Max Verstappen continues to dominate as he has won his seventh consecutive pole position, including the season finale in Abu Dhabi last year. This puts him only one pole position away from equalling Ayrton Senna’s record of eight consecutive poles. Verstappen also won the second consecutive Sprint of the season, showcasing his exceptional pace. The question now is whether Sergio Perez can secure the second spot for Red Bull and help them claim a 1-2 finish in the drivers championship.
F1 Miami Grand Prix Sprint: Verstappen sets the pace
Max Verstappen blitzed the competition with ease as he took top honours in the Sprint race as he crossed the finish line 3.3 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as Perez took third place. The Dutchman was initially closely shadowed by Leclerc, but once Verstappen cleanly went past Turn 1, there was no stopping him as he kept increasing the gap. The same cannot be said for Lando Norris as he was involved in a Turn 1 collision with the two Aston Martins — Lance Stroll and Fernando and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. Due to this incident, McLaren’s Norris and Stroll were forced to retire while Alonso suffered a puncture.
The surprise package of the Sprint race has to be RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, who finished fourth and scored his first points of the season. Is this the Aussie comeback grand prix? Well, the Sprint certainly was, but the qualifying was another story, which we will get into it a bit later. Ricciardo showcased the art of defensive driving as he kept Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz at bay as the RB driver refused to give an inch and held on to fourth place. As a result, Sainz rounded up the top five positions while Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg continued his good form as he scored value two points.
| F1 Miami GP Sprint | ||
| Position | Rider | Team |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
| 3 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull |
| 4 | Daniel Riccarido | RB |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari |
F1 Miami Grand Prix Qualifying: Ferrari double challenge
Yes, we may all shrug our shoulders and say it’s the same old Max Verstappen show, but now both the Ferraris are finally showing some promise. Unlike the Sprint, the qualifying affair was tight as only 0.434 seconds separated the top five. It was a good day in the office for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who managed to qualify second and finish second at the Sprint race. The good news for Ferrari is that Carlos Sainz managed to muscle his to third place on the grid forcing Red Bull’s Perez to start fourth.
As for the best from the rest, the updated McLarens, Norris and Oscar Piastri qualified fifth and sixth. Norris had the last laugh after being unable to finish the Sprint race. Piastri, on the other hand, put up a consistent run as he finished sixth in both qualifying and the Sprint. The Mercedes continues to be a mid-table team as George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished seventh and eight ahead of Hulkenberg and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda.
It was a day of mixed results for Ricciardo of the RB team. While he finished fourth in the Sprint race, he had a disappointing qualifying session and ended up in 18th place. To make matters worse, he was penalized three grid spots for an incident at the Chinese Grand Prix, which means he will start in last place.
