Max Verstappen returned to the top of the timesheet in Practice 2 at the Miami Grand Prix on Friday.
After watching Mercedes finish one-two in the earlier session, the Dutchman confirmed he will be the man to beat in Florida this weekend with a 1m27.930s on soft tyres.
That put Verstappen almost four-tenths clear of the field as Ferrari were his closest challengers with Carlos Sainz in second and Charles Leclerc third.
The Monegasque would end his day with a crash at Turn 8 after losing the rear and sliding helplessly into the barrier during the race simulation.
Charles is out of the car and on his way back to the pits #MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/txwTIBPb3W
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 5, 2023
After only finished 11th in FP1, Sergio Perez improved to fourth in FP2 albeit half a second behind Red Bull teammate Verstappen.
Fernando Alonso took fifth, ahead of Lando Norris in a strong sixth as McLaren continue to show signs of progress.
Lewis Hamilton was the lead Mercedes in seventh, while earlier pacesetter George Russell finished only 15th due to traffic issues.
Lance Stroll followed Hamilton in eighth, with Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon completing the top 10.
Pierre Gasly claimed 11th in the second Alpine, ahead of Kevin Magnussen who miraculously survived a spin through the chicane section without damaging his Haas.
Kevin Magnussen has a moment at Turns 14/15
No damage done though despite brushing the wall ?#MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/5yLNNaAzfe
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 5, 2023
Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas followed in the two Alfa Romeos with Russell and Oscar Piastri in 16th.
Nico Hulkenberg finished 17th as he returned to the track following his crash in FP1. Yuki Tsunoda led AlphaTauri teammate Nyck de Vries in 18th and 19th respectively.
Florida native Logan Sargeant brought up the field in 20th for Williams.