“Charles Leclerc Crashes in Miami Grand Prix Qualifying as Perez Takes Pole Position”

Qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix took place in hot and windy weather. There were almost two accidents in the first part. Hamilton had to avoid Magnussen, who was almost standing, and perhaps had contact with the wall. With no time on his account, he headed to the pits. Sainz again pushed Chou towards the wall.

Not one of the McLaren drivers, nor Lance Stroll, advanced to the next fight. Apart from them, the qualification in the first part ended for Cunoda and Sargeant.

Lewis Hamilton surprisingly finished in the middle section. Neither did Albon, Hülkenberg, Chou and De Vries.

The third part of qualifying brought a dramatic twist to the race. Max Verstappen messed up the first attempt in the third part. In the seventh corner, his car slipped and the Red Bull driver preferred to go straight into the pits. The lap did not go well for Leclerc either.

In the second attempts, Leclerc crashed. The track was red flagged 1 minute and 36 seconds before the end of qualifying. The race management decided not to restart the qualification.

Pole position went to Sergio Pérez, who will be attacking to take over the championship lead on Sunday. Fernando Alonso will start next to him from the first row, the second row will belong to Sainz and Magnussen.

Starting grid

The third part of the qualification

23:01:

1. ​Per
2. Alo
3. Sai
4. Mag
5. Gas
6. Rus
7. Lec
8. Oco
9. Ver
10. Bot

11:00 p.m.: race directorate finished qualifying.

22:59: Again…

22:58: Leclerc breaks…

Foto: Getty Images / Jared C. Tilton

22:58: red flags! 1.5 minutes to go

22:58: yellow flags

22:55: Alonso or Magnussen drove the first attempt on used tires.

22:54: Verstappen had problems in the 7th / 8th corner where he slipped. The lap did not go well for Leclerc either.

22:53:

1. Per
2. Alo
3. Sai
4. Mag
5. Gas
6. Rus
7. Lec
8. Oco

22:53: In first place Pérez ahead of Alonso and Sainz.

22:52: Verstappen has finished the first attempt and is heading to the pits.

The second part of the qualification

22:42: Will not advance: Albon, Hülkenberg, Hamilton, Chou and De Vries.

22:41: Magnussen advances, Hulk ends.

22:40: Hamilton will not advance…

22:40: and Verstappen in first place by 0.150s ahead of Leclerc.

22:39: Verstappen but now the fastest in the first sector.

22:38: Leclerc looked at the live timing, checked Sainz’s time and goes into first place. Bottas sixth.

22:33:

1. ​Ver
2. Sai
3. Per
4. Alo
5. Lec
6. Oco
7. Alb
8. Gas
9. Their
10. Mag
11. Rus
12. Ham
13. Chow
14. Dev

22:33: And Sainz second with a loss of 0.038s to Verstappen.

22:32: Sainz in a very fast lap.

22:25: the second part begins

The first part of the qualification

22:20: Norris, Cunoda, Stroll, Piastri and Sargeant will not advance.

22:19: Stroll will not advance!

22:19: Hamilton saves himself, goes to sixth place.

22:18: Haas drivers in fifth and sixth place.

22:17: Verstappen has already stayed in the pits.

22:14: Hulk the Fourth!

22:13: Sainz again pushed Chou to the wall.

22:11: Verstappen took the lead.

22:10: Hamilton had to avoid Magnussen who was almost standing and maybe had contact with the wall… that’s why he was in the pits.

22:09:

1. Per
2. Lec
3. Ver
4. Alo
5. Mag
6. Sai
7. Gas
8. Chow
9. Bot
10. Oco
11. Their
12. Str
13. Sar
14. Alb
15. Pia
16. Con
17. Nor
18. Rus
19. Dev
20. Ham

22:08: Hamilton last and in the pits. Nine minutes left.

22:07: Leclerc second with a loss of a tenth of a second.

22:06: Perez in the lead, Verstappen second. We are waiting for the times of Ferrari and Aston Martin drivers

22:05: Hülkenberg was scared of the back of the car at the wall, but he caught it…

22:00: qualification begins

21:57: 30% chance of rain during qualifying. The track is still 47°C.

21:51: Welcome to the online coverage of the 2023 GP Miami Qualifying.