World champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull set the fastest time in Friday’s practice for the Miami Grand Prix while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc suffered a crash into a barrier on a track which several drivers described as “slippery”.

After Mercedes enjoyed a 1-2 effort in the opening session, with George Russell leading the way from Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen – the current championship leader – responded emphatically with an impressive best lap time of 1:27.930.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was 0.385 seconds behind closely followed by his teammate Leclerc, whose session ended early after he went nose first into the barrier at Turn eight.

Leclerc left the track on a moped and showed no signs of any side-effects from the incident, which caused a red flag and five-minute delay, frustrating teams who were putting in some longer runs.

Read full story on www.sportsdesk.com.mt

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