Herta sets the pace in Miami
Colton Herta got his home weekend in Miami off to the perfect start, topping Free Practice for Hitech with a blistering lap of 1:40.320. The American driver delivered when it mattered most, setting the benchmark in the final moments of a heavily disrupted session.
Kush Maini followed closely in second for ART Grand Prix, while TRIDENTâs Laurens van Hoepen rounded out the top three. As the paddock gears up for the Miami Grand Prix weekend, Herta's early pace sends a strong message to his rivals.
Early interruptions and red flags
The session was far from straightforward. Installation laps were interrupted early on after a spin for Noel LeĂłn at Turn 7 brought out the Virtual Safety Car, with his Campos Racing car needing to be recovered.
The return to green flag conditions didnât last long. Teammate and Championship leader Nikola Tsolov also stopped on track, bringing out the Red Flags and halting the session entirely.
Running finally resumed with 25 minutes left on the clock, prompting a rush as everyone was eager to get out on track to maximise the remaining time.
The battle for P1
Van Hoepen had led the way initially, but Alexander Dunne delivered a 1:40.999 to go fastest for Rodin Motorsport as more laps were put on the board. Gabriele MinĂŹ then usurped his Alpine Academy stablemate, going quickest briefly before a flurry of further improvements put van Hoepen back on top with a 1:40.480.
Maini then put ART P1 on the leaderboard with a 1:40.336, sitting 0.144s ahead of the TRIDENT driver in second with a little over 10 minutes remaining.
Herta then moved himself into the top three, just a fraction slower than van Hoepen, before unleashing his ultimate pace. In the final two minutes, the Hitech driver went quickest of all with a 1:40.320.
Nobody could find a better effort, and a late yellow flag for van Hoepenâwho went off the track at Turn 8âprevented any further changes in the order.
The top 10 and what's next
Behind the leading trio, Dino Beganovic secured fourth for DAMS Lucas Oil, ahead of Oliver Goethe in P5. Joshua Duerksen finished sixth, with Dunne dropping to seventh. Rafael VillagĂłmez, Ritomo Miyata, and MinĂŹ completed the top 10.
With Free Practice in the books, attention now turns to the Miami Qualifying session, which is scheduled to get underway later on Friday at 14:30 local time. Fans looking to follow the action can check the full schedule to ensure they don't miss a moment of the weekend.
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