Verstappen admits Miami confidence fears - Top three qualifying verdict
Verstappen admits Miami confidence fears - Top three qualifying verdict
Max Verstappen described his Miami Grand Prix qualifying session as 'hard', despite claiming his 38th career pole position on the grid for Sunday's big race in south Florida.
Conditions out on track were difficult during qualifying, with tyres overheating and Verstappen highlighting the slippery conditions.
READ MORE: F1 Qualifying Results: Miami Grand Prix 2024 times as Ferraris give Red Bull SCARE
Charles Leclerc managed to claim a front row start in second, but could not find enough to take pole position away from the current championship leader.
Whilst they missed out on pole, the Ferraris still split the two Red Bulls, with Carlos Sainz qualifying third, leaving Sergio Perez down in fourth.
Here's what the top three drivers had to say after an action-packed qualifying in which many drivers struggled with a lack of grip.
READ MORE: Hamilton Miami FIA penalty verdict announced
Max Verstappen
"We definitely improved the car a bit. I don't know what it is, every single year we come here, I find it extremely difficult to be consistent with the car feeling, the tyre feeling over one lap.
"It's super hard to make sure that Sector 1 feels good, then Sector 3 at the end of the lap. To make that happens together is incredibly tough.
"Again today, it was about finding that balance. I think we did OK. It wasn't the most enjoyable lap of my career because of how slippery it is and you're not very confident on the lap. But we are on pole, and that's the most important thing."
On his race pace:
"It definitely feels a little bit more under control , which I was looking for. Hopefully that helps us out tomorrow.
"We know what we, and I, did wrong at the start [in the sprint]. I'm sure if I do my things correctly, then it should be alright."
READ MORE: Ricciardo suffers MAJOR Miami setback amid F1 penalty woes
Charles Leclerc
"It felt so much on the limit.
"It was very close until Q3 where when we started to push for the last one or two tenths, we started to lose the tyres in sector two and three. Overheating them quite a bit.
"So today that's where we lost a bit of time. However, the race is long tomorrow, this morning [in the sprint] we showed a good pace so I hope we can put Max under a bit more pressure."
"This, and keeping the DRS if we don't get past at turn one. DRS is super powerful here and if we lose it after the first lap it's super difficult to come back without DRS. So we must not lose it.
"But first of all it will be the start. This morning we had a good one and tomorrow I'll try to have an even better one."
READ MORE: F1 star causes red flag in HUGE Miami practice embarrassment
Carlos Sainz
"A bit of a shame about the Sprint, I couldn't get past Daniel but I knew the pace was there.
"I knew with a clean quali I could be in the top three. We managed to do some clean laps.
"It's really tricky around here with a new soft. Every lap is a bit of adventure.
"With the wind you don't know what will happen. Keeping all that in mind, the laps were not too bad.
"You always finish the lap and think you could have gone so much faster, but it's almost impossible to put a perfect clean lap around here."
READ MORE: Hamilton hit with SEVERE FIA penalty after clumsy Miami race
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Verstappen takes TUMBLE in battle with F1 rival
- 23 minutes ago
F1 star aiming to break Monaco CURSE at 'special' track
- 1 hour ago
F1 24 players get chance to WIN Verstappen swag
- 1 hour ago
F1 team boss warns star driver's seat under threat for 2025
- 2 hours ago
Perez makes 'SUPER SPICY' admission about partnering Verstappen
- 3 hours ago
Wolff makes opens up on 'clear' upgrades with more to come
- Today 13:57
F1 Race Calendar 2024
-
GP BAHRAIN
29 Feb - 2 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP SAUDI ARABIA
7 - 9 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP AUSTRALIA
22 - 24 Mar
Carlos Sainz
-
GP JAPAN
5 - 7 Apr
Max Verstappen
-
GP CHINA
19 - 21 Apr
Max Verstappen
-
GP USA
3 - 5 May
Lando Norris
-
GP ITALY
17 - 19 May
Max Verstappen
- GP MONACO 24 - 26 May
- GP CANADA 7 - 9 Jun
- GP SPAIN 21 - 23 Jun
- GP AUSTRIA 28 - 30 Jun
- GP GREAT BRITAIN 5 - 7 Jul
- GP HUNGARY 19 - 21 Jul
Related news
New F1 record announced following Miami Grand Prix
Stunning Norris win dedicated to tragedy
Ferrari chief defects to McLaren for Norris celebrations
Verstappen reveals VINDICTIVE motivation for Miami collision
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- AWS Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860