It was an absolutely insane qualifying session in the vicinity of the Miami Dolphins. When everything settled down, Verstappen emerged as the leader on the timing screens, with a time that was 0.108 seconds faster than Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. He also had a comfortable lead of about a quarter of a second over his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who secured the third position.
Surprisingly, there was no sign of any McLaren cars in the top positions, even though Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were expected to be strong contenders after the second qualifying session. However, they struggled to improve their times in the final session, while Verstappen managed to find an additional four-tenths of a second, which ultimately made all the difference.
During the post-qualifying interviews in the Parc Ferme, Verstappen was asked about his pole-winning lap in the Miami Sprint Race. He expressed his dissatisfaction, stating that it felt really terrible. He mentioned that the last session was extremely challenging, especially when it came to getting the tires to work properly. He admitted that he didn’t feel great during the second qualifying session either, and the feeling was quite similar in the third session.
Verstappen further explained that he didn’t really improve on the soft tires, yet somehow they managed to secure the first position. He acknowledged that he happily accepted the result, but driving didn’t feel enjoyable for him during the qualifying session, unlike during the practice sessions where he felt comfortable and confident.
He speculated that the track layout might have played a role in their performance. After the practice sessions, he was confident that they could fight for pole position, but during qualifying, it didn’t seem likely. Nevertheless, they ended up in first place, and he was unsure about what happened to the other cars on the last lap.
In the Red Bull report from Miami, Verstappen, the three-time F1 World Champion and current Championship leader, mentioned that the track surface had a significant impact on the performance due to the sensitivity of the tires. He believed that everyone else struggled during the final run on the soft tires.
Verstappen acknowledged that they needed to analyze and question why their performance felt different during qualifying compared to practice. However, he expressed confidence that they would figure it out and perform well in the upcoming Sprint race. He concluded by stating that they had a great starting position and hoped to maximize it. Once the tires stabilize, he believed they would be back on track.
In the team report, Perez summarized his qualifying session by stating that it was a challenging session. They only had one attempt on the soft compound tire and were unable to fully exploit its potential due to changes in grip. Perez acknowledged that luck plays a role in how the car performs with limited practice. He recognized McLaren as the fastest cars on the track but noted that they also struggled with the soft compound. Perez expressed the team’s need to improve their performance on that tire and hoped to figure it out before the race on Saturday. He remained optimistic about their progress and anticipated a stronger race pace.
Red Bull F1 team principal, Christian Horner, expressed his satisfaction with the qualifying results. He admitted that during Q2, it seemed like they might not have the strongest car, especially on the medium tire. The wind was a contributing factor to the challenging conditions. However, both drivers performed admirably, and the team exceeded their expectations by securing first and third positions on the starting grid. Horner mentioned Max’s surprise at capturing pole position, as he didn’t believe his lap was exceptional. Nevertheless, the difficult conditions affected everyone, leading to a favorable outcome for Red Bull. Horner acknowledged the team’s achievement but emphasized that there is still a lot of work to be done before the race.