@Max33Verstappen takes 38th-career pole at #MiamiGP ahead of @ScuderiaFerrari duo. #F1

Verstappen Miami GP Pole – Championship leader Max Verstappen scored his 38^th-career pole in qualifying at the Miami GP ahead of Ferrari pairing Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz who were second and third respectively.

In Q3, the initial flying laps saw Verstappen held provisional pole setting two personal bests in sectors one and three, with a purple in sector two and posted a 1:27.241 and was 0.141 seconds quicker than Leclerc who set a purple sector one and two personal best in the final two sectors whilst Sainz was a further 0.214 seconds off the Dutchman in third.

The final hot-laps, Verstappen scored a purple sector one, but was unable to improve on his lap-time whilst his rivals could also not find any gains meaning the championship leaders holds onto the pole and his seventh in a row.

The other Red Bull RB20 entry of Sergio Perez clinched fourth place and ahead of McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri who occupy the third row of the grid qualifying in fifth and sixth respectively.

The two Mercedes F1 W15 entries of George Russell and Sir Lewis Hamilton followed taking seventh and eighth respectively as MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Nico Hulkenberg and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda completed the top ten.

In the second qualifying stage, which was topped by Leclerc, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was the quickest of the Q2 eliminatees missing out on the final qualifying stage by a slim 0.022 seconds and starts the Miami GP in 11th and ahead of Alpine pairing Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon who were 12^th and 13^th respectively.

Williams Racing’s Alexander Albon took 14^th and in-front of the other Aston Martin AMR24 entry of Fernando Alonso who was unable to improve on his final flyer wounding up 15^th and the slowest of the Q2 runners.

In the opening segment, which was topped by Verstappen, Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas despite a late improvement just missed out on a Q2 appearance by a very narrow 0.010 seconds meaning the Finn will start tomorrow’s Miami Grand Prix in 16^th.

Home favourite Logan Sargeant qualified 17^th for Williams and in-front of RB’s Daniel Ricciardo who took 18^th but will be demoted to the back of the grid on Sunday following his three grid-placed penalty he received from the Chinese GP for overtaking under the safety car.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen and Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu followed in 19^th and at the rear with the latter currently under investigation by the stewards for failing to follow race directors instructions and crossing the pit-exit line.

You can see the full Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix 2024 Qualifying Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2024/races/1234/miami/qualifying.html

2024 Miami GP Qualifying – The Top Three

2024 Miami GP Pole Position – Max Verstappen, #1, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Honda-RBPT, RB20 – 1:27.241:

“I think we improved the car a bit, but every year I come here I find it difficult to be consistent. Today was about finding that balance and I think we did okay. It’s not the most enjoyable lap of my career just because of how slippery it was. [The car] feels more under control, which should help us tomorrow, but we’ll find out.”

2^nd Place – Charles Leclerc, #16, Scuderia Ferrari, SF-24 – +0.141s:

“It felt so much on the limit, it was very close until Q3. When we started to push for the last one or two tenths, we started to lose it. However, the race is long, and I hope tomorrow we can put Max under a bit more pressure. Tomorrow, I’ll try to have an even better [start].”

3^rd Place – Carlos Sainz, #55, Scuderia Ferrari, SF-24, +0.214s:

“Honestly, a bit of a shame about this morning, couldn’t get past Daniel but we knew the pace was there. We managed to do some clean laps; every lap is a bit of an adventure with the wind. You always finish the lap and feel like you could have gone so much faster, but it’s almost impossible to put together a perfect lap. P3, clean side of the road might be a good place to start.”

@Max33Verstappen takes comfortable #MiamiGP #F1Sprint victory. #F1