FIA Extends Miami GP Practice; Zak Brown Warns About Growing Team Alliances

FIA has extended Miami’s sole free‑practice session from 60 to 90 minutes ahead of the sprint weekend. Meanwhile, McLaren chief Zak Brown warned that growing cross‑ownership, exemplified by a rumored Mercedes stake in Alpine, threatens Formula 1’s sporting integrity. Both moves highlight governance concerns as the sport returns after a five‑week break.

Why it matters:

• Extra practice time lets teams fine‑tune setups on a demanding street circuit, reducing the usual sprint‑weekend performance gap.
• Brown’s alarm over A‑team/B‑team dynamics underscores a risk that multi‑team ownership could skew competition and alienate fans.

The details:

• Miami GP session change
  • Practice extended to 90 min after discussions with teams and promoters.
  • The update comes as Miami hosts the second sprint weekend following the Saudi and Bahrain cancellations.
• Zak Brown’s warning
  • Brown told GPblog that a possible Mercedes 24 % stake in Alpine creates an “A‑team/B‑team” scenario that could undermine fairness.
  • Alpine adviser Flavio Briatore downplayed any operational influence, but Brown urges the FIA to consider tighter cross‑ownership rules.

What's next:

• The 90‑minute practice will be on Friday, giving crews extra data before Saturday’s sprint qualifying and Sunday’s race.
• If the Mercedes‑Alpine deal proceeds, the FIA may be forced to tighten its ownership rules, a topic likely to surface at the upcoming Teams Association meeting.