John N
Charles Leclerc takes pole position no. 3️⃣ for the 2022 season! 💪#MiamiGP #F1 @Charles_Leclerc pic.twitter.com/j3E2TilsbF
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 7, 2022
In a stunning battle with Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc captured pole position at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz backed up a Ferrari one-two. Leclerc had set the pace throughout practice and qualifying, but Verstappen was closing in. When asked, he had this to say – –
It’s incredible to be here in the US, see how much sport has grown over the past few years, and see so many people in the grandstand. It motivates us and Ferrari fans. It’s amazing. So the last weekend hasn’t been great, but today went well, so we are starting on pole and need to finish the job tomorrow.
“[Red Bull] are speedy in a straight line, we are quick in the corners, and it will be a tight challenge tomorrow. hopefully, we will come out on top” – Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
The reigning champion took provisional pole, but Leclerc eclipsed him for a final pole time of 1m 28.796s, Sainz filing in second by 0.190s. Verstappen made a mistake in his final flying lap and was eventually third, just 0.005s behind Sainz, while teammate Sergio Perez took P4.
Valtteri Bottas, a new Ferrari power unit in his Alfa Romeo, delivered with P5 – ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who was sixth despite having had to put in a quick final lap in Q1 to avoid elimination.
Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda qualified in the top 10 for AlphaTauri, with Gasly seventh fastest and Tsunoda ninth. Lando Norris qualified a terrific eighth under pressure from Lance Stroll, who qualified 10th for Aston Martin.
Fernando Alonso missed out on Q3 for Alpine in P11 – ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, who dealt with severe porpoising in Q2 – while Sebastien Vettel was disappointed to take P13 for Aston Martin.
Daniel Ricciardo had gear shift issues that put him back to 14th place alongside Mick Schumacher, who is last in Q2 after finishing P15 on Saturday. Kevin Magnussen missed out on Q2 by a tenth and will start 17th for Haas alongside Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu.
Neither Williams driver made it out of Q1. Alex Albon qualified 18th, while Nicholas Latifi started 19th. Esteban Ocon crashed during FP3, and his car is likely to be repaired in time to start Sunday’s Grand Prix from the pit lane.
The first-ever Miami Grand Prix takes place on Sunday at 1530 local time, Leclerc leading teammate Sainz off the front row ahead of Verstappen and Perez. Don’t miss it!
Here is how the driver’s grid will look on race Sunday.
