Max Verstappen wins pole for inaugural Sprint Race at Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix
MIAMI GARDENS — With back-to-back victories in the only two CRYPTO.com Miami Grand Prix races, it would appear Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen was the overwhelming favorite for pole position in Saturday’s Sprint Race at the Miami International Autodrome.
But the three-time and reigning world champion actually insists he was a little surprised at the outcome of his flying lap in the No. 1 Red Bull around the 3.363-mile, 19-corner circuit at Hard Rock Stadium. He called his lap of 1:27.641 “terrible,’’ but clearly it did the job.
Verstappen’s fast lap edged 2022 polesitter, Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles LeClerc by a slight .108-second for the right to start Saturday’s 19-lap Sprint Race from the lead position. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was third fastest followed by Daniel Ricciardo for Red Bull’s junior team and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
Hometown favorite, Pompano Beach’s Logan Sargeant – the only American on the 20-car grid – will start 19th alongside his Williams Racing teammate Alex Albon.
It was quite a positive turnaround for LeClerc, who had an incident only three laps into the day’s opening practice bringing out a red flag for the session. LeClerc won pole position for the first-ever Miami Grand Prix in 2022.
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Conversely, it was a surprising ending to final qualifying for McLaren Racing driver Lando Norris, who set the fast time in both the opening two rounds of the session but had an issue in the third round. He’ll start ninth on the grid. His McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, will start sixth.
This will be the first Sprint Race for the Miami event and the 19-lap race starts at noon. Points are awarded for the top-eight finishers. Qualifying for Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Max Verstappen edges Charles LeClerc for Miami Grand Prix Sprint race pole
