Leclerc leads Ferrari lockout in Miami GP qualifying.
- It’s Ferrari’s first front-row lockout in Formula 1 since 2019.
- Mercedes struggles again with Lewis Hamilton sixth, George Russell down in twelfth.
- World Champion Max Verstappen will start third after a mistake on his final lap.
Charles Leclerc grabbed the honor of becoming the first polesitter at Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix as the championship leader fronted a 1-2 for Ferrari Saturday.
It was a relatively straightforward and sedate qualifying session with no major incidents, spins, or red flags, as drivers got a handle on the Miami International Autodrome.
Leclerc’s final lap in Q3, a time of 1 minute: 28.796 seconds, left him 0.190 seconds clear of Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz.
It marked Leclerc’s third pole in five efforts in 2022 and was Ferrari’s first front-row lockout in Formula 1 since 2019.
F1 Miami Qualifying Results (PDF)
F1
World Champion Max Verstappen was a contender for pole but a mistake in the opening sector on his last lap left him third.
“It is very, very difficult to put everything together because as soon as you get out of the line a little bit you lose a lot of grip and lap time,” said Leclerc. “The lap wasn’t perfect but good enough to be P1, the car was amazing, and hopefully we can keep that pace for tomorrow.”
For Sainz it was a mixed outcome; it was a good response following his Friday accident, but he now trails 5-0 in the Saturday head-to-head against Leclerc.
“I think I’m making progress, the fact I was out there today doing some purple sectors is a good sign and means in some corners I’m starting to understand the car and driving it the way it should be driven,” he said. “I did a pretty big mistake in the last corner, but I think it’s progress, I’m still not there, it won’t be a matter of one more race, I think it’s going to be very progressive through the season. I managed to push the car to its limit in some corners and put together a decent quali so I’m not going to complain.”
Verstappen’s build-up to qualifying was disrupted by a fraught Friday. Verstappen effectively missed the crucial second practice session due to a protracted gearbox change that was followed by a hydraulics problem.
“It’s been an incredibly messy weekend and we just make it super difficult for ourselves,” he said. “I’m of course still pleased to be third, close to the guys in front, but I think we can do so much better by operating cleaner and smoother. You cannot afford it [setbacks] on a new track like this, or a street track, as it is critical to do laps and get in a rhythm; in a normal track it is fine but here it is more difficult.”
Elsewhere Valtteri Bottas was a standout fifth for Alfa Romeo as he continued his and the team’s 2022 revival. It was a strong recovery from Bottas after an accident in Friday’s first practice benched him from the second hour of track running.
Mercedes set the pace on Friday courtesy of George Russell but its low-key attitude after practice was justified.
Lewis Hamilton was the lead Mercedes driver in sixth position which came near the end of qualifying while Russell struggled with the car and was left down in 12th spot.
“It felt like a totally different beast today, we had loads of porpoising today, don’t really understand why,” said Russell. “It’s the first time I’ve felt it all the way through a corner, in Turns 4 and 5, then into all of the braking zones. It’s a shame, I was slower today than I was yesterday. When you get the car in the window, it’s fast and yesterday we looked to be fighting for pole but today is our worst qualifying of the year so it’s difficult to make sense of.”
Hamilton added that “I’m generally really happy with the job I did today, I did the best I could with the car that I had, it’s a very hard car to drive.”
It was also a disappointing day for the US-licensed Haas outfit.
Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen will lockout only the eighth row of the grid after qualifying 15th and 16threspectively. It leaves Haas facing an uphill challenge if it is to score a point on home soil.
“It was unfortunate as we had the hope of getting into Q3, I just think we weren’t there in terms of pace,” said Schumacher.
“Hopefully we can fight back,” added Magnussen. “The car is good, but we had no radio so that meant we couldn’t communicate between myself and the team – we only did one long run in Q1 instead of two short ones.”
Lights out for the Miami Grand Prix, to take place across 57 laps, is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday.
Keyword: Ferrari Shines in F1 Miami GP Qualifying