Miami Grand Prix – Qualifying: Perez in pole position, Verstappen 9th

Inaugurated in 2022, it was Charles Leclerc who had secured the pole position in the first edition of the Miami Grand Prix. Who was to follow the Monegasque in 2023?

Q1:

Since Free Practice 2, the silver stars had a pale complexion. The poor pace of the Mercedes was evident from the first attempts of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in Q1. After each driver completed a lap, the two Britons were in 18th and 20th position. It was far from an idyllic start to the session for the seven-time world champion, who was forced to touch the wall at turn 17 to avoid Kevin Magnussen’s Haas. With only 3 minutes remaining in the session, the two Mercedes drivers were on the verge of being eliminated in Q1. Ultimately, the drivers with numbers 44 and 63 managed to secure the keys to the Q2 door.

With a time of 1’27’363, Max Verstappen was the only driver on the grid not to make another attempt in Q1. With a lead of 3 tenths over his closest pursuer, the Dutchman seems unbeatable on the Miami circuit. Less confidence on the other side of the Red Bull garage. Indeed, Sergio Perez went out with a new set of tires but ultimately did not set his time as he saw that his passage to Q2 was secured.

For the first time this season, Lance Stroll didn’t make it to Q3 and was eliminated in 17th position. It was a shock for Aston Martin, which was not particularly competitive during this qualifying session. Even the brilliant Fernando Alonso, who has been outstanding since the beginning of the season, couldn’t lift this car above the 12th position.

Big disappointment also for Logan Sargeant who wanted to shine at home but finished this qualifying session as the last on the grid. Nyck de Vries was the only rookie on the grid to make it to the second part of qualifying. This is the first time this season that the Dutchman has beaten his teammate in this exercise. A performance that should give confidence to the AlphaTauri driver who is currently last in the driver’s championship.

Impressive performance from both Haas and Alpine, who managed to get both of their cars into the Top 10.

Eliminated list: Logan Sargeant (20th), Oscar Piastri (19th), Lance Stroll (18th), Yuki Tsunoda (17th), and Lando Norris (16th).

Q2:

After a particularly difficult Grand Prix in Baku for Carlos Sainz, where he finished the race over 20 seconds behind his teammate, the Spanish driver needed to make up for it in Miami. The Madrid native displayed a high level of performance at the beginning of Q2, setting a time only 38 milliseconds slower than his former teammate, Max Verstappen. Charles Leclerc confirmed Ferrari’s status as a party-pooper by setting the fastest time of the session on his final attempt. With a lap time of 1’26’964, the Monegasque driver was the first to go below the 1’27 mark. The joy was short-lived for the reds as they were beaten by Max Verstappen on his last attempt. The Dutchman set the fastest time of the session with a 1’26’814.

Fernando Alonso corrected his course in Q2 by setting the 3rd fastest time. It was a much less encouraging session for Lewis Hamilton, another world champion on the grid. While his teammate George Russell secured a place in the Top 10, Hamilton couldn’t replicate the good form of his garage neighbor and was eliminated in 13th position. A disappointing but not surprising result considering the British driver’s complaints, since the beginning of the weekend, about the behavior of his W13.

performance sur le circuit.

List of eliminated: Nyck de Vries (15th), Zhou Guanyu (14th), Lewis Hamilton (13th), Nico Hülkenberg (12th), and Alexander Albon (11th).

Q3:

The grid’s top dogs experienced unsuccessful initial attempts at the start of this final qualifying session. Pushing his Red Bull to the limit, Max Verstappen was unable to maintain control of his car on several occasions between the start of the lap and the 7th turn. These numerous slides forced the Dutchman to abandon his lap. It was at the end of his attempt that Charles Leclerc decided to ease off. Carrying too much speed into the 17th turn, the Monegasque had immense difficulty slowing down his Ferrari and was forced to go off track. These setbacks allowed Sergio Perez to take temporary pole position.

For the second time in two consecutive weekends, Charles Leclerc pushed too hard and ended up kissing the wall at the end of the session. This time, his spin was caused by excessive speed and the Ferrari bearing the number 16 crashed into the barriers between turns 7 and 8. This incident triggered a red flag, thus granting Perez the third pole position of his career.

Fernando Alonso could rejoice in starting the race in second position. The second row was occupied by Carlos Sainz and Kevin Magnussen. Pierre Gasly will start 5th, 3 positions ahead of his teammate Esteban Ocon. George Russell and Charles Leclerc separate the two Alpines on the grid.

In the end, the one who pays the highest price for Charles Leclerc’s mistake is Max Verstappen, who will start the race in 9th position after missing his first attempt.

Qualifications Table: