A Mercedes comeback on the horizon in Friday practice

Mercedes seem to have brought themselves up to George Russell’s form of the 2022 season giving the Brackley team a car that appears to be able to fight with Ferrari and Red Bull.

After turning up to Miami with a revised front & rear wing Russell slotted into a very positive P2 in first practice. Only falling short of current championship leader Charles Leclerc by less than one-tenth.

These roles would then be reversed when second practice came around as Russell managed to put a lap together that would top the timesheets and see Mercedes hopeful of a front of the field battle for the first time this season.

World champion Max Verstappen had an awkward start to his Miami GP weekend after having top two pace, but briefly hitting the wall left him in the garage for most of first practice. The Dutch driver would subsequently experience steering issues in second practice, seeing him finish outside the top five.

Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, would filter in behind him in the morning session before coming third in the afternoon, solidifying that the car has the pace to be up at the front and Verstappen will certainly have the capabilities to challenge right up at the sharp end of racing.

Carlos Sainz Jr. could not be having a more difficult time in his Ferrari after not being able to put a lap together on the softs in practice one and even puncturing a tyre in the process. Later, the Spaniard destroyed the left side of his car in the afternoon practice session bringing some worries to the Scuderia camp despite only recently signing an extension.

Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso could see a battle with 15 years worth of build-up on Sunday as the two finished the Friday right next to each other. Such a battle that would excite the fans no end with two of the heavyweights of the sport slowly progressing their way back to the front of the field.

Their first clash was way back in 2007 and after all these years the two of them find themselves right in front of the team they fought at, McLaren. Lando Norris has set up his car in what could be a very rewarding way come Sunday night.

The optimism of so many cars at the front is boiling up more so this weekend than it has so far this season. Norris sat behind six or seven competitors all unbelievably tight could lead to Norris having a quiet but rewarding race on Sunday.

Williams and Aston Martin appear to have some work left to do with only the two cars of Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas finishing behind them in the afternoon practice session after not setting laps each.

A frantic Saturday awaits as a lot of teams and drivers have loads to work on to be able to be where they want leaving Russell and Leclerc feeling very positive after day one. Day two will only be more important.

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