Max Verstappen was surprised to secure the pole position for the Sprint Race at the Miami Grand Prix, because the Dutchman did not feel that he had been strong with the Red Bull. Indeed, it is not surprising that the three-time world champion completed the only run of SQ3 in 1’27″641, a time achieved with soft tires, when Lando Norris had reached 1’27″594 in SQ2 with the medium compound. The track evolution, which had been very evident, suddenly halted, and several drivers were unable to fully exploit the potential of their cars.
Charles Leclerc emerged as a surprise, just 108 milliseconds behind the Red Bull RB20 at the top of the grid. The Ferrari driver demonstrated his talent: even though he did not complete a lap in the first free practice session due to a spin in which he overheated the clutch, the Monegasque approached qualifying with the audacity of a champion. He found the motivation to bring the SF-24 to the front row, while Carlos Sainz did not go beyond fifth place: the Spaniard paid for a small error that cost him dearly, as he could have been closer to his Maranello teammate.
Charles Leclerc speaking after qualifying in second for the Miami GP Sprint:
“Qualifying has been the weak point for two races in a row. China was a bit better but we didn’t have the car to show that. I did one lap in FP1, so had to go into Qualifying and go flat out straight away. We only had one set of tyres in SQ1, so it was very tricky but straight away I felt the feeling and the hard work I’ve done earlier in the season, to put the tyres in the right window, have paid off. So I’m happy because there is so much talk now and you are as good as your last race in this sport. When you have two races in a row, where you are bad in Qualifying and I haven’t done a great job, people start to talk. So it’s good to stop that, so now we need to work on the consistency and try to stay at that level and put the tyres consistently in the right window as I’ve done in the past.” – Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc said at the end of the Sprint qualifying session at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida.
Here is his full interview:
L'interview de Charles après cette qualif ! 😁🫵😉#F1 #MiamiGP
https://t.co/CioLVartSh— CL16 inside 🇲🇨 (@CL16_inside) May 3, 2024
