Max Verstappen was the absolute star of qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix, securing his third pole position of the season.
The Dutchman edged out Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli by less than 0.07 seconds, while the gap to Ferrari was far wider: let’s break down the telemetry data together.
Verstappen vs Norris: It’s always “Super Max”
As shown in the graph below, the four-time world champion made the difference with an extremely aggressive driving style (white circles in overlay).
Looking at the speeds throughout the lap, Max Verstappen was particularly fast in the first sector, especially in the S-shaped section of turns 4, 5, and 6. In that area, his Red Bull was first 10 and then 14 km/h faster than Lando Norris. Another significant difference between the two drivers, who will start on the front row, appears in the final corner: Max brakes incredibly late, yet still manages to get enough traction on the exit.
Thanks to his skill, the 1997-born driver made up for McLaren’s strong top-end speed in the early phases of the straights, courtesy of its Mercedes power unit.
Verstappen vs Antonelli: So much confidence from Kimi
In the comparison with Kimi Antonelli, the laps of the two drivers are strikingly similar across most of the track.
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However, the young Italian talent manages to gain time in the middle sector (white circle in overlay), which is made up of very slow corners, putting him ahead of Verstappen up until the final turn.
In the last braking zone, the Red Bull driver reacts and secures pole position. Still, Antonelli’s extraordinary confidence in his Mercedes stands out, especially considering he had never driven at Miami before. So far, Kimi’s weekend has been truly impressive — unlike Ferrari’s…
Max Verstappen vs Charles Leclerc: Ferrari in a black hole
The chart comparing the laps of Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc is undoubtedly concerning for Ferrari fans.
As the most observant readers will notice, there’s no specific sector highlighted in the graph below. And you may have already guessed why: the SF-25 is slower than the RB21 everywhere. Yes, you read that correctly: everywhere.
Charles Leclerc loses over three-tenths of a second in the first half of the lap, which features medium-to-high speed corners, and the remaining two-tenths in the central and final sectors, made up of slow corners.
A frankly disheartening scenario for the Scuderia. Unfortunately for the Tifosi, reality must be accepted: this Ferrari, in Miami, is the fifth-best team. Even behind Williams — ninth in last year’s Constructors’ Championship.
All that remains is to wait for today’s race, scheduled for 10:00 PM Central European Summer Time, which promises to be very interesting and unpredictable, especially given the uncertain weather conditions. Who will come out on top?
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