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Red Bull driver Sergio Pérez nabs pole in a thrilling qualifying session at the Miami Grand Prix
A wobble from Max Verstappen and a slide off the track from Charles Leclerc during the third qualifying session opened the door, and Sergio Pérez barged through, finishing on pole for Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix.
Verstappen was fastest through the first two qualifying sessions, and went out early in Q3 to avoid traffic and try and lay down the marker for the field. But a wobble through Turns 7 and 8 forced him to abandon the lap.
The Red Bull driver still had time to put together a strong run, but that time ran out when Leclerc had an issue of his own in Turn 7, sliding off the track and into the barrier with just under two minutes left in Q3.
The red flag came out, and Verstappen was left outside of the front row and having not posted a time, back in ninth for the Grand Prix.
Instead it was his teammate Pérez who grabbed pole position, posting a time of 1:26.841.
Joining Pérez on the front row? Fernando Alonso. The Aston Martin driver finished in second, and it marks the first time he started in the Top-5 in a race in the United States since the 2007 United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis.
There were a lot of stunners throughout the field, and in all three qualifying sessions.
Here is the order for Sunday’s Grand Prix:
A clustered field in Q1
To get a sense of how clustered the field was during Q1 Lando Norris finished just over one second off the pace set by Verstappen.
He placed 16th, dropping him out ahead of Q2.
The field was rather clustered in the first qualifying session, as you can see from these results:
For example, Norris was knocked out by just 0.069, with Nyck de Vries inching. Logan Sargeant, running in his home race, was only 1.214 off the pace, but placed in P20.
Could this set the stage for a rather exciting Miami Grand Prix? Time will tell.
McLaren endures a tough Q1
McLaren was hopeful that the recent upgrades to the MCL60 would put the team in contention here in Miami, but the opposite seems to be the case. Both Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri found themselves on the outside looking in when it came time for Q2.
The result marked the first time both McLarens were knocked out in Q1 since Interlagos in 2018.
Trouble for Mercedes?
After looking strong in the first practice session Friday, Mercedes was dealt a stern walke-up call during Q2 on Saturday. George Russell just eked out a spot in Q3, coming across the line in P10.
His teammate, however, would not be joining him.
Lewis Hamilton failed to advance to Q3, coming across the line in 13th position during Q2. As he finished the second session, Hamilton expressed some frustration regarding the amount of traffic on the track.
Is this cause for concern for the team heading into Sunday, or just a function of the traffic that was on the grid during Q2?
Thankfully for the team, Russell managed to advance into Q3, and will start sixth.
Kevin Magnussen with a massive performance
This weekend marks the first of three home races for Haas, as the one American team in the field.
The weekend got off to a tremendous start with both Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg advancing into Q2. Hülkenberg failed to move on to Q3, as for the first time this season Magnussen got the better of his teammate.
And what an effort it was, as Magnussen posted the fourth-fastest lap in Q3. With both Leclerc and Verstappen looking to catch the field late in the session, it was nervous times in the garage for Guenther Steiner and company along the Haas pit wall. But when the red flag flew, it came with Magnussen still in P4, a massive result for the team.
Redemption on the horizon for Alpine?
As noted earlier in the week, Alpine is coming off a pair of disastrous weekends. Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly crashed into each other late in the Australian Grand Prix, knocking the duo both out of the race, and out of the points, in Melbourne.
Then Alpine came away with nothing to show for their efforts in Baku, as Gasly and Ocon both finished out of the points in last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Those tough two races saw McLaren leapfrog Alpine for fifth in the Constructors’ Standings, putting the Alpine duo in the spotlight as the circuit descended upon Miami.
But strong runs from both Ocon and Gasly on Saturday in Q3 — coupled with the slipups from Verstappen, Leclerc, and other drivers in the field — opened the door for Alpine. Gasly will start Sunday in the third row, in P5, while Ocon will start in the row behind him, in P8.
Given what happened with McLaren, that gives the team a strong chance to move ahead of McLaren in the Constructors’ Standings on Sunday.
