(Miami) A loot box. That’s what qualifying day was like, which elicited many murmurs of astonishment at the Miami International Autodrome on Saturday. Final verdict: Sergio Pérez, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz jr will start at the front of the grid on Sunday.
If Pérez’s leading position is more or less a surprise, the absence of his teammate Max Verstappen in this top 3 is one. Undoubtedly the biggest of this day in the Florida heat – it was 40 degrees on the track.
Things were going very smoothly for the two-time defending champion until the third qualifying session started. After making a rare mistake in a corner on his first attempt, the Red Bull driver retired to the pits. On his return, as he was about to go for his fast lap, the session was interrupted by a red flag: Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari had – again! – swerved.
“We didn’t do a lap and it’s entirely my fault,” a rather serene Verstappen told us, a can of Red Bull in his hand.
“I was hoping I’d get a little lucky and there wouldn’t be a red flag, but when you start thinking about it, of course it happens. It’s a bit frustrating. We were very fast all weekend. »
Verstappen is not one to worry about the race, however. When a journalist asked him what position he thinks he can reach on Sunday, considering his starting rank, the young 25-year-old driver was very clear: “minimum P2”, he replied twice rather than once. . We need only think of his performance in Saudi Arabia, when he went from 15e at the 2e place…
PHOTO REBECCA BLACKWELL, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Max Verstappen
As for Sergio Pérez, he unsurprisingly showed the biggest of smiles when he got out of his single-seater. “It was the worst of my weekends until qualifying,” he said. I reset everything and made changes before qualifying. »
“I savor these moments, I love the race. I congratulate my team and tomorrow will be another chance to seek victory. »
These results at Red Bull are particularly interesting, considering the struggle at the top between the two drivers, who each have two victories in four Grands Prix this season.
Big gap at Aston Martin
At Aston Martin, feelings were divided on Saturday evening. On the one hand, veteran and crowd favorite Fernando Alonso achieved his best result of 2023 in qualifying, a second-place finish.
“The result gives us a lot of confidence for tomorrow,” said the Spaniard. Sunday is usually our day; we take care of the tires and have a good race pace. »
“We managed to get the car back into a good window in qualifying and we’ll see what we can do tomorrow. Slow turns here are tricky. We are very close to the walls. »
Things went a little less well for his teammate, Quebecer Lance Stroll, who will start at the back of the grid, at 18e rank. Since the start of the season, this is the first time that he has gone further than the 9e place.
Stroll was riding on worn tires at the end of the first session and was unable to improve his time to advance to the second session. Aston Martin chief executive Mike Krack admitted his mistake, saying he went with a “too aggressive” strategy.
“If we had done a better job, [Lance] would have comfortably qualified for the next two sessions, he said in a statement. We will learn lessons for the future. »
“It’s easy to [s’en vouloir] in hindsight, but it could have worked and it would have given us a set more tires for the second session, which is always useful,” said Stroll.
“It’s going to be difficult to leave 18ebut we will do what we can”, launched the Quebecer to The Press before leaving.
History repeats itself at Ferrari
At Ferrari, Charles Leclerc made the same mistake as the day before, in the same corner, which sent him off the track in the third session. The Monegasque, who will leave 7e Sunday, came down hard on himself in front of the print media.
“I’m very disappointed in myself,” he said. “I take more risks in Q3 and it pays off nine times out of 10, but this weekend I hit the wall twice and that’s not the level I want to be at. »
Asked if he saw himself, one way or another, getting the victory despite everything, the Scuderia driver did not put his head in the sand: “The Red Bulls are much too strong in terms of tire degradation, then I think they will be in their own league. If we can finish behind them, I think it will be a great achievement because Aston look very strong too. »
More surprises
Otherwise, in terms of surprises, we also find the Dane Kevin Magnussen in fourth place. His best qualifying result so far this season has been 13e place… Nice way to underline this Grand Prix at home for the Haas team!
Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and George Russell (Mercedes) will follow him at the 5e and 6e ranks, while Esteban Ocon (Alpine) will start 8e. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) will complete the top 10. Lewis Hamilton, surprisingly, will be 13e on the starting grid.
It would almost be an understatement to say that Sunday’s race will be exciting!