Verstappen locked in pole position. The Red Bull driver will start ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Qualifying Round 1
The excitement soared in Miami with the first qualifying session Q1. Sergio Perez wasted no time in setting the early pace with a swift lap time of 1m27.772s, only to be outpaced by his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen, who delivered a stellar performance to claim the top spot with a time of 1m27.689s. However, the session proved to be unforgiving for several drivers who fell short at the first hurdle. Valtteri Bottas of Sauber, Logan Sargeant of Williams, and Zhou Guanyu of Sauber were among those who faced disappointment as they failed to progress to the next stage of qualifying. Adding to the drama was Daniel Ricciardo of VCARB, hailed as the sprint race hero. The Australian will start from the back of the grid due to a three-place penalty for a safety car infringement in China. Kevin Magnussen of Haas also found himself on the sidelines.
Qualifying Round 2
The intensity continued during the second qualifying session. Drivers battled against the clock to secure their spots in the top-10 shootout. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set an early benchmark with a lap time of 1m27.533s, edging out Max Verstappen by a mere 0.033s. However, the session saw a shake-up as Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes surged to P3 on his second flying lap. As the clock ticked down, disappointment fell on several drivers as they failed to advance to Q3. Aston Martin teammates Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon of Alpine, along with Alex Albon of Williams found themselves knocked out at this crucial stage
Qualifying Round 3
The tension reached its peak in the final qualifying session Q3 of the 2024 F1 Miami Grand Prix. Verstappen wasted no time, setting the initial pace with a lap time of 1m27.241s. The Dutchman’s performance put him 0.141s ahead of his closest rival, Charles Leclerc, with Carlos Sainz trailing closely behind in third. However, as the session progressed, Verstappen’s pace faltered slightly on his final run, allowing Leclerc to close the gap, albeit still half a second off his previous time. Meanwhile, Sergio Perez improved his position to fourth, ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. George Russell ended his session with a seventh-place start for Mercedes. Closely behind was teammate Lewis Hamilton, who couldn’t replicate his Q2 form. Nico Hulkenberg of Haas and Yuki Tsunoda of Red Bull round off the top ten.
Although Verstappen was safe on pole with the fastest lap time, he was not satisfied with his pace. After time was up, he said this over team radio:
“But what happened to the others? Mate, this was terrible. – I mean I’ll take it. But… yeah.”
Genuine concern or humble bragging?
Pleasant Performances
Good on Tsunoda who improved massively from what he experienced in China qualifying. The VCARB hot shot will surely be looking for a bounce back and to bring in extra points from the main race. Also, Hulkenberg of Hass showed he can continue to keep his car competitive as he claimed a spot in the top ten. His race will have to focus on keeping him in range for points.
The final results of qualifying can be found here.
Now that the sun has set on qualifying, there is only one event left this weekend. Let’s look forward to an exhilarating race day tomorrow in Miami.
