Photo: YouTube / Formula 1
Following a hectic qualifying, the Miami Grand Prix is finally about to start. And if what happened so far offers any indication of what fans can expect, the first race on US soil will be an absolute banger.
Even as early as free practice, the tarmac and track layout in Miami proved difficult for drivers to tackle. The situation unsurprisingly did not improve when qualifying rolled around, which caused some unexpected offsets in the final grid order.
But before getting to the final results, we should start at the beginning, with the first round of qualifying. Both McLarens failed to make it out, despite Lando Norris showing good pace in practice, seemingly comfortable with the upgrades McLaren brought in Azerbaijan. Lance Stroll was another driver who surprisingly got knocked out in Q1, something that's not supposed to happen considering how fast the Aston Martin looked so far this season.
The second round developed in a similar uneventful manner with a plot twist at the end of it. This time it was Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes who did not manage to make it into the next round. The seven-time World Champion was relegated to P13, behind drivers like Alexander Albon and Nico Hulkenberg in much slower cars. But Hamilton is an experienced and patient driver who will likely make his way up the field and offer fans spectacular overtakes.
Finally, we reached the third round of qualifying, which is where everything went sideways. Max Verstappen elected to take his Red Bull out on track early, aiming to set a banker time, but things did not go as planned. The defending World Champion lost the car's back end through the quick sequence of corners in the first sector, from turn four to turn six.
Despite keeping the car on track, he chose to abort the lap with the intent of going out again later in the session. But that did happen, as Charles Leclerc lost control of his Ferrari in turn seven, the same corner that proved his Achilles heel in free practice. The Monegasque driver ended up in the barriers, bringing up a red flag with just under two minutes left in the session, which locked in the grid order.
Leclerc's crash meant that Max had not yet set a time for Q3 along with Valtteri Bottas, which left the Dutchman stranded in ninth place. Meanwhile, his teammate, Sergio Perez, locked out the first spot on the grid, followed by Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz.
This turn of events does not bode well for Max Verstappen's ambitions to win the race. But it does provide invaluable entertainment to the fans considering the two Red Bull drivers are almost equal on points so far. Max will surely push hard throughout the race to catch and overtake Checo, which will likely make the Miami GP a gold mine of entertainment, considering the tricky track conditions and high possibility of driver errors.
That rings especially true considering that fans who follow Perez know the Mexican has made his ambitions of winning a championship clear in a social media post that was later changed. And in the past two years, Checo did showcase he is capable of winning races and going toe to toe with Max, something that hasn't been the case at Red Bull since Daniel Ricciardo was paired up with the Dutchman. Granted, Red Bull is Max's playground, but with no team order issues so far this season, this race could be anyone's game.
So even if the RB 19 is clearly the dominant car this season, there could still be a championship fight between the two drivers behind the wheel of it. And if this battle between the two Red Bull drivers continues throughout the season, the drama will also follow to spice things up.
That rings especially true when considering the rest of the grid. Kevin Magnussen delivered a stellar performance for Haas' home crowd, qualifying in fourth place and likely to fight tooth and nail for a good result. Pierre Gasly was the driver that rounded up the top five, while George Russell took P6, seven places ahead of his far more experienced teammate. Charles Leclerc and Esteban Ocon slot in behind the Brit, with Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas completing the top 10.
But before getting to the final results, we should start at the beginning, with the first round of qualifying. Both McLarens failed to make it out, despite Lando Norris showing good pace in practice, seemingly comfortable with the upgrades McLaren brought in Azerbaijan. Lance Stroll was another driver who surprisingly got knocked out in Q1, something that's not supposed to happen considering how fast the Aston Martin looked so far this season.
The second round developed in a similar uneventful manner with a plot twist at the end of it. This time it was Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes who did not manage to make it into the next round. The seven-time World Champion was relegated to P13, behind drivers like Alexander Albon and Nico Hulkenberg in much slower cars. But Hamilton is an experienced and patient driver who will likely make his way up the field and offer fans spectacular overtakes.
Finally, we reached the third round of qualifying, which is where everything went sideways. Max Verstappen elected to take his Red Bull out on track early, aiming to set a banker time, but things did not go as planned. The defending World Champion lost the car's back end through the quick sequence of corners in the first sector, from turn four to turn six.
Despite keeping the car on track, he chose to abort the lap with the intent of going out again later in the session. But that did happen, as Charles Leclerc lost control of his Ferrari in turn seven, the same corner that proved his Achilles heel in free practice. The Monegasque driver ended up in the barriers, bringing up a red flag with just under two minutes left in the session, which locked in the grid order.
Leclerc's crash meant that Max had not yet set a time for Q3 along with Valtteri Bottas, which left the Dutchman stranded in ninth place. Meanwhile, his teammate, Sergio Perez, locked out the first spot on the grid, followed by Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz.
This turn of events does not bode well for Max Verstappen's ambitions to win the race. But it does provide invaluable entertainment to the fans considering the two Red Bull drivers are almost equal on points so far. Max will surely push hard throughout the race to catch and overtake Checo, which will likely make the Miami GP a gold mine of entertainment, considering the tricky track conditions and high possibility of driver errors.
That rings especially true considering that fans who follow Perez know the Mexican has made his ambitions of winning a championship clear in a social media post that was later changed. And in the past two years, Checo did showcase he is capable of winning races and going toe to toe with Max, something that hasn't been the case at Red Bull since Daniel Ricciardo was paired up with the Dutchman. Granted, Red Bull is Max's playground, but with no team order issues so far this season, this race could be anyone's game.
So even if the RB 19 is clearly the dominant car this season, there could still be a championship fight between the two drivers behind the wheel of it. And if this battle between the two Red Bull drivers continues throughout the season, the drama will also follow to spice things up.
That rings especially true when considering the rest of the grid. Kevin Magnussen delivered a stellar performance for Haas' home crowd, qualifying in fourth place and likely to fight tooth and nail for a good result. Pierre Gasly was the driver that rounded up the top five, while George Russell took P6, seven places ahead of his far more experienced teammate. Charles Leclerc and Esteban Ocon slot in behind the Brit, with Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas completing the top 10.
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