After qualifying and the Sprint race, it was time to look at the real grid for Sunday’s race. True to their reputation, the organizers of the Miami Grand Prix had organized an Ed Sheeran concert just before the start of the session while the stars crowded into the paddock.
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The session turned out to be very different from the day before. Fourth on the grid this morning, Daniel Ricciardo was unable to get out of Q1. After the first attempt, he was only two thousandths ahead of the Williams of Logan Sargeant but that allowed him to be on the right side of the elimination line. However, the American improved, unlike the Australian. Hero this morning, the Racing Bulls driver found himself eliminated, in 18th place!
Kevin Magnussen, after his crazy Sprint race, had to settle for 19th time, hampered by many cars in the last corner.
Those eliminated from Q1 : Bottas, Sargeant, Ricciardo, Magnussen and Zhou
The big surprise of Q2 came from the elimination of Fernando Alonso. Already 13th after the first attempt, he failed to improve and finished 15th. He was therefore dominated during the two qualifying sessions by his teammate, Lance Stroll (11th). In the fight between Alpine teammates, Pierre Gasly took the lead for the first time this season.
Those eliminated from Q2 : Stroll, Gasly, Ocon, Albon, Alonso
Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hülkenberg therefore managed to slip into Q3, after their good performance in the race this morning. After the first attempt, it was Max Verstappen, who was ahead of the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard briefly found himself under investigation for obstructing Nico Hülkenberg but was quickly cleared. The ranking remained the same after the second attempt since no one managed to improve, apart from Lewis Hamilton who moved back ahead of Nico Hülkenberg in eighth position.
Max Verstappen therefore continues to break records, with a seventh consecutive pole, the 38th of his career. The fight between Red Bull and Ferrari looks set to be tight in tomorrow’s race as their pace looked similar during the Sprint.
