Sunny. Dry. Air +33С, track +53…49С
On urban routes, qualification is always of particular importance. During training, the new job in Miami showed its character. Narrow, with smooth tarmac outside the track – the slightest mistake was enough to send the car against the wall. All three practices were interrupted by red flags, three experienced riders – Bottas, Sainz and Okon – seriously crashed the cars.
Esteban had an accident on Saturday afternoon and crashed into a wall at Turn 14, where there are no protective TecPro barriers, during the third practice session – the same place where Sainz crashed the car on Friday. The rider was not injured, but the chassis creaked. He did not participate in qualifying and Alpine will fit a car for him on a different chassis for the race.
Leclerc and Russell took the lead on Friday and Perez took the lead on Saturday afternoon. The results were solid. During qualifying it was important to drive the circle clean and fast and avoid the traffic. Not everyone succeeded.
In the first session, almost everyone was interrupted by traffic at some point. The riders alternated between fast and slow laps to keep the tires in optimal condition.
The session went smoothly. Alonso, in turn 16, hit the guardrail with his right rear wheel without affecting the car.
At the end of the session, the riders crowded into the last corner to secure a clear spot for them – and not everyone had time to start a fast lap. Leclerc led the protocol with a lap time of 1:29.474.
Magnussen, Zhou, Albon, Latifi and Okon, who did not leave the pits, dropped out of the further fight. Magnussen’s radio didn’t work, he got no traffic information from the driver.
In the second session, already in the first fast lap, Verstappen set a new benchmark – 1:29.202.
Russell aborted the attempt due to the build-up, returned to the pits, then left again and aborted the attempt for the same reason. Zhou hit the wall with the right rear wheel – without consequence.
The protocol was led by Charles Leclerc with a lap time of 1:29.130. Alonso, Russell, Vettel, Riccardo and Schumacher dropped out of the further battle.
In the final, on the first attempt, Leclerc set the lap in 1:29.055, but Verstappen was faster – 1:28.991. The first three: Verstappen – Leclerc – Sainz were eight hundredths apart, the rest lost more than half a second.
In the second attempt, the riders managed only one fast lap. Max lost in the first sector and was unable to improve, but the Ferrari drivers improved. Charles completed the lap in 1:28.796 and set a new track record in Miami.
Charles Leclerc won the Miami qualifier with his third pole of the season and 12th of his career. Carlos Sainz showed the second time – the 81st time in history and the first time since Mexico’19 that the entire front row went to Ferrari.
The entire second row at Red Bull Racing is for Verstappen and Perez, the third for Bottas and Hamilton.
The race must be interesting!
Qualification Results
| pilot | Team | 1 session | 2 session | 3 session | ||||||
| m | Time | cr | m | Time | cr | m | Time | cr | ||
| 1. Sh.Lecler | Ferrari | a | 1:29.474 | nine | a | 1:29.130 | nine | a | 1:28.796 | 7 |
| 2. K. Sainz | Ferrari | 4 | 1:30.079 | ten | 5 | 1:29.729 | nine | 2 | 1:28.986 | 7 |
| 3. Mr Verstappen | Red Bull | 2 | 1:29.836 | eight | 2 | 1:29.202 | 3 | 3 | 1:28.991 | 7 |
| 4. C.Perez | Red Bull | 3 | 1:30.055 | nine | 4 | 1:29.673 | 6 | 4 | 1:29.036 | 6 |
| 5. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | fifteen | 1:30.865 | 6 | 6 | 1:29.751 | eight | 5 | 1:29.475 | 6 |
| 6. L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 5 | 1:30,388 | nine | 7 | 1:29.797 | 6 | 6 | 1:29.625 | 6 |
| 7. P. Gasly | AlphaTauri | fourteen | 1:30.779 | ten | ten | 1:30.128 | 6 | 7 | 1:29.690 | 6 |
| 8. L. Norris | McLaren | thirteen | 1:30.761 | nine | 3 | 1:29.634 | 7 | eight | 1:29.750 | 6 |
| 9. Y. Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | eight | 1:30.485 | nine | nine | 1:30.031 | 6 | nine | 1:29.932 | 6 |
| 10. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 7 | 1:30.441 | nine | eight | 1:29.996 | 6 | ten | 1:30.676 | 6 |
| 11. F. Alonso | alpine | 6 | 1:30,407 | eight | elf | 1:30.160 | 6 | |||
| 12. D. Russell | Mercedes | nine | 1:30,490 | eight | 12 | 1:30.173 | 7 | |||
| 13. S. Vettel | Aston Martin | 12 | 1:30.677 | nine | thirteen | 1:30.214 | 6 | |||
| 14. D. Riccardo | McLaren | ten | 1:30.583 | eight | fourteen | 1:30.310 | 7 | |||
| 15. M. Schumacher | hare | elf | 1:30.645 | elf | fifteen | 1:30.423 | eight | |||
| 16. K. Magnussen | hare | sixteen | 1:30,975 | elf | ||||||
| 17. G. Zhou’ | Alfa Romeo | 17 | 1:31.020 | nine | ||||||
| 18. A. Albon | Williams | eighteen | 1:31.266 | ten | ||||||
| 19. N. Latifi | Williams | nineteen | 1:31.325 | ten | ||||||
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
