In the first free practice session for the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, Mercedes blinked – George Russell led the best lap time ahead of Lewis Hamilton – but in the second and third practice sessions, defending world champion Max Verstappen, who is currently the points leader in the race, was fastest in the Red With pee. In the third free practice, Verstappen, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Sergio Perez (Red Bull) were the first three in the standings. With this preliminary period, qualifying began on Saturday at 10pm Hungarian time. In the first stage of qualifying, Hamilton and Russell did not put pressure on themselves, and both qualified only on the last fast laps. They would have followed that scenario in Q2 as well, but seven-time world champion Hamilton was surprisingly eliminated in 13th place.
As in Q1, Verstappen took the lead in Q2, followed by Leclerc, Alonso, Sainz, Pérez, Ocon, Bottas, Gasly, Magnussen and Russell. Perez, who is second in the World Cup points race to Red Bull, was expected soon, but the final decision was who would be able to do what in Q3. Well, here, after the first attempts, Perez was leading, Leclerc was only seventh with his braking, and Verstappen, who also made a mistake, did not make a single lap. And it was cool for that too. During the second qualification, Leclerc, who was the first to start, crashed his Ferrari into the wall, and because of this, the timer was signaled with a red flag 1:36 seconds before the end! So Perez won this ahead of Alonso and Sainz. This is the 33-year-old’s second finish of the year and the third of his career. And Verstappen can only start the race from ninth.
The 57-lap Miami Grand Prix starts at 9:30pm Hungarian time on Sunday.
Full starting order:
Line 1:
Sergio Perez (Mexican, Red Bull)
Fernando Alonso (Spain, Aston Martin)
line 2:
Carlos Sainz Jr (Spain and Ferrari)
Kevin Magnussen (Denmark, Haas)
Third line:
Pierre Gasly (French, Alpine)
George Russell (British, Mercedes)
Line 4:
Charles Leclerc (Monaco, Ferrari)
Esteban Ocon (French, Alpine)
Fifth line:
Max Verstappen (Dutch, Red Bull)
Valtteri Bottas (Finnish, Alfa Romeo)
Line 6:
Alexander Albon (Thailand, Williams)
Nico Hulkenberg (German, Haas)
Seventh line:
Lewis Hamilton (British, Mercedes)
Chu Kuan Yew (Chinese, Alfa Romeo)
Line 8:
Nyk de Vries (in Dutch, Alpha Toure)
Lando Norris (Britain, McLaren)
Line 9:
Gouki Konoda (Japan, Alpha Tauri)
Lance Stroll (Canadian, Aston Martin)
Line 10:
Oscar Biastri (Australian, McLaren)
Logan Sargeant (American, Williams)
Cover photo: Charles Leclerc’s mistake ended the qualifying session (Source: Twitter/Formula 1)
