Listen to the article
Max Verstappen, who had already secured the first five pole positions of the season, continued his fine form by securing a sixth pole in Miami on Saturday, thus maintaining his unbeaten status in this exercise for the year 2024.
The Netherlands in the spotlight
Track master Max Verstappen continues to impress in Miami. After conquering the sprint pole the day before and winning the main race, the Dutch driver added a new pole position to his record this Saturday, confirming his domination. Despite a narrow lead, Verstappen was able to hold off the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, with a gap similar to that of the previous day’s sprint qualifying.
Pérez drags, McLaren tries
Behind him, Sergio Pérez, although close in terms of position (4th), seemed further away in terms of performance, never really threatening pole (+0″219). Nevertheless, he managed to stay ahead of the two McLarens of Lando Norris (5th) and Oscar Piastri (6th), as well as the Mercedes of George Russell (7th) and Lewis Hamilton (8th), who showed an improvement on the previous day.
In the field, familiar faces made their mark, with Nico Hülkenberg (9th) and Yuki Tsunoda (10th) making their way into Q3, the latter recovering from his teammate Ricciardo’s exceptional sprint performance.
Sad Alpine, Daniel drops the pedal
By contrast, both Alpine cars were eliminated in Q2, despite initial hopes. Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon will start 12th and 13th respectively. For the second time in a row, Lance Stroll (11th) came in ahead of Fernando Alonso (15th), who seemed to be struggling throughout the weekend.
The surprise of the sprint, Daniel Ricciardo, was disappointed to be eliminated from Q1, complaining about the lack of grip on his rear tires. With a three-place grid penalty, he will start last, behind Guanyu Zhou (19th) and Kevin Magnussen (18th). As for Logan Sargeant (17th) and Valtteri Bottas (16th), their frustration is palpable, having just missed out on Q2.
