track. The Ferraris set the pace, but Max is attempting to regain some ground, resulting in a somewhat hectic lap; after misjudging his braking into turn one, the Dutchman then encounters Sebastian Vettel later on in the lap. The Aston Martin almost squeezes the Red Bull racer into the barriers. With a small hand gesture, Max signals his grievance to the four-time champion.

With twenty minutes to go, the teams bolt on the soft Pirellis to prepare for qualifying simulations. Both Red Bulls set the pace early on with Max leading the way. Charles Leclerc soon joins the pair, highlighting Ferrari’s impressive run of form this season.

In the closing stages, Vettel springs a surprise by clocking the fourth fastest time in his Aston Martin. Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly informs Alpha Tauri that his car bounces like a kangaroo, a sentiment that could be echoed by George Russell, whose Mercedes produces a lot of porpoising.

In the final couple of minutes, Max mounts one last attempt to topple Perez at the top of the leader board. The reigning champ starts of well with an excellent first and second sector. However, in the approach to turn 14, Max is too aggressive on the kerbs and narrowly avoids crashing into the wall. Apart from a written off set of Pirellis, Max is able to return to the pits without damage, meaning he ends FP3 in third place.

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