Event: Miami Grand Prix
Track: Miami International Autodrome
Weather: 28.5°C Dry
Tarmac: 43.7°C Dry
Humidity: 59.0%
Wind: 14.0 km//h South
Verstappen Secures Pole in Thrilling Miami Sprint Qualifying
In an exhilarating session of Sprint Qualifying at the Miami International Autodrome, the sixth round of the 2024 Formula 1 season, Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing clinched the pole position, despite facing considerable challenges. The event, marked by its high stakes and short format, was divided into three segments: Q1, Q2, and Q3, each pushing the drivers to their limits under the scorching Miami heat.
Q1: Early Exits and Tight Competition
The initial segment saw several drivers struggling to make their mark. Notably, AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly, Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas, Williams' Logan Sargeant, and Williams' Alex Albon were eliminated early. Albon's lap time was deleted due to a track limits violation, further compounding his team's challenges. The track was unforgiving, with even a slight error proving costly. The session was also marked by a near miss between Valtteri Bottas and Oscar Piastri, which the stewards promised to investigate post-session.
Q2: Surprises and Disappointments
As the session progressed to Q2, the intensity ramped up. Mercedes, despite showing potential in practice, faced a setback with both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton failing to progress to the final segment. They were joined on the sidelines by Alpine's Esteban Ocon, Haas's Kevin Magnussen, and AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda. Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg managed to squeeze into the top ten, shaking up expectations and setting the stage for an unpredictable Q3.
Q3: Verstappen Overcomes Adversity
The final segment was nothing short of dramatic. Max Verstappen, who had not been comfortable with his car's behavior throughout the qualifying, managed to secure the top spot. He admitted to struggling with tire performance, which did not seem to improve significantly even in the softer compounds used in Q3. Despite this, his skill shone through, earning him pole position. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, despite missing significant practice time due to an early spin in FP1, performed admirably to secure second place, followed closely by Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull.
Daniel Ricciardo, starting fourth, showed significant improvement, hinting at a potential resurgence in form after recent criticisms from his team management. Carlos Sainz, Oscar Piastri, Lance Stroll, Lando Norris, and Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten, each delivering strong performances that promise an exciting Sprint race.
As the dust settles on this thrilling qualifying session, the stage is set for what promises to be an electrifying Sprint race. With points on offer for the top eight finishers, every driver in the top tier will be pushing hard to capitalize on their qualifying positions. The Miami track, known for its challenging conditions and evolving grip levels, will undoubtedly serve as a formidable battleground for these talented drivers.
The quickest sector times where:
- Sector 1: 29.036 sec by Max Verstappen with the Red Bull RB20.
- Sector 2: 33.644 sec by Max Verstappen with the Red Bull RB20.
- Sector 3: 24.961 sec by Max Verstappen with the Red Bull RB20.
1:26.841 was the pole position lap time of last qualifying session in 2023. This lap time was driven by Sergio Pérez in the Red Bull RB19.
Sprint Quali Times 2024 Miami GP
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:28.194 | 1:28.001 | 1:27.641 | 12 |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:28.537 | 1:27.977 | 1:27.749 | 17 |
| 3 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull | 1:28.681 | 1:27.865 | 1:27.876 | 11 |
| 4 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Racing Bulls | 1:28.700 | 1:28.122 | 1:28.044 | 14 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:28.435 | 1:28.262 | 1:28.103 | 16 |
| 6 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:28.056 | 1:28.163 | 1:28.161 | 16 |
| 7 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:28.807 | 1:28.323 | 1:28.375 | 15 |
| 8 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:28.192 | 1:28.189 | 1:28.419 | 14 |
| 9 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:27.939 | 1:27.597 | 1:28.472 | 12 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas | 1:29.040 | 1:28.330 | 1:28.476 | 15 |
| 11 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:28.387 | 1:28.343 | 12 | |
| 12 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:28.736 | 1:28.371 | 12 | |
| 13 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:28.873 | 1:28.379 | 12 | |
| 14 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:28.377 | 1:28.614 | 12 | |
| 15 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | 1:28.687 | DNF | 9 | |
| 16 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:29.185 | 6 | ||
| 17 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | 1:29.267 | 6 | ||
| 18 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | 1:29.360 | 7 | ||
| 19 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 1:29.551 | 6 | ||
| 20 | 23 | Alex Albon | Williams | 1:29.858 | 6 |
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Sargeant finally managed to out-qualify Albon & on merit, given the latter only managed to be faster by cheating, albeit with a nice corner cut.
Stroll was also sprint qualifying's positive surprise & even more so Ricciardo, who managed to beat not only AMs, Mclarens, & Mercs but even a Ferrari.
One Mercedes failing to progress from Q2 is another thing, but both drivers simultaneously failing at that was somewhat surprising.
What was Bottas doing, though? Even if a race engineer doesn't warn in time, a driver should always avoid slow driving on the racing line as much as possible, so in this case, he should've switched to the right immediately after crossing the timing line to avoid all risks, but he didn't bother, so totally on him.
Perhaps having SQ3 like the entire qualifying format in 2003-05 wouldn't be such a bad idea, after all, but only for sprint qualifying's final phase.