Max Verstappen secured pole for the Miami Grand Prix with a commanding lap for Red Bull in Florida. He beat the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz into second and third at the Miami International Autodrome by about a tenth of a second, having already taken victory in the sprint race earlier on Saturday.
Lewis Hamilton continued to struggle for Mercedes, managing only eighth place with his teammate, George Russell, in seventh. Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez was fourth and McLaren’s Lando Norris was fifth.
Verstappen had not enjoyed the grip and balance he had been looking for early in the weekend but appeared to have successfully adjusted the car’s set-up after the sprint race. He looked once more comfortably in control, suggesting he will be in excellent shape for the race.
On the first hot laps in Q3, Hamilton, who still looked to be struggling for balance as he had in the sprint, opened the session with a strong run but was swiftly eclipsed by Russell, only for Verstappen to throw down the gauntlet with a 1 min 27.241second lap – over a tenth up on Leclerc.
The Monegasque driver was nonetheless close enough to make a fight of it for the final runs. Verstappen led the way, quickest in the first sector, with Leclerc almost matching him for time. Verstappen could not improve over the rest of the lap but then neither could Leclerc, with the Dutchman maintaining his grip on the single-lap discipline this season.
The pole, Verstappen’s sixth in a row, ensures he remains unbeaten in qualifying this season. But this is the first time he has taken the top spot in Miami, a race he has won on both the previous occasions it has been held, including last year when he took victory after coming back from ninth on the grid.
Source – Max Verstappen storms to Miami GP pole after earlier sprint success | Formula One | The Guardian
