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 the 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.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24 (Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images)

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.

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 out-laps, 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.

F1 Miami Grand Prix - Qualifying results

Main Information Additional Data Driver Info Driver Info

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Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	18	1'27.241		223.326
2	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	21	+0.141 1'27.382	0.141	222.965
3	C. Sainz Ferrari	55		Ferrari	Ferrari	21	+0.214 1'27.455	0.073	222.779
4	S. Perez Red Bull Racing	11		Red Bull	Red Bull	18	+0.219 1'27.460	0.005	222.766
5	L. Norris McLaren	4		McLaren	Mercedes	21	+0.353 1'27.594	0.134	222.426
6	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	19	+0.434 1'27.675	0.081	222.220
7	G. Russell Mercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	21	+0.826 1'28.067	0.392	221.231
8	L. Hamilton Mercedes	44		Mercedes	Mercedes	21	+0.866 1'28.107	0.040	221.131
9	N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team	27		Haas	Ferrari	21	+0.905 1'28.146	0.039	221.033
10	Y. Tsunoda RB	22		RB	Red Bull	21	+0.951 1'28.192	0.046	220.917
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