Action Packed Qualifying sees Pérez Take Pole in Miami

In a thrilling end to Q3, Sergio Pérez claimed the pole position for the 2023 Miami Grand Prix. However, it was not without drama as Charles Leclerc’s late spin resulted in a red flag and Max Verstappen qualifying in ninth place.

Fernando Alonso will start alongside Pérez, with his fellow countryman Carlos Sainz Jr. starting third on an insane grid for Sunday’s race.

Q1 – Shock Exit for Stroll, Double McLaren Exit

The first qualifying session at the Miami International Autodrome didn’t disappoint, with so much drama and many drivers leaving it late to put in the lap times they needed to secure their place in Q2.

Logan Sargeant, who was born in Florida, will start last on the grid in Sunday’s main event after he couldn’t put a good enough lap together to get himself out of Q1 at his home race. There wasn’t just disappointment for Sargeant, McLaren F1 Team saw both drivers knocked out. Despite showing impressive pace on Friday, it was not good enough for either cars to get through. Oscar Piastri will start nineteenth on the grid, while his team-mate Lando Norris will start sixteenth.

The biggest shock in Q1 though, was Lance Stroll getting knocked out. The Canadian driver has been having an impressive season as has Aston Martin Armaco Cognizant F1 Team; however, the Canadian simply took the unnecessary risk of making it through Q1 on just one set of Soft tyres.

Scuderia AlphaTauri improved on their Free Practice performances but Q1 still saw Yuki Tsunoda knocked out, meaning he will start seventeenth on the grid on Sunday, while his team-mate Nyck de Vries just got through.

Verstappen showed the best pace and was over three-tenths ahead of Sainz in second. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton both sat in the bottom five after the first runs, but both Brits managed to get themselves into Q2 late on, but the Silver Arrows will be worried about their evident lack of pace.

Credit: Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

Q2 – Hamilton Out, Albon Misses Out

The drama continued in Q2 in Miami, with constant running as the drivers looked to make the top-ten shootout.

Despite making his second Q2 appearance of the season, de Vries found himself struggling to make an impression on the top ten and he will start fifteenth on the grid in tomorrow’s race. Zhou Guanyu also found himself struggling for pace and will start in fourteenth, after missing out on tenth by over three-tenths.

The biggest shock of the session was yet again the poor performance from Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. Russell managed to squeeze himself through by just over half a tenth, but his team-mate Hamilton will start thirteenth on the grid after he made a mistake on his final push lap in the session. Toto Wolff will be hoping that Hamilton can recover some points in the race as Mercedes look forward to their upgrades in Imola.

Kevin Magnussen out-qualified his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg for the first time this season by making it through to Q3 and the latter missing out and putting himself twelfth on the grid. Alex Albon was the final driver to be knocked out but will be pleased to start eleventh on the grid tomorrow, with his team-mate at the back of the pack.

Q3 – Verstappen Ninth, Perfect Pérez Secures Pole

Q3 saw so much tension, with Verstappen and Leclerc leaving it late to set lap times after both making mistakes on their first runs. Them mistakes proved costly, with a crash from Leclerc on his second lap bringing out the red flag with less than two minutes to go.

Valtteri Bottas will start tenth on the grid after securing Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake’s first Q3 appearance of the season, while there was another shock with Verstappen stuck in ninth after the red flag for Leclerc’s crash. It was a good qualifying session for BWT Alpine F1 Team and they will be hoping for big points tomorrow, with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly qualifying eighth and fifth respectively.

Russell rescued some hope for Mercedes this weekend and managed to secure sixth on the grid for the German team. Magnussen, who made his first Q3 appearance of the season, put in a storming lap to qualify fourth, which is a massive achievement for Haas F1 Team. Sainz will line up ahead of Magnussen on the second row, giving Ferrari some hope of a podium.

Alonso returned to front row and will once again line up next to Pérez, who takes his second consecutive pole position.