Twenty-six-year-old Verstappen followed up on the fastest time from a single practice and can win the second sprint of the season. Two weeks ago, he succeeded in a shortened 100 kilometer race in China. The Dutch driver can also extend his lead at the championship lead, now 25 points ahead of Pérez.
The second Leclerc made up for the failure from training in the sprint qualification. During it, the Monaco Ferrari driver skidded in a narrow part of the track, retired and the organizers had to push his car away. However, in qualifying, Leclerc outpaced third-placed Pérez by 127 thousandths of a second.
McLaren’s Lando Norris was disappointed. The 24-year-old Brit set fast times in the first two parts of the qualification, but made a mistake in the final attempt and was ninth. He did not follow up on the pole position from the sprint in China.
Both Mercedes drivers finished outside the top ten. George Russell was eleventh, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton even twelfth.
Saturday’s sprint will be followed four hours later by qualifying for the main race. It starts on Sunday at 22:00 CEST.
| Sprint Qualification: |
|---|
| 1. Verstappen 1:27.641 |
| 2. Leclerc (Mon./Ferrari) -0.108 |
| 3. Perez -0.235 |
| 4. Ricciardo (Aust./Racing Bulls) -0.403 |
| 5. Sainz -0.462 |
| 6. Piastri -0.520 |
Tags: Verstappen qualifying sprint Miami
