Verstappen claims pole in Miami Sprint Qualifying (2024)

Max Verstappen will start from pole for the Sprint in Miami after storming to P1 in Friday’s Sprint Qualifying, while an earlier challenge from McLaren seemed to fall away.

With every driver opting for just one flying lap in SQ3, Verstappen went quickest of all with a 1m 27.641s lap. The Red Bull driver will be joined on the front row by Leclerc, who ended the session 0.108s away from Verstappen.

Sergio Perez slotted into third, while Daniel Ricciardo put in an impressive performance by going fourth fastest in the RB ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in fifth.

While McLaren had looked promising earlier in the session, the pace did not seem to hold into SQ3 on the soft tyre. Oscar Piastri claimed P6 while Lando Norris will start from P9, with the Aston Martin pair of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso sandwiched between them in P7 and P8. Nico Hulkenberg, meanwhile, rounds out the top 10 in the Haas.

FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2024Miami2024

Sprint Qualifying results

PositionTeam NameTime
1MaxVerstappenVERRed Bull Racing1:27.641
2CharlesLeclercLECFerrari1:27.749
3SergioPerezPERRed Bull Racing1:27.876
4DanielRicciardoRICRB1:28.044
5CarlosSainzSAIFerrari1:28.103

View Full Results

There was double disappointment for Mercedes as both drivers exited in SQ2. George Russell will line up in P11 while Lewis Hamilton joins him on the sixth row in P12, with the seven-time world champion also noted for a pit lane infringement.

Esteban Ocon was the lead Alpine in 13th, ahead of Haas’s Kevin Magnussen in 14th. Meanwhile RB’s Yuki Tsunoda ended the session in 15th, having again been outqualified by team mate Ricciardo.

Pierre Gasly’s tough luck in qualifying continued as he failed to escape SQ1, with the Alpine driver set to start from P16 ahead of Kick Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas in P17 and P18 respectively.

It was also a challenging session for Williams. Local driver Logan Sargeant was disappointed to exit in 19th, while team mate Alex Albon ended the session in 20th, having had a lap time deleted that dropped him down from an original position of 16th.

AS IT HAPPENED

SQ1 – Norris leads the way while Piastri and Bottas have a close call

With just one practice hour behind them – and an interrupted one at that, with Leclerc bringing out the red flags early on following a costly spin – the drivers returned to action later on Friday for Sprint Qualifying, with the session deciding the grid for the second Sprint race of the year.

Leclerc was the first to hit the Miami International Autodrome when SQ1 got underway at 1630 local time, seemingly keen to make up for his very limited running earlier in the day due to that aforementioned spin.

There were no surprises with tyre choice as other drivers started to join the Monegasque on track, given that the medium compound is mandatory for the 12-minute opening segment of Sprint Qualifying.

As the clock ticked down, Leclerc may have potentially caused a sharp intake of breath on the Ferrari pit wall after experiencing a small slide at Turn 8. Fortunately the driver managed to keep his car on the circuit as the first timed laps started to come in.

Verstappen claims pole in Miami Sprint Qualifying (2)

It was Verstappen at the top of the timesheets as the segment reached its halfway point, with Piastri just 0.038s behind in the McLaren on a weekend in which the Woking-based squad are running a series of upgrades.

Elsewhere Alonso survived a kiss with the wall, while Piastri was left irked after encountering the slow-moving Kick Sauber of Bottas on track, prompting the Finn to complain that he had not been warned in sufficient time. The incident will be investigated after the session.

As SQ1 reached its final moments, Norris slotted into P1 ahead of team mate Piastri, while several drivers worked to get themselves out of danger. The order continued to change as some hauled themselves up the timesheets, but others were unable to improve

Gasly failed to make it through in P16, followed by the Kick Sauber duo of Zhou and Bottas in P17 and P18 respectively. It was also a tough day for Sargeant, who ended the session in P19 in front of his home fans, while fellow Williams driver Albon also exited in P20 after having a lap time deleted.

Knocked out: Gasly, Zhou, Bottas, Sargeant, Albon

Verstappen claims pole in Miami Sprint Qualifying (3)

SQ2 – Mercedes suffer a double exit

Magnussen was the first to head out on track as the 10 minutes of SQ2 began, off the back of a good session for the Dane in SQ1. The drivers were again running a mandatory medium tyre for this segment of Sprint Qualifying.

Most of the 15 remaining drivers seemed keen to put some early flying laps on the board and, while Perez led the way as the clock ticked down to five minutes, Norris then went fastest of all with a lap of 1m 27.597s.

Ricciardo – driving in an RB featuring a special “chameleon” livery this weekend – reported contact with the wall, but the Australian’s car appeared to have escaped unharmed. All eyes then turned to who was at risk of the elimination zone as the final minutes approached.

Verstappen joined the fray late in the session and slotted into fourth on his one flying lap, while the Mercedes duo were amongst those needing to improve. Ultimately neither Russell nor Hamilton were able to do so, leaving them in P11 and P12 respectively, and Hamilton – who clipped the wall on his lap – was also noted for a pit lane infringement.

The other drivers to fail to make the cut were Ocon in 13th, Magnussen in 14th and Tsunoda in 15th, with the RB driver seemingly making a mistake on his sole flying lap.

Knocked out: Russell, Hamilton, Ocon, Magnussen, Tsunoda

Verstappen claims pole in Miami Sprint Qualifying (4)

SQ3 – Verstappen goes fastest while McLaren slip back

It was a quiet start as the light went green for SQ3, a segment in which the drivers run soft tyres. Hulkenberg was the first to break the silence with less than four minutes remaining on the clock, before others started to emerge from their garages for what was set to be a one-lap shootout.

All 10 drivers managed to find clean air on the circuit as each looked to pump in a flying lap. Verstappen went fastest of all in the first and second sectors before suffering understeer in the final sector, but this could not prevent the Dutchman from surging into P1 with a lap of 1m 27.641s.

Leclerc was also looking racy but just missed out, going second quickest on a time 0.108s back from Verstappen’s, while Perez took third place. Meanwhile Ricciardo caught the eye by slotting his RB into fourth, ahead of the Ferrari of Sainz in fifth.

While McLaren had displayed strong pace on the medium tyre in SQ1 and SQ2, the soft compound did not seem to favour them in SQ3. Piastri crossed the line in sixth, while Norris ended the session back in ninth.

Stroll claimed P7 ahead of Aston Martin team mate Alonso in P8, while Hulkenberg rounded out the last of the top-10 positions in the Haas.

Verstappen claims pole in Miami Sprint Qualifying (5)

Key quote

“To be honest with you it felt pretty terrible!” Verstappen said after jumping out of the car. “I don’t know, maybe that last session it was just incredibly difficult to get the tyres to work. Already in SQ2 I didn’t feel great. In SQ3, I think it just felt similar for me, I didn’t really improve a lot on the soft, but somehow we were first.

“Of course, I’ll happily take it, but it didn’t really feel enjoyable out there to drive for whatever reason. In practice, it felt really, really nice, I was very comfortable and confident, but in qualifying not so much.”

What's next

With the grid now decided, the drivers will next return to action for the Sprint race on Saturday, which is set to begin at 1200 local time. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can catch the action.

Verstappen claims pole in Miami Sprint Qualifying (6)

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Verstappen claims pole in Miami Sprint Qualifying (2024)

FAQs

Verstappen claims pole in Miami Sprint Qualifying? ›

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen scored a double success at the Miami International Autodrome today, winning the Sprint and securing Pole Position for tomorrow's Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix.

Where did Max Verstappen come in qualifying? ›

Miami GP Qualifying Timesheet
DriverTeamTime
1) Max VerstappenRed Bull1:33.660
2) Charles LeclercFerrari+0.141
3) Carlos SainzFerrari+0.214
4) Sergio PerezRed Bull+0.219
18 more rows
2 days ago

Who got pole in F1 Miami? ›

Max Verstappen has claimed his seventh consecutive pole position by taking P1 on the grid for the Miami Grand Prix, despite failing to improve during his final flying lap.

Does the winner of the Sprint race get pole? ›

Last year, the driver who won the Sprint was awarded the honour of pole position. However, this year, the driver who sets the fastest time in qualifying – which on Sprint weekends takes place on Friday – will be given the accolade. The driver who takes pole position on Friday will start the Sprint in first position.

How many pole positions does Max Verstappen have? ›

Max Verstappen made it six pole positions out of six for the 2024 season so far by topping qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix, getting the better of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

Why did Verstappen not finish qualifying? ›

Verstappen, the winner of the last 10 F1 races — a record — didn't reach the final stage of qualifying simply because he was too slow. On raw pace, he could only manage 11th on the grid, two places ahead of Pérez, who spun on his final lap in Q2 and was also eliminated.

Who took pole in F1 today? ›

Verstappen edges Leclerc again to take Miami pole

Red Bull's Max Verstappen beat Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to pole position at the Miami Grand Prix. Verstappen was 0.141 seconds quicker than Leclerc as the two men finished first and second in qualifying, just as they have in all competitive sessions so far in Miami.

Who won the Miami Sprint? ›

Max Verstappen won the Miami Sprint Race after starting from pole position. Following the Red Bull driver were Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez who crossed the line in second and third position, respectively.

Did the Miami Grand Prix sell out? ›

McLaren's Lando Norris wins his first Formula 1 race at thrilling Miami Grand Prix. An estimated 275,000 attended the sold-out race weekend, an organizer said. Donald Trump and a cast of celebrities and athletes were mingling with fans in the paddock.

What are the F1 qualifying results? ›

Miami GP sprint qualifying results: Verstappen on pole from Leclerc
ClaDriver
11Max Verstappen
216Charles Leclerc
311Sergio Pérez
43Daniel Ricciardo
16 more rows
3 days ago

Who gets pole on sprint weekend? ›

Miami GP SQ3 results: Verstappen takes sprint pole.

What is the difference between qualifying and sprint race? ›

In Regular qualifying the cars go through 3 qualifying stages namely Q1,Q2 and Q3 to achieve pole position in the race. In Sprint Qualifying, the drivers race for a certain number of laps, usually 1/3rd or 1/4th of the race uninterrupted and the finishing position in the sprint decides the order for the main race.

What's the point of a sprint race in F1? ›

The Sprint format guarantees meaningful action every day, with either points or grid position at stake. It gives fans at the track the opportunity to see F1 cars absolutely flat-out on each day of the event, and gives viewers at home more racing to enjoy.

Why did Verstappen get pole? ›

At the end of the decisive Q3 phase, Verstappen wound up with pole thanks to a benchmark time of 1m 27.241s, narrowly getting the better of Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, and team mate Sergio Perez.

Who has the most pole position in F1 history? ›

Leading Formula 1 drivers 1950-2024, by number of pole positions. As of January 2024, the F1 driver with the most pole positions was Lewis Hamilton, having achieved 104 throughout his career. Lewis Hamilton lies comfortably in the lead with Michael Schumacher following behind with 68 pole positions.

How many Gs did Max Verstappen have? ›

According to NASA humans can survive maximum of 30g for fraction of second. Fighter pilots can survive a maximum of 9g, while wearing a specialised suit. Yet Verstappen somehow survived 51g, and apparently F1 recorded even higher g's during crashes in its history.

What is the pole position in F1? ›

The polesitter is the driver that has qualified for a Grand Prix in pole position, at the front of the starting grid. Out of the 1,107 completed Grands Prix (as of the 2024 Miami Grand Prix), the driver that has started in first has gone on to win the race 474 times.

What team did Max Verstappen race for? ›

  • 2022. Red Bull Racing. 1st - 454 points. ...
  • 2021. Red Bull Racing. 1st - 395.5 points. ...
  • 2020. Red Bull Racing. 3rd - 214 points. ...
  • 2019. Red Bull Racing. 3rd - 278 points. ...
  • 2018. Red Bull Racing. 4th - 249 points. ...
  • 2017. Red Bull Racing. 6th - 168 points. ...
  • 2016. Scuderia Toro Rosso - Red Bull Racing. 5th - 204 points. ...
  • 2015. Scuderia Toro Rosso.

Was Max Verstappen in Red Bull Academy? ›

Max was never really in red bull academy only reason he signed was because he already got a F1 seat offered.

Who was the last driver to take the opening six poles in a season? ›

6: Verstappen's career-best sixth straight F1 pole position in Miami was the first time a driver had taken the opening six poles of a season since Alain Prost did likewise for Williams in 1993.

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