F1 Miami Grand Prix: Mercedes Back On Top After Upgrades Seem To Work
Mercedes sits at the top of the timesheet with George Russell posting the fastest time from day one of testing at the Miami Grand Prix. The team has been struggling with issues all season as they combat porpoising, but Miami could be a turning point for Mercedes as they show a quickened pace compared to rivals such as Ferrari and Red Bull as they encounter issues during testing.
Fans have been excited for the Miami Grand Prix with Mercedes promising upgrades that could potentially reveal something closer to the full potential of the W13. Now, Russell has led FP2 after coming second on the timesheet for FP1. Sitting ahead of Charles Leclerc by a tenth of a second with a lap time of 1:29.938, Russell has once again shown his reliability on track.
Sergio Perez for Red Bull sits in third, and Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton follows him in fourth, two tenths off the lead.
Carlos Sainz crashed his Ferrari bringing out a red flag, and Max Verstappen’s Bull once again suffered from reliability issues.
McLaren’s Lando Norris placed fifth and Pierre Gasly brought AlphaTauri a sixth place.
What’s happened to Mercedes then?
Mercedes has made a couple of major upgrades. Their front wing has been modified to improve the porpoising of the car, but the high-speed Miami track means the car is set up for high speed over downforce, also reducing the amount of porpoising the cars are experiencing.
It’s safe to say that this weekend will be extremely interesting with Mercedes now back in the running to take home some points. Bring on Miami.
