In the lead-up to the Miami Grand Prix, the practice session was filled with excitement and surprises. The drama unfolded early on when Charles Leclerc, driving for Ferrari, encountered trouble and brought out the red flags. Leclerc's mishap occurred as he bounced over the kerbs while exiting Turn 16, narrowly avoiding the barriers.

The incident left Leclerc's car sideways between the concrete walls, blocking future Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton and several other drivers. Despite his attempts to salvage the situation, Leclerc found himself stuck and eventually had to abandon his car as it threatened to overheat. Marshals swiftly intervened to remove the car from the circuit under the red flag.

When the session resumed, the remaining 19 drivers focused on their programs. Carlos Sainz of Ferrari took the lead halfway through the session, clocking a time of 1m 29.346s on hard compounds. Sergio Perez and Hamilton closely trailed behind. Max Verstappen, however, faced challenges after a lock-up at Turn 17, landing him lower on the timesheets initially.

As the time ticked down, drivers switched to soft tires and made significant improvements. Verstappen managed to bounce back, posting an impressive time of 1m 28.595s, securing the top spot with a tenth of a second to spare. Oscar Piastri and Sainz followed closely behind.

Surprisingly, George Russell of Mercedes emerged as the fastest among the Mercedes drivers, taking fourth place. Hamilton trailed behind in seventh place, with Lance Stroll's Aston Martin and Perez's Red Bull splitting the Silver Arrows. Yuki Tsunoda, along with the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, rounded out the top 10.

Zhou Guanyu of Sauber and Valtteri Bottas of Kick Sauber settled for 15th and 17th places respectively, with Lando Norris, driving for McLaren, sandwiched in between. Norris faced difficulties throughout the session, battling an issue with asymmetric power steering assistance. Logan Sargeant of Williams started his home Grand Prix weekend quietly in 18th place, while Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin followed in 19th place after using only the hard compounds. Leclerc found himself at the rear of the pack after his costly spin.

Following the practice session, teams and drivers will analyze the data to make necessary adjustments before heading into the Sprint Qualifying session scheduled for 1630 local time. The Sprint Qualifying session will determine the grid positions for Saturday's Sprint race.

The Miami Grand Prix continues to captivate fans with its unpredictable twists and turns, setting the stage for an action-packed weekend ahead.