• The World Championship leader has set the fastest time in afternoon sprint qualifying to start from the front of the grid for tomorrow’s sprint
• Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc lines up with Verstappen for the sprint – but missed most of morning practice with a spin that brought out a red flag
• Daniel Ricciardo finished an impressive fourth in sprint qualifying, while two Mercedes failed to crack the top ten in a thrilling knock-out session.
• Formula 1 Crypto.com Race fans flocked to the Miami International Autodrome as on-track action began for the third edition of the Miami Grand Prix.
Miami Gardens, Florida, – An exciting day of on-track action ended with Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen setting the fastest time of the day at Miami International Autodrome to secure pole position for tomorrow’s sprint. The reigning world champion crossed the finish line to record a 1:27.641 lap – 0.108 seconds faster than the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. The second Red Bull of Sergio Pérez was third ahead of the impressive Daniel Ricciardo, who set the fourth fastest time in his RB.
It was a dramatic end to an eventful sprint qualifying for the FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX as the top ten drivers left it late to set times with only one run of the 3.36-mile track. After showing impressive pace earlier in the day, the McLaren drivers of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris finished sixth and ninth respectively – split from the two Aston Martins. But the surprise of sprint qualifying occurred in SQ2 when George Russell and Lewis Hamilton both missed out on the top ten shootout by narrow margins. Hamilton reported on the team radio that he had hit the wall at the exit of Turn 16, but remained unhurt. He was one of several drivers who lightly tapped the barriers at the exit of the left-hander just before the back straight.
The Mercedes pair will start Saturday’s 19-lap sprint tomorrow in 11th and 12th, one place behind Nico Hulkenberg, who enjoyed a strong race in his Haas to claim tenth place. The three periods of sprint qualifying were trouble-free, although Alex Albon’s SQ1 lap was scrapped after passing the Turn 14/15 chicane, which placed him at the very back of the field, one place behind his Williams teammate Logan Rear Sergeant.
Earlier in the morning, Verstappen also set the pace in the opening one-hour practice session, finishing ahead of the Ferraris of Piastri and Carlos Sainz. At the start of the green flag race, Leclerc made a mistake, spinning out at the exit of Turn 16, and his Ferrari blocked the track and the red flag was waved for his damaged car to proceed. This meant that the Monaco drivers did not get a chance to set a competitive time and the morning session finished bottom of the timesheets.
Ahead of FP1, the on-track action began in the morning with the opening 40-minute practice session of the all-female F1 Academy Series. Championship leader Abbey Pulling set the early pace in her Alpine-liveried car, but Mercedes’ Dorian Pin took over the top of the timesheets at the end of the session. In a closely contested field, the French racer led Pulling by just 0.070 seconds and covered the top ten by less than a second.
Later in the afternoon, second practice for the F1 Academy ended with Pulling in top position, two tenths faster than his championship rival Pinn. The Mercedes-backed racer was on course to beat Pulling’s lap of 1:59.237 seconds, but made a small mistake at Turn 15 in the final race and had to settle for second place. Neria Marti finished third behind America’s Chloe Chambers in her Haas-liveried car.
It was a busy day at Miami Gardens with various activities taking place around the complex as the atmosphere began to build ahead of this weekend’s races. Among the stars entertaining fans was Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix Ambassador Guenther Steiner, who appeared on a live edition of the F1 Explains podcast, which was recorded in front of a large crowd of fans on the 300 level of Hard Rock Stadium. it was done. On the other side of campus, at the party-central Hard Rock Beach Club, DJ Steve Aoki entertained the crowd with his unique mix of music. Ed Sheeran was also in attendance at today’s race before his music set yesterday afternoon.
Speaking at the official FIA Formula 1 teams press conference earlier this afternoon, McLaren Racing CEO Jack Browne praised Formula 1Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix organizers for helping build the fan base of F1 fans in the United States. Praised, he said: “Tom Garfinkel and Tyler Epp are doing a great job and if you look at the improvements they made, they were substantial. Miami is an amazing market where people love to travel and I (the organizers I don’t see them sitting still and I think it’s a wonderful phenomenon that will continue to grow from strength to strength.”
The action continues tomorrow at the Miami International Autodrome, starting with the 19-lap sprint race at 12pm, followed by Grand Prix qualifying at 4pm. The first of two races in the F1 Academy Series, there will also be saloon car action from the Porsche Carrera Cup North America and a live car auction presented by Bonhams Cars.
