Max Verstappen claimed pole position for the Miami Grand Prix following a tense qualifying session on Saturday. Charles Leclerc will join him on the front row with Carlos Sainz rounding out the top three.
The qualifying drama was rife from the off as Daniel Ricciardo, who finished a sensational P4 in the sprint race earlier on Saturday, was eliminated in Q1, resigning him to starting from the back on Sunday following the application of his three-place grid drop.
Fernando Alonso was lucky to make it through as the driver in the danger zone, but in the end, it was Valtteri Bottas and the under-fire Logan Sargeant who finished just below the cut-off. Kevin Magnussen and Zhou Guanyu were the other drivers eliminated in Q1.
There was no such luck for Aston Martin in Q2 as Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll were unceremoniously dumped out, while both Alpine cars failed to progress as well, exiting qualifying alongside Williams’ Alex Albon.
Toto Wolff cut a nervous figure in the Mercedes garage and with both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton close to the cut-off heading into the final Q2 runs, a repeat of Friday’s double-elimination looked possible.
However, Hamilton produced a stellar lap to leave him in P3, just over a tenth of a second behind Leclerc and Verstappen at the front of the field. Russell also escaped the drop zone, taking the chequered flag in P8.
Mercedes’ joy dried up in Q3 though with Russell leading Hamilton home in P7 and P8 respectively. Verstappen’s first run proved enough to claim pole by a tenth and a half in the end with few drivers improving on their final laps.
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