Sunny. Dry. Air +29…28С, route +47…42С
Qualifying is the most important session of the weekend in Miami. Overtaking was difficult in the debut Grand Prix last season and in 2023 the DRS zones were shortened, new smooth tarmac was laid – leaving the track almost certainly led to a departure. It was necessary to pass the attempt not only quickly, but also accurately.
On Friday both sessions were interrupted by red flags, experienced Hulkenberg and Leclerc crashed the cars and Verstappen set the best time with a new track record, which he also improved on Saturday morning. In practice, Max had no equal, having gained a great advantage over his rivals – everyone was waiting for confirmation of this advantage in qualifying.
Pirelli brought to the stage the “middle” trio of compositions – C2, C3 and C4 in the role of Hard, Medium and Soft. The softest tires overheated and gritted in hot weather, but provided a noticeable speed advantage and became the teams natural choice in qualifying.
In the first session, everyone went to Soft, working in a series of circles, gradually bringing the rubber into work mode. Many suffered from traffic. Hamilton hit the barrier, avoided contact with the unexpectedly stopped Magnussen, and returned to the pits to check on the car. Sainz interfered with Zhou in a fast lap.
Verstappen showed the best time with a lap time of 1:27.363. Norris, Tsunoda, Stroll, Piastri and Sargent fell from further battle.
In the second session everyone chose Soft again. On the first attempt, Verstappen set a new benchmark – 1:27.110, which no one could argue with, although Sainz came very close, losing only four hundredths.
At the second attempt, Leclerc took the lead in 1:26.964, but Verstappen was faster in 1:26.814. The first ten passes in one second. Albon, Hulkenberg, Hamilton, Zhou and de Vries failed to qualify for the final.
In the final, Perez started the session with 1:26.841, while Verstappen made a mistake on a fast lap and returned to the pits. Leclerc made a mistake in turn 17, ruining the attempt.
The drivers were out for a second attempt when Leclerc crashed the car after a U-turn at turn seven. The session was stopped with red flags and decided not to continue.
Sergio Perez won the Miami qualifier with his third pole of his career and second of the season. In the race, Perez and Alonso will start from the front row, Sainz and Magnussen from the second, Gasly and Russell from the third row.
Qualifying results
| Pilot | Team | 1 session | 2 session | 3 session | ||||||
| m | Time | kr | m | Time | kr | m | Time | kr | ||
| 1. C. Perez | Red Bull | 3 | 1:27,713 | 8 | 5 | 1:27,328 | 8 | 1 | 1:26,841 | 4 |
| 2. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 12 | 1:28.179 | 8 | 3 | 1:27.097 | 6 | 2 | 1:27.202 | 5 |
| 3. K. Sainz | Ferrari | 2 | 1:27,686 | 8 | 4 | 1:27,148 | 5 | 3 | 1:27,349 | 5 |
| 4. K. Magnussen | hare | 5 | 1:27,809 | 9 | 9 | 1:27,673 | 6 | 4 | 1:27,767 | 4 |
| 5.P Gasly | Alps | 10 | 1:28.061 | 9 | 8 | 1:27,612 | 6 | 5 | 1:27,786 | 5 |
| 6.D Russell | Mercedes | eleven | 1:28.086 | 9 | 10 | 1:27,743 | 6 | 6 | 1:27,804 | 5 |
| 7. Sch. Leclerc | Ferrari | 4 | 1:27,713 | 8 | 2 | 1:26,964 | 6 | 7 | 1:27,861 | 5 |
| 8. E. Okon | Alps | 8 | 1:27,872 | 9 | 6 | 1:27,444 | 6 | 8 | 1:27,935 | 5 |
| 9. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1 | 1:27,363 | 6 | 1 | 1:26,814 | 6 | 9 | – | 3 |
| 10. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 7 | 1:27,864 | 10 | 7 | 1:27,564 | 4 | 10 | – | 1 |
| 11. A. Albon | Willems | 14 | 1:28,234 | 9 | eleven | 1:27,795 | 6 | |||
| 12. N. Hulkenberg | hare | 9 | 1:27,945 | 10 | 12 | 1:27,903 | 5 | |||
| 13. L Hamilton | Mercedes | 6 | 1:27,846 | 9 | 13 | 1:27,975 | 6 | |||
| 14. G Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 13 | 1:28.180 | 10 | 14 | 1:28.091 | 7 | |||
| 15.N. deVries | AlphaTauri | 15 | 1:28.325 | 10 | 15 | 1:28,395 | 6 | |||
| 16. L. Norris | McLaren | 16 | 1:28,394 | 8 | ||||||
| 17. Y. Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 17 | 1:28,429 | 10 | ||||||
| 18. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 18 | 1:28,476 | 8 | ||||||
| 19. O. Piastri | McLaren | 19 | 1:28,474 | 9 | ||||||
| 20. L. Sargent | Willems | 20 | 1:28,577 | 10 | ||||||
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
