MIAMI, May 6 ― Red Bull's championship leader Max Verstappen lapped fastest while Charles Leclerc crashed his Ferrari into the barriers in second practice for the Miami Formula One Grand Prix yesterday.

Leclerc went off at turn eight, the car snapping and locking up as it went nose first into the barriers and wrecked the front suspension.

The incident brought out the red flags with 10 minutes remaining, the Monegasque stepping out and walking away with his session over.

Verstappen had already made it business as usual at the top with a 1:27.930 effort on an improving track after George Russell had led seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes one-two in the first session.

Russell's best time of one minute 30.125 seconds came after the Briton experienced steering issues in a hot and steamy session.

A team spokesman said the Briton was using a test item that proved too heavy so they changed the steering rack back to the old one.

Russell was 15th in the second session and Hamilton seventh.

Leclerc was third fastest in both sessions while team mate Carlos Sainz was second in practice two, 0.385 slower than Verstappen.

Red Bull's Mexican Sergio Perez was fourth and nearly half a second slower than his team mate.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso ended up fifth on the 3.36 mile (5.41km) temporary street circuit around Hard Rock Stadium, the home of the NFL's Miami Dolphins, with McLaren's Lando Norris sixth.

Verstappen, the winner of the inaugural Miami Grand Prix last year, was nearly a half-second off the pace in the first session.

Perez, six points behind and a double winner last weekend in Azerbaijan with the first sprint of the season, was well down the timing sheets in 11th in that opening practice.

Haas's Nico Hulkenberg spun and slammed into the wall, bringing out the red flags in that session.

Until then Hulkenberg had been enjoying a lively practice for the US-owned outfit, sitting second behind Verstappen when the session was paused.

The only American on the starting grid, local boy Logan Sargeant, who grew up in nearby Fort Lauderdale, could not give the fans much to cheer. The Williams rookie finished 19th and 20th respectively in the sessions. ― Reuters