The Miami GP long runs: Mercedes leads, challengers on the rise

The extended sole practice session for the Miami Grand Prix gave Formula 1 teams the opportunity to get in significant long runs to adjust to upgrades and rule tweaks – and provided a snapshot at the pecking order

Representative long runs are rare on a Formula 1 sprint weekend, but since practice in Miami was extended to 90 minutes with a view to the 2026 regulation changes, this time a substantial body of data was gathered – including plenty of running with heavy fuel loads.

This allows for significantly more precise conclusions about the true competitive order for the sprint as well as Sunday’s race. As teams typically run with full tanks during these stints, fuel load plays only a minor role as a differentiating factor. Despite the five-week break and the regulatory adjustments, the fundamental pecking order appears largely unchanged.

The strongest long runs were delivered on average by the two Mercedes drivers. When adjusting the data for differing stint lengths and tyre compounds, championship leader Kimi Antonelli was the fastest driver on heavy fuel – albeit by a razor-thin margin of 0.03 seconds per lap ahead of team-mate George Russell.

This once again puts Mercedes clearly ahead of the rest of the field. Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari was the closest challenger, with an average deficit of 0.33 seconds per lap. His team-mate Lewis Hamilton placed fourth, trailing by 0.6 seconds per lap.

Have rivals closed the gap to Mercedes?

Although the overall hierarchy seems largely unchanged, the chasing teams may have moved closer to Mercedes. In the first three races of the season, Ferrari trailed by an average of 0.53 seconds per lap, suggesting a potential gain of around two tenths.

A look at the sector times shows that Ferrari continues to have clear strengths in the corners. The car performs well both in the first sector with its fast and medium-speed sections and in the second sector with very slow corners. However, time is mainly lost in the final sector on the straights.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images

McLaren currently appears to be the third force in Miami in terms of race pace, even if their single-lap performance looks stronger. In the long runs, they were on average 0.87 seconds per lap slower than Mercedes, compared to a season average of 0.82 seconds.

The performance profile is similar to Ferrari’s, albeit at a slightly lower level. While the first sector with its fast corners still works well, the McLaren already drops off in the second sector. Above all, the reigning world champion team loses significant time on the straights in the third sector.

Has Red Bull fought its way out of the midfield?

With seven updates, Red Bull is one of the teams that made intensive use of the long break. That was urgently needed, as the RB22 had so far been trailing Mercedes by a hefty 1.26 seconds per lap in race pace. Initial impressions from Miami suggest that a step forward has been made.

Midfield: Alpine and Haas continue to set the tone

In the midfield as well, the competitive order has changed little. The best long-run pace was shown by Franco Colapinto in the Alpine (+1.32s). He was followed by the two Haas drivers Esteban Ocon (+1.59s) and Oliver Bearman (+1.86s), who also positioned themselves in the upper midfield.

A positive surprise came from Williams driver Carlos Sainz (+1.51s), who was also operating in this range. Nico Hulkenberg in the Audi (+1.85s) remains within striking distance of the points. Nevertheless, Alpine and Haas are still likely to be the favourites in the midfield.

Aston Martin did not complete any long runs, while Racing Bulls disappointed in race pace. Both Liam Lawson (+2.78s) and Arvid Lindblad (+3.84s) were far from the midfield. A similar picture emerged for the two Cadillac drivers Sergio Perez (+4.34s) and Valtteri Bottas (+5.32s).

Tyres: Red Bull with one fewer set of mediums

As is typical for sprint weekends, most teams used only one set of hard tyres and one set of softs for qualifying simulations at the end of the session. Among the top teams, only Red Bull additionally used a set of medium tyres, which will now be unavailable later in the weekend.

The medium tyre plays a central role on sprint weekends: it is usually used in SQ1 and SQ2, in the sprint race, and in one stint of the main race on Sunday. Ideally, teams aim to preserve all four available sets of mediums for the crucial sessions - but Red Bull opted for a different approach.

Incidentally, tyre degradation is unlikely to be a decisive factor. On the one hand, the weather situation for Sunday remains uncertain; on the other hand, the Miami International Autodrome is traditionally characterised by low tyre wear. All signs therefore point to a straightforward one-stop strategy under dry conditions.