Verstappen leads Miami GP Qualifying

Max Verstappen beat Charles Leclerc in the qualifying for the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, securing pole position. Both drivers failed to improve their times in their final Q3 attempts.

Verstappen clocked a time of 1m27.241s, surpassing Leclerc by 0.141 seconds on his first Q3 lap, followed by Carlos Sainz. In their final laps, the top three drivers couldn't improve their times, and Leclerc had issues on his last attempt.

Sergio Pérez improved his time on his final Q3 lap, securing fourth place. Lando Norris took fifth place, using medium tires on his first Q3 attempt.

Oscar Piastri finished sixth, while George Russell and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes took seventh and eighth place, respectively. Both used medium tires on their final Q3 laps, and only Hamilton improved his time with the yellow-banded tires.

Nico Hulkenberg took ninth place, and Yuki Tsunoda was tenth. In Q3, Carlos Sainz was cleared of an investigation for blocking Hulkenberg at Turn 17.

In Q2, Russell's final improvement eliminated Lance Stroll. The Alpine drivers, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, were eliminated after failing to improve their times.

In Q1, Fernando Alonso advanced to the next phase, finishing in 15th place, 0.01s ahead of Valtteri Bottas. Logan Sargeant, the local driver, was eliminated in 17th place behind Bottas. Daniel Ricciardo was also eliminated, complaining of a lack of rear grip. Kevin Magnussen and Zhou Guanyu closed the classification.

Zhou is under investigation for overtaking Ricciardo before the pitlane opened and for crossing the pitlane exit line at the end of Q1. Several drivers are under investigation for going too slowly on their warm-up laps, but they are unlikely to receive grid penalties. Ricciardo, due to his post-China Grand Prix penalty for overtaking under the safety car, will start last in Sunday's race.