Verstappen beats Ferrari duo to Pole Positon in Miami

Max Verstappen will have the Ferraris for company as he lines up on pole position for the Miami Grand Prix, securing the coveted position for a seventh time in a row with a 1:27.241s lap.

Qualifying 1:

Anticipating the green light to start the Grand Prix Qualifying session, almost every driver found themselves queuing in the pitlane minutes before it had even commenced.

The cars eventually filed out of the outline, setting off to begin their individual qualifying campaigns.

Before he had left the pitlane, Ricciardo found himself already involved in a moment with Zhou Guanyu.

Ricciardo, who carries a three-place grid penalty acquired in China, was forced to let the pushy Sauber driver into the queue, saying that he had to let Zhou in to avoid a crash.

Zhou was noted for the pitlane infringement.

As the first flying lap times began rolling in, it was a Ferrari 1-2, with Carlos Sainz leading the way with the early benchmark of 1:28.159s, 24 milliseconds ahead of Charles Leclerc.

Sergio Perez slotted in behind Leclerc, just as he had done in the earlier Sprint, sitting a tenth away from Sainz’s time.

Verstappen was one of the last drivers to set a time, shooting to the top of the order despite reporting a strange noise from his clutch as he exited the pit lane.

The new benchmark was improved to a 1:28.023s.

At the halfway point of Q1, Lewis Hamilton found himself at risk in P15.

To fix that, Hamilton completed a clean lap that rewarded him with a safe P3, splitting his future team.

Lando Norris, running an extensive upgrade package that couldn’t shine in the Sprint due to a first-lap incident, drifted into the elimination zone before taking inspiration from Hamilton and also shooting up into P3.

Lewis Hamilton during Qualifying at the Miami GP. Image: Zak Mauger / LAT Images.

As a full fell over the pitlane, drivers within the elimination zone were Logan Sargeant, Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen, Zhou and Alex Albon.

At-risk were both RBs with Tsunoda and Ricciardo, fresh off a double points finish in the Sprint, sitting in P14 and P15.

Turn 17 seemed to be the place for impeding, with Sargeant’s lap being impacted by an oddly-parked Tsunoda, and Leclerc condemning a Williams for the same reason.

With 3 minutes remaining, the drivers formed yet another queue in the pitlane, sorting out their intervals in a slow pit exit process. 

Sargeant temporarily promoted himself out of the elimination zone, however, it was his teammate who truly put a distance between himself and a Q1 exit in P9.

As a result, the home racer was knocked out in P17 while Albon advanced.

Ricciardo couldn’t improve, qualifying in P18, however, having to accept plum last due to his three-place penalty.

Valtteri Bottas’ final lap was just one hundredth slower than Fernando Alonso’s time in P15, seeing the Fin knocked out in Q1, accompanied by his teammate. 

Additionally, Zhou was noted again for crossing the pit exit line, a second potential infringement.

Kevin Magnussen was the last remaining driver to be knocked out, setting the second-slowest time of the session.

Qualifying 2:

Differing from the hustle at the start of Q1, the pitlane was empty as the light went green for Q2.

Just moments later, almost every driver rushed into the pitlane, sticking to their usual antics as they filed out on track.

Interestingly, the Ferrari drivers traded places in the pit exit, with Sainz relinquishing the lead position to his teammate. 

Verstappen was one of the first drivers to begin a flying lap, setting temporary purple sectors before the McLaren duo chased him down for those records.

As they crossed the line, Piastri claimed the top time of the session as Norris settled into P2.

Oscar Piastri during Qualifying at the Miami GP. Image: Zak Mauger / LAT Images.

Their time at the top was short-lived, with Leclerc beating the 23-year-old’s time by almost two-tenths, with Sainz in P4 making it a Ferrari sandwich for the papaya cars.

Double-waved yellow flags were used at Turn 17 after Albon was forced to brake to avoid a run-in with the wall. He was able to get going again, sitting at the bottom of the elimination zone as he returned to the pitlane.

The rest of the grid joined the Williams driver in their garages, as Ocon, Hamilton, Stroll and Alonso also found themselves in the elimination zone.

With three minutes remaining, the cars returned to the Miami International Autodrome for one last attempt at a place in the top-ten shootout.

The Aston Martins’ attempts were subpar, with both drivers drifting to a Q2 exit.

Gasly and Ocon also couldn’t improve on their times, seeing Alpine set to occupy P12 and P13.

Albon was also unable to pull off a miracle, only managing to demote one driver as he crossed the line from the back of the pack.

The Thai driver will start in P14, with Alonso in his mirrors.

Leclerc topped the session with a time of 1:27:533s, leading over Verstappen and Hamilton.

Qualifying 3:

The very second the light switched to green, Hulkenberg sprinted out of his well-positioned garage to leave the pitlane.

In the distance, Hamilton and Russell trailed the Haas driver, with the rest of the remaining drivers following suit.

Hamilton secured a temporary fastest first sector, however, that was stolen by Verstappen, and then Leclerc.

As the Mercedes duo crossed the line, Russell was five-tenths quicker than his teammate who was visibly fighting the car for grip.

Despite this, Perez was able to outdo the #63 by three-tenths before his time also became unimpressive.

Sergio Perez during Qualifying at the Miami GP. Image: Zak Mauger / LAT Images.

Verstappen jumped to the top of the order with a time of 1:27.241s, over a tenth ahead of Leclerc who slotted into P2.

Lando Norris was the only driver running mediums in Q3, making the switch to the red-marked compound after his first run left him down in P6.

As for Piastri, the Australian was sitting with a provisional second-row start in P4, four-tenths back on Verstappen’s provisional pole time.

Hulkenberg was impeded by Sainz at Turn 17, just as Sargeant was by Tsunoda, however, the incident required no further investigation.

The grid momentarily returned to their garages before filing out one last time with three minutes on the clock.

Notably, the Mercedes drivers emerged from the pitlane on the medium compound, taking an interesting risk for their final runs.

It was a blitzing first sector from Verstappen, as Leclerc and Sainz failed to improve in the opening corners of the lap.

Verstappen’s time also dropped off, with the #1 not improving on his fastest time.

There was no concern from the Red Bull garage, however, with all drivers behind also failing to improve. 

As a result, Max Verstappen’s time of 1:27.241s secured the Dutchman his 7th pole position in a row for tomorrow morning’s Miami Grand Prix.

Pole position qualifier Max Verstappen climbs from his car in parc ferme after Qualifying in Miami. Image: Mark Thompson/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

Charles Leclerc will line up alongside the reigning world champion, just as he did in the Sprint today, with the Ferrari driver most certainly hoping to pose more of a threat in 24 hours’ time.

Carlos Sainz secured the third fastest time of the session, sitting 73 milliseconds back on his teammate, as he shares Row 2 with Sergio Perez.

McLaren locked out the third row, with Norris marginally outpacing Piastri who claims his third Row 3 start in a row.

The Mercedes drivers will also share a row after failing to drastically improve on the medium compound tyre.

They will slot in behind McLaren in P7 and P8, with Hulkenberg and Tsunoda rounding out the top ten.

The Miami Grand Prix will kick off at 6:00 AM, Monday morning, AEST.

Miami Grand Prix Qualifying results:

2024 Miami Grand Prix schedule 

Saturday, May 4

Practice 1: 02.30-03.30

Sprint Shootout: 06.30-07.14

Sunday, May 5

Sprint: 02.00-03.00

Qualifying: 06.00-07.00

Monday, May 5

Grand Prix: 06.00

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