Formula 1 returns to Miami as the first of 3 Qualifying sessions in America takes place.
Q1
In Qualifying 1; Lando Norris, Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll, Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant were the five slowest drivers. Lando Norris struggled for pace and just couldn’t quite get his car out of Q1 whilst Yuki Tsunoda will be very disappointed to have been knocked out in Q1. The same has to be said for Lance Stroll who took a gamble on tyres and it just didn’t work out. What a disaster for the Canadian. Oscar Piastri wasn’t actually to far away from his teammate when it comes to his lap, but it was still only good another for P19 whilst local boy Logan Sargeant finds himself at the back of the grid for today’s race. Max Verstappen topped Q1 by over 3 tenths of a second to Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
Q2
In Qualifying 2; Alex Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, Lewis Hamilton, Zhou Guanyu and Nyck de Vries all failed to make it into the top ten shootout. Alex Albon once again impressed in his Williams and he was only just outside the top 10. Nico Hulkenberg lacked pace compared to his teammate which is why he could only manage 12th whilst Lewis Hamilton had a bad day for Mercedes. Zhou Guanyu couldn’t match his teammate's pace which is why he starts 14th for tomorrow’s race whilst Nyck de Vries can be happy that he’s out-qualified his teammate for the first time this season. Max Verstappen topped Q2 over Charles Leclerc by a tenth and a half.
Q3
In Qualifying 3; Sergio Perez set a 1:26.841 to take his first Pole position outside of Saudi Arabia. Checo got the lap in when others didn’t and he now has a great chance to take the lead of the World Drivers’ Championship. Fernando Alonso will be delighted with the fact that he’ll start on the front row for today’s Miami Grand Prix whilst Carlos Sainz looked much better than last weekend as he qualified third. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen will be absolutely delighted as he managed to qualify 4th whilst Alpine’s Pierre Gasly can also be pretty with 5th. George Russell could only manage 6th in his Mercedes whilst Charles Leclerc once again binned his car in Qualifying. He needs to stop doing this. Despite being a few places behind his teammate, Esteban Ocon should be happy with P8 whilst a mistake on his first lap meant Max Verstappen will only start 9th for today’s race. Valtteri Bottas didn’t get a lap on the board in Q3, but he still did a good job to make it into Q3.
Starting Grid for the Miami Grand Prix and my Qualifying Grades
Sergio Perez: 10
Fernando Alonso: 10
Carlos Sainz: 9
Kevin Magnussen: 10
Pierre Gasly: 9
George Russell: 6
Charles Leclerc: 4
Esteban Ocon: 8
Max Verstappen: 5
Valtteri Bottas: 7
Alex Albon: 6
Nico Hulkenberg: 5
Lewis Hamilton: 3
Zhou Guanyu: 4
Nyck de Vries: 4
Lando Norris: 2
Yuki Tsunoda: 2
Lance Stroll: 1
Oscar Piastri: 1
Logan Sargeant: 1
My Predictions for the Miami Grand Prix
Sergio Perez
Max Verstappen
Fernando Alonso
Carlos Sainz
Charles Leclerc
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