After a superb weekend in Azerbaijan, winning the sprint and the main race, Sergio Perez continues to show why he is the King of Street Circuits. It was a dramatic qualifying with Charles Leclerc ending Q3 with a red flag after he lost his left rear in turn 7 and crashed.
According to Sergio Perez, he struggled with his driving during the practice sessions.
Sergio Perez Photo: Courtesy
“It has been my worst weekend up to qualifying,” Perez said. “I couldn’t figure out how to put those tenths all the time that I was missing to Max and the Ferraris. I was just resetting everything we did, we made a small change into qualifying that really everything became more alive. We put in the lap when it mattered.”
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso came second, with the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz managing the third position. Kevin Magnussen had a flying lap out qualifying his teammate for the first time this year to become number four on the grid.
Max Verstappen had another bad luck as he failed to improve his time due to Leclerc’s red flag coming in ninth on the grid. The Two-time World Champion was slightly disappointed with himself.
“I was trying to put it on the limit and then I made a mistake and had to abort the lap, then you rely on a bit of luck that there is not going to be a red flag, but that can happen on a street circuit. I’m just a bit upset with myself.”
Max Verstappen Photo: Courtesy
The bad luck seems to have also affected Lewis Hamilton with his Mercedes being knocked out of Q2 and managing the thirteenth position. His teammate George Russel came in sixth ahead of Leclerc’s Ferrari (seventh) and behind the Alpine of Pierre Gasly (fifth).
Estaban Ocon (Alpine) managed eighth on the grid with Valterri Bottas in the Alpha Romeo coming in at number ten. The Aston Martin of Lance Stroll will start down in the eighteenth after a surprise exit.
Miami GP Qualifying Result
1) Sergio Perez, Red Bull (1.26.841)
2) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin (1.27.202)
3) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari (1.27.349)
4) Kevin Magnussen, Haas (1.27.767)
5) Pierre Gasly, Alpine (1.27.786)
6) George Russell, Mercedes (1.27.804)
7) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (1.27.861)
8) Esteban Ocon, Alpine (1.27.935)
9) Max Verstappen, Red Bull (No Time)
10) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo (No Time)
The newly laid surface at the Miami Grand Prix had teams talking but increasingly improved throughout each session. I believe the grid today is competitively arranged.
So be prepared for an eventful race today, as we see if Sergio Perez will win and lead the drivers’ championship for the first time in F1.
Don’t miss the Miami GP live on Sky Sports F1 at 22:30 GMT.
