Ferrari's Charles Leclerc kicked off the Miami Grand Prix weekend in style, topping the timesheets in the only practice session at the Hard Rock Stadium circuit. The Monegasque driver edged out Red Bull's Max Verstappen by 0.164 seconds, sending a clear message that Ferrari is ready to challenge for victory on the streets of Miami.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri impressed with the third-fastest time, while Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton—making his debut for the Scuderia after a blockbuster off-season move—clocked in fourth. The session marked the sport's return from a five-week break, and teams wasted no time unleashing significant upgrades on their cars.

Mercedes, who have dominated the opening three races of the season with three consecutive wins, endured a troubled afternoon. George Russell's session was interrupted by a turbo issue that required a reset in the garage, limiting him to sixth place, 0.790 seconds off the pace. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli fared slightly better in fifth, but missed the chance to run on soft tyres at the end as Mercedes investigated an engine problem on his car.

World champion Lando Norris could only manage seventh in the sister McLaren, ahead of Alpine's Pierre Gasly, Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, and Williams' Carlos Sainz. With Miami hosting a sprint weekend, the pressure is on—qualifying for the shorter sprint race takes place later today at 16:30 local time (21:30 BST).

The session was extended by 30 minutes to help teams adapt to new engine-management rule changes, and while several drivers ran wide at the end of long straights testing their braking points, the only real drama came when Piastri had a minor brush with the wall right at the chequered flag. For now, though, all eyes are on Leclerc and Ferrari as they look to turn practice pace into something more tangible this weekend.