In the opening Miami Grand Prix qualifying round Charles Leklerk took the pole position in a fantastic battle for the pole, with his title rival Max Verstappen finishing third on the stage – while Carlos Science backed Ferrari one-two.
Leklerk won the first two qualifying sessions, but Verstappen finished with a grand stand in the first 10 shootouts. The Q3 saw the reigning champion take the temporary pole, but Leklerk hid him in the final pole of 1m 28.796s, with Science finishing second in 0.190 seconds.
It happened: all the steps from qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix
Verstappen erred in his final flying lap and eventually finished third, 0.005 seconds behind, with Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez taking the P4.
A new Ferrari power unit in his Alfa Romeo was presented with the Valteri Potos, P5 – sixth only to Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who had to go to the finals in Q1 to avoid elimination.
|
1 Charles Leklerk LEC Ferrari |
1: 28.796 |
|
2 Carlos Science சாய் Ferrari |
1: 28.986 |
|
3 Max Verstappen VER Red Bull Racing |
1: 28.991 |
|
4 Sergio Perez PER Red Bull Racing |
1: 29.036 |
|
5 Voltaire Potassium BOT Alfa Romeo |
1: 29.475 |
Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda both qualified for the AlphaTauri in Q3, the Frenchman seventh and the Japanese driver ninth. Among them was Lando Norris, who finished eighth in the qualifiers, despite going to P3 in Q2. Lance Stroll took the top 10 spot for Aston Martin.
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso missed P11 at Q3, Mercedes’ Jorge Russell – handled tough bourgeoisie in Q2 – while Sebastian Vettel was disappointed to get P13 for Aston Martin. Daniel Ricciardo’s gear shift problems put him 14th on stage for McLaren, while Mick Schumacher finished last in Q2, finishing P15 on Saturday.
His Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen (P16) lost one-tenth in Q2, and Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu compromised with traffic congestion in his final flight to pick up the P17. Williams driver did not leave Q1, Alex Alban P18 and Nicholas Latifi finished 19th.
Esteban Ocon did not participate in qualifying after his FP3 crash and is likely to start the Grand Prix from Pit Lane on Sunday.
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2022 Miami GB Qualification: Leklerk holds pole position as Ferrari seal front row lockout
It happened
Q1 – Leclerc strikes first while Hamilton avoids shock elimination
There are still a lot of plays in Miami after three action training sessions. No Esteban Ocon Since qualifying after his FP3 crash – that is, 19 drivers will take part in the first Miami Grand Prix qualifying session.
Verstappen set the starting benchmark in Q1, but as times fell, Charles Leklerk took first place in 1m 29.474 seconds, while the Red Bull driver then advanced to second place in 0.362 seconds. Carlos Sains was third and sixth in the team, while Perez was fourth and two tenths behind.
Lewis Hamilton gave up his first attempt, after which the lap track limits were removed, stopping the Mercedes driver in the drop zone. But he jumped from P18 to P5 on his last attempt, with Fernando Alonso of the Alpine joining him in Q2 with a late flyer for P6.
Lance Stroll finished seventh for Aston Martin, fast behind Yuki Sunoda by half-ten, while Mercedes’ George Russell (P9) and McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo finished in the top 10.
Mick Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly, along with 15th-ranked Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas, were knocked out of Q1 by Finn at the loss of Haasin Kevin Magnussen.
With Magnussen, Alfa Romeo’s frustrated rookie Zhou Guanyu – omitted from his final attempt due to traffic – was eliminated along with Williams drivers Alex Albon (P18 due to adequate tire warm-up) and Nicholas Latifi (P19).
Knockout: Magnussen, Chow, Alban, Latifi
Q2 – Leclerc accumulates under pressure when midfield melee erupts
Fifteen drivers were left, and Ferrari advanced equally with edge grip and tension on the Red Bull. Both Ferraris came out in used softs; Two Red Bulls in new software to start the session. On the first voyages Verstappen finished first in 1m 29.202 seconds and Perez finished second in 0.471 seconds, while Ferraris was third and fourth, one-tenth behind.
In the temporary drop zone were Stroll, Schumacher, Vettel, Ricciardo and Russell, who retreated from two attempts. With six minutes left, Russell was on P15 with no time on board; Ricciardo was 14th due to a gear shift problem in his lap.
Further runs should see the back shuffle, with Scuderia going back up to Leclerc in 1m 29.130 seconds, with Verstappen now 0.072 seconds behind. Norris jumped to P3 with a delayed flyer, dropping 0.504s off speed, dropping Perez to P4 and Science to P5.
In the P8, Bottas climbed to sixth place behind former teammate Hamilton when he received a solid stroll Q3 for the first time since Turkish GP. AlphaTauri pair Tsunoda (P9) and Gasly (P10) also advanced to Q3.
That means Alonso (who felt he was blocked by his teammate Carlos Sains) missed just 0.032 seconds – and Russell finished the B12 in the middle of a tough bourgeoisie, championing another 0.013 seconds. Although the cut progressed, he was just four hundred yards out in the P13 because he made a mistake in the chicken. Ricciardo was only able to manage the P14, coming out late on the path to his final run, while Schumacher took the top 15 for Haas.
Knockout: Alonso, Russell, Vettel, Ricciardo, Shoemaker
Q3 – Verstappen and Lecklerk clash head-on and enter the field of science
The final 10 teams consisted of seven teams, with only Haas, Williams and Alpine missing out on Q3. As Verstappen approached Leklerk, it seemed that he would lose the polar position of the championship leader.
However on first attempts Verstappen made a break for B1 in 1m 28.991 seconds, with Leclerc just 0.064 seconds behind and Chains trailing by 0.080 seconds in the fight for the temporary pole. Perez’s first attempt put him half a second behind in the P4.
There was tension in Q3’s final flying lap, with Perez passing Verstopane as the Red Bull pair prepared. Verstappen was now in the driver’s seat for the pole.
Leklerk improved on Sector 1, setting up a second sector in purple but failing to advance in his third division. However, as the frustrated Verstappen withdrew from his final attempt, it was enough for 1m 28.796V and polar position.
The Spaniard, who advanced to second place, refused to start the line-up ahead of Verstappen, who got a Ferrari one-two in Miami, who was pushed to third place behind the Dutchman Perez.
Botas finished in the top five over Hamilton, while Cosley finished in seventh. And despite his Q2 heroics, Norris settled on the P8. Tsunoda (P9) and Stroll will start in the top 10 at the opening Miami Grand Prix.
Important quote
“Being in the United States and seeing how much the game has grown over the last few years and seeing so many on the Grandstand is incredible. It definitely inspires us and has a lot of Ferrari fans. Is amazing. So last weekend was not going well for me, I made a mistake in the race but today went well, so we start on the pole and have to finish work tomorrow.
“[Red Bull] We’re very fast in a straight line, we’ve fast in the corners, it’s going to be a tough challenge tomorrow, and we’re hoping to get ahead “- Charles Leklerk, Ferrari
What’s next?
The first Miami Grand Prix takes place on Sunday 1530 local time, with Leclerc leading Team Made Science ahead of Verstappen and Perez. Don’t miss it – go head to head Race Hub See how you can take all the action – and stay tuned to F1.com throughout.
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