Max Verstappen dominated the weekend in Miami, but tomorrow from the first box of the starting grid of the Miami Grand Prix there will be another Red Bull RB19, that of Sergio Perez.
The Mexican driver achieved the best time in 1’26″841 thanks to the only attempt made by most of the drivers due to the red flag triggered by the accident involving Charles Leclerc. For Perez it is a magical moment, because after the success in the Sprint Race and in the race in Baku he will have the great opportunity to win also in Florida and continue to dream of the world title.
On the other hand, the one who has to regret is Max Verstappen. The Dutchman made a mistake in his first attempt, with two inaccuracies in the first sector, the one in which he has always made the difference up to now. For this he had to lift his foot and go back to the pits. The red flag triggered by Leclerc forced him not to make the second attempt and tomorrow he will even start from the fifth row, from the ninth spot of the grid.
With Perez on pole, Fernando Alonso will be next to the RB19 number 11. The Spaniard, who set an excellent lap on used tires in Q3, will have a great opportunity to get back on the podium tomorrow thanks to an excellent race pace shown in all the 2023 World Championship rounds held so far. In short, Checo will not have to beware of Verstappen, but he will still have a bad customer next to him.
Ferrari thought they could fight with Red Bull for the front row, but tomorrow they will open the second with Carlos Sainz Jr. The Spaniard showed himself to be stronger today than in yesterday’s two free practice sessions and Leclerc’s mistake thus leading him to be fastest in Q3.
Speaking of the Monegasque, in the first and only successful attempt he made a mistake in approaching a left-hander in the last sector, while he was projected towards one of the first 2, 3 times. At that point, having obtained the seventh fastest time, he came back to put on new tires and try again. Once relaunched, Leclerc made a mistake in the first sector, losing the rear of the SF-23 in a very fast section. Leclerc spun several times, until he crashed into the barriers with the rear end.
For Leclerc this is the second accident in the first sector after the one that saw him protagonist in yesterday’s Free Practice 2. It is clear how the Ferrari driver was trying to find the limit, exploiting every inch of available track. But the line between perfection and a mistake is so blurred as to be invisible only until the number 16 Red has gone off the track.
This triggered the red flag that fooled many, but it gave another great career moment for Kevin Magnussen. The Dane brought Haas to fourth position and tomorrow he will start ahead of an excellent Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman is fifth ahead of the first Mercedes, that of George Russell. The Briton continues to find himself much better at the wheel of the W14 than Lewis Hamilton.
Speaking of Leclerc’s seventh time, Esteban Ocon will start next to Ferrari’s Monegasque with the second Alpine, a symptom of how much the A523 is growing after the continuous updates that the team is making. Max Verstappen, as already described, will start from the ninth box next to the Alfa Romeo of an excellent Valtteri Bottas. The Finn, however, was unable to complete even a flying lap.
Williams close to the Top 10 thanks to another excellent performance by Alexander Albon, 11th ahead of Nico Hulkenberg. The German Haas driver was unable to make the last attempt to try to imitate what his teammate did. Already in the first sector he found himself denoting a delay of over 1 second, losing another tenths in the central one. At that point Nico decided to lift his foot and go back to the pits, without completing his lap and accepting the exclusion and the 12th starting position.
One year after the last exclusion in Q2, Lewis Hamilton was sensationally excluded in the second part of qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix. Mercedes waited a long time to bring in their two cars to make the last attempt and qualify in Q3. George Russell, as mentioned, succeeded. Hamilton, on the other hand, did not go beyond the 13th time, a symptom – yet another – of a feeling that never blossomed between the 7-times world champion and the Mercedes W14.
A mistake in turns 4 and 5 compromised Guan Yu Zhou’s qualifications. The Chinese from Alfa Romeo, after the mistake on the decisive lap for qualifying, gave Valtteri Bottas the slipstream and helped him get a Q3 and a Top 10 that hadn’t come since last season’s Mexican Grand Prix. A good decision by the Hinwil team, which thus maximized a mistake by Zhou to start further ahead with Bottas.
15th time for Nyck De Vries: on paper the result looks disappointing, but he was able to do the most important thing, which is to do better than his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. In his position, poised after a disappointing start to the season, this result could be a breath of fresh air. However, he will have to confirm it tomorrow, or when it will matter most.
The McLaren was instead disastrous, with a sensational double elimination of both MCL60s at the end of Q1. 16th Lando Norris and 19th Oscar Piastri. With this result, the performance of the Woking single-seater comes into question again, which appeared to have improved a few days ago in Baku and now collapsed on the flying lap on the Miami track.
If AlphaTauri can be happy with Nyck De Vries’ good performance, it can’t be the same for Yuki Tsunoda’s 16th place. The Japanese seemed to be able to pass the trap of Q1, instead he was one of the riders who paid the most for the great evolution of the track, staying out of Q2.
Another of the negative surprises of the day is perhaps Lance Stroll’s third from last time. The Canadian, at the wheel of an Aston Martin that was less incisive than in the first 4 outings of the season, but still among the sure candidates for leading positions, did not go beyond the 18th time, ahead only of Oscar Piastri and the home driver , Logan Sargeant with Williams, who will close the starting grid.
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