F1 qualifying results: Sergio Perez takes Miami GP pole
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez took pole position for the Miami Grand Prix, round five of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship, at the Miami International Autodrome.
Perez will start ahead of Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) in Sunday’s race after the one-hour qualifying session on Saturday, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashed out of Q3, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen didn’t complete a lap in the session, due to an error and the red flag, and will start ninth.
Miami Grand Prix grid results: Perez on pole from Alonso
| Cla | Driver | Time | Gap | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sergio Perez |
 |
1'26.841 | 224.354 | |
| 2 |  Fernando Alonso |
 |
1'27.202 | 0.361 | 223.426 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz |
 |
1'27.349 | 0.508 | 223.050 |
| 4 |  Kevin Magnussen |
 |
1'27.767 | 0.926 | 221.987 |
| 5 |  Pierre Gasly |
 |
1'27.786 | 0.945 | 221.939 |
| 6 |  George Russell |
 |
1'27.804 | 0.963 | 221.894 |
| 7 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
1'27.861 | 1.020 | 221.750 |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon |
 |
1'27.935 | 1.094 | 221.563 |
| 9 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
|||
| 10 |  Valtteri Bottas |
 |
|||
| 11 |  Alex Albon |
 |
1'27.795 | 0.954 | 221.916 |
| 12 |  Nico Hulkenberg |
 |
1'27.903 | 1.062 | 221.644 |
| 13 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
1'27.975 | 1.134 | 221.462 |
| 14 |  Zhou Guanyu |
 |
1'28.091 | 1.250 | 221.171 |
| 15 | Nyck de Vries |
 |
1'28.395 | 1.554 | 220.410 |
| 16 | Lando Norris |
 |
1'28.394 | 1.553 | 220.413 |
| 17 |  Yuki Tsunoda |
|
1'28.429 | 1.588 | 220.325 |
| 18 |  Lance Stroll |
 |
1'28.476 | 1.635 | 220.208 |
| 19 |  Oscar Piastri |
 |
1'28.484 | 1.643 | 220.188 |
| 20 |  Logan Sargeant |
|
1'28.577 | 1.736 | 219.957 |
| View full results | |||||
What happened in Miami Grand Prix Q1?
Perez set the early bar at 1m28.306s, a tenth clear of Leclerc and Verstappen. Leclerc briefly took away P1 with 1m27.895s, before Verstappen beat that with 1m27.363s and Sainz took P2, albeit three tenths down.
Falling at the first hurdle were Lando Norris (McLaren), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Logan Sargeant (Williams).
Miami Grand Prix Q1 results: Verstappen fastest from Sainz
| Cla | Driver | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen |
 |
1'27.363 | 223.014 | ||
| 2 | Carlos Sainz |
 |
1'27.686 | 0.323 | 0.323 | 222.192 |
| 3 | Sergio Perez |
 |
1'27.713 | 0.350 | 0.027 | 222.124 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc |
 |
1'27.713 | 0.350 | 0.000 | 222.124 |
| 5 | Kevin Magnussen |
|
1'27.809 | 0.446 | 0.096 | 221.881 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
1'27.846 | 0.483 | 0.037 | 221.788 |
| 7 | Valtteri Bottas |
 |
1'27.864 | 0.501 | 0.018 | 221.742 |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon |
|
1'27.872 | 0.509 | 0.008 | 221.722 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg |
|
1'27.945 | 0.582 | 0.073 | 221.538 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly |
 |
1'28.061 | 0.698 | 0.116 | 221.246 |
| 11 | George Russell |
 |
1'28.086 | 0.723 | 0.025 | 221.183 |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
1'28.179 | 0.816 | 0.093 | 220.950 |
| 13 | Zhou Guanyu |
|
1'28.180 | 0.817 | 0.001 | 220.948 |
| 14 | Alex Albon |
 |
1'28.234 | 0.871 | 0.054 | 220.812 |
| 15 | Nyck de Vries |
 |
1'28.325 | 0.962 | 0.091 | 220.585 |
| 16 | Lando Norris |
 |
1'28.394 | 1.031 | 0.069 | 220.413 |
| 17 | Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
1'28.429 | 1.066 | 0.035 | 220.325 |
| 18 | Lance Stroll |
 |
1'28.476 | 1.113 | 0.047 | 220.208 |
| 19 | Oscar Piastri |
 |
1'28.484 | 1.121 | 0.008 | 220.188 |
| 20 | Logan Sargeant |
|
1'28.577 | 1.214 | 0.093 | 219.957 |
| View full results | ||||||
What happened in Miami Grand Prix Q2?
Verstappen set the initial benchmark at 1m27.110s, and Sainz got to within 0.038s of that.
Leclerc beat them both with 1m26.964s before Verstappen responded with 1m26.814s to grab back P1.
Knocked out at this point were Alex Albon (Williams), Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) and Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri).
Miami Grand Prix Q2 results: Verstappen fastest from Leclerc
| Cla | Driver | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen |
 |
1'26.814 | 224.424 | ||
| 2 | Charles Leclerc |
|
1'26.964 | 0.150 | 0.150 | 224.037 |
| 3 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
1'27.097 | 0.283 | 0.133 | 223.695 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz |
 |
1'27.148 | 0.334 | 0.051 | 223.564 |
| 5 | Sergio Perez |
|
1'27.328 | 0.514 | 0.180 | 223.103 |
| 6 | Esteban Ocon |
|
1'27.444 | 0.630 | 0.116 | 222.807 |
| 7 | Valtteri Bottas |
 |
1'27.564 | 0.750 | 0.120 | 222.502 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly |
 |
1'27.612 | 0.798 | 0.048 | 222.380 |
| 9 | Kevin Magnussen |
 |
1'27.673 | 0.859 | 0.061 | 222.225 |
| 10 | George Russell |
|
1'27.743 | 0.929 | 0.070 | 222.048 |
| 11 | Alex Albon |
 |
1'27.795 | 0.981 | 0.052 | 221.916 |
| 12 | Nico Hulkenberg |
 |
1'27.903 | 1.089 | 0.108 | 221.644 |
| 13 | Lewis Hamilton |
|
1'27.975 | 1.161 | 0.072 | 221.462 |
| 14 | Zhou Guanyu |
 |
1'28.091 | 1.277 | 0.116 | 221.171 |
| 15 | Nyck de Vries |
 |
1'28.395 | 1.581 | 0.304 | 220.410 |
| View full results | ||||||
What happened in Miami Grand Prix Q3?
Perez took the initiative on the opening runs, taking provisional pole with 1m26.841s. Verstappen and Leclerc both made big errors early on, allowing Alonso up to P2.
On the final runs, Leclerc spun at high speed into the wall at Turn 6, damaging his car's right-rear corner and causing a red flag with not enough time remaining to restart the session.
That meant Alonso will start from the front row alongside Perez, ahead of Sainz, Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Pierre Gasly (Alpine), George Russell (Mercedes), Leclerc, Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo).
Miami Grand Prix Q3 results: Perez takes pole
| Cla | Driver | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sergio Perez |
|
1'26.841 | 224.354 | ||
| 2 | Fernando Alonso |
|
1'27.202 | 0.361 | 0.361 | 223.426 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz |
|
1'27.349 | 0.508 | 0.147 | 223.050 |
| 4 | Kevin Magnussen |
|
1'27.767 | 0.926 | 0.418 | 221.987 |
| 5 | Pierre Gasly |
 |
1'27.786 | 0.945 | 0.019 | 221.939 |
| 6 | George Russell |
 |
1'27.804 | 0.963 | 0.018 | 221.894 |
| 7 | Charles Leclerc |
|
1'27.861 | 1.020 | 0.057 | 221.750 |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon |
 |
1'27.935 | 1.094 | 0.074 | 221.563 |
| 9 | Max Verstappen |
|
||||
| 10 | Valtteri Bottas |
|
||||
| View full results | ||||||
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