F1 Miami GP: Verstappen fends off Leclerc for pole again

Verstappen posted a 1m27.241s to lead Leclerc by 0.141 seconds on the first runs in Q3, where they were trailed by Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari.

On the final runs, although Verstappen set the session’s fastest time in the first sector, the leading trio could not better their previous best times – Leclerc in particular having a wild time on this final flier.

Sergio Perez did find time on his final Q3 go to jump to fourth, while Lando Norris took fifth having run mediums on his first Q3 effort.

This pair improving shuffled Oscar Piastri down to sixth on the second Q3 runs, while Mercedes pair George Russell and Lewis Hamilton took seventh and eighth.

Both Mercedes drivers had to run mediums for the last Q3 laps after running out of new softs, but only Hamilton went quicker with the yellow-walled rubber.

Behind, Nico Hulkenberg was ninth and Yuki Tsunoda took 10th, with the other notable incident in Q3 being Sainz getting cleared of impeding Hulkenberg at Turn 17 late on.

In Q2, Russell’s last-gasp improvement knocked out Lance Stroll, who was joined by Alpine pair Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon – both French drivers failing to set personal best times on their final runs in the middle segment.

Behind, Alex Albon’s late personal best pushed Fernando Alonso down to 15th in the other Aston Martin.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

In Q1, Alonso squeaked in through 0.01s ahead of Valtteri Bottas in 15th and 16th, with home hero Logan Sargeant eliminated in 17th behind Bottas.

Sprint qualifying and race star Daniel Ricciardo was also knocked out in 18th, complaining of lacking rear grip, with Kevin Magnussen and Zhou Guanyu 19th and 20th.

Magnussen lost time with traffic at the final corner on his last Q1 lap, while Zhou faces a post-session stewards’ investigation for pushing in front of Ricciardo when before the pitlane opened for the first segment and for crossing the pit exit line late in Q1.

Several drivers will be investigated for going too slowly on outlaps, but will be expected to avoid grid penalties as is now typical for such incidents, while Ricciardo’s post-Chinese GP penalty for overtaking under the safety car means he will start Sunday’s race from last place.

 Miami Grand Prix - Starting grid

Main Information Additional Data Driver Info

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Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Time	km/h
1	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	1'27.241	223.326
2	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.141 1'27.382	222.965
3	C. Sainz Ferrari	55		Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.214 1'27.455	222.779
4	S. Perez Red Bull Racing	11		Red Bull	Red Bull	+0.219 1'27.460	222.766
5	L. Norris McLaren	4		McLaren	Mercedes	+0.353 1'27.594	222.426
6	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	+0.434 1'27.675	222.220
7	G. Russell Mercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	+0.826 1'28.067	221.231
8	L. Hamilton Mercedes	44		Mercedes	Mercedes	+0.866 1'28.107	221.131
9	N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team	27		Haas	Ferrari	+0.905 1'28.146	221.033
10	Y. Tsunoda RB	22		RB	Red Bull	+0.951 1'28.192	220.917
11	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Mercedes	+0.981 1'28.222	220.842
12	P. Gasly Alpine	10		Alpine	Renault	+1.083 1'28.324	220.587
13	E. Ocon Alpine	31		Alpine	Renault	+1.130 1'28.371	220.470
14	A. Albon Williams	23		Williams	Mercedes	+1.172 1'28.413	220.365
15	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Mercedes	+1.186 1'28.427	220.330
16	V. Bottas Sauber	77		Sauber	Ferrari	+1.222 1'28.463	220.241
17	L. Sargeant Williams	2		Williams	Mercedes	+1.246 1'28.487	220.181
18	D. Ricciardo RB	3		RB	Red Bull	+1.376 1'28.617	219.858
19	K. Magnussen Haas F1 Team	20		Haas	Ferrari	+1.378 1'28.619	219.853
20	Z. Guanyu Sauber	24		Sauber	Ferrari	+1.583 1'28.824	219.346
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