#MiamiGP Qualifying: @SChecoPerez claims pole as @CharlesLeclerc crashes. #F1

Perez Miami GP Pole – Red Bull’s Sergio Perez claimed pole position in qualifying at the Miami GP ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso who was second and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz who completed the top three as Q3 ended prematurely in a red flag after Charles Leclerc suffered a shunt from losing the rear of his SF-23 racer at turn six.

In Q3, Perez held the initial pole position lap time going purple in all three sectors with a 1:26.841 and ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso who was 0.361 seconds off in second after setting his flying lap on a scrub set of softs and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz a further 0.508 seconds in third.

Verstappen had to abandon his initial hot-lap after a couple of scary moments in sector one, whilst Leclerc also had to abort his flyer after suffering a lock-up into turn 17.

Perez’s 1:26.841 remained as the pole position lap-time after the aforementioned crash from Leclerc brought out the red flag with 1 minute and 36 left on the clock meaning all drivers could not set their final flyers.

Replays showed Leclerc took too much kerb and combined with the windy conditions at the Miami International Autodrome contrived to send his SF-23 racer spinning out at a high-speed and into the turn six barriers rear first.

Alonso will therefore start in second place behind the pole-sitting Mexican with Sainz taking third.

Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen qualified in an impressive fourth and in-front of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly who was fifth and Mercedes’ George Russell who was sixth.

The aforementioned Leclerc takes seventh after posting a 1:27.861 on his initial flyer despite his lock-up at turn 17 and ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon who qualifies eighth.

Championship leader Max Verstappen and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas were ninth and tenth respectively after both were unable to register a lap-time due to Leclerc’s crash and red flag.

In the second qualifying stage, which was topped by Verstappen on a 1:26.814, Williams Racing’s Alexander Albon ended up outside the top ten by 0.052 seconds and starts 11^th on the grid ahead of Haas F1 Team Nico Hulkenberg who took 12^th and Mercedes’ Sir Lewis Hamilton who was the shock eliminatee in 13^th.

Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries were the slowest of the Q2 runners in 14^th and 15^th respectively.

In the opening segment, which was topped by Verstappen on a 1:27.363, a late flurry of improvements, most notably from Hamilton, as the seven-time world champion pushed out McLaren’s Lando Norris into 16^th.

Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda qualified 17^th and ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll who was a low-18^th.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Williams Racing’s Logan Sargeant brought up the rear.

You can see the full Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix 2023 Qualifying Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2023/races/1208/miami/qualifying.html

2023 Miami GP Qualifying – The Top Three

2023 Miami GP Pole – Sergio Perez, #11, Oracle Red Bull Racing – Honda-RBPT, RB19, 1:26.841:

“I think it’s been my worst weekend up until qualifying actually. I couldn’t figure out how to get those tenths I was missing to Max [Verstappen] and the Ferraris. We made some small changes and put in the lap when it mattered.”

2^nd Place – Fernando Alonso, #14, Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team, AMR23, +0.361:

“It was a good qualifying! The car came alive, extremely happy with P2. I did enjoy every lap; it was so enjoyable to drive. You have to have the confidence in the car to really attack qualifying, and I did have the confidence.”

3^rd Place – Carlos Sainz, #55, Scuderia Ferrari, SF-23, +0.508:

“It was a very tricky quali for all, it’s very tricky to find the right feeling with the tyres. It was getting windier and windier. In general a decent outcome but I think today we could have been even better.”

#MiamiGP FP3: @Max33Verstappen leads from @CharlesLeclerc, @SChecoPerez. #F1

#MiamiGP FP2: @Max33Verstappen tops time-sheets ahead of @ScuderiaFerrari duo. #F1

#MiamiGP FP1: @GeorgeRussell63 pips @LewisHamilton in @MercedesAMGF1 one-two. #F1

#F1 Crypto.com #MiamiGrandPrix 2023 Preview. #MiamiGP #Formula1