Ferrari claim 1-2 at inaugural Miami GP qualifying

Charles Leclerc beat teammate Carlos Sainz to pole position to claim a 1-2 for Ferrari in Miami.

F1 returned to Florida for the first time since 1959, with an all-new street circuit built around the Hard Rock Stadium as the sport looks to increase its position in the American market.

Although many of the home fans were rooting for the Haas F1 Team, it was Leclerc and Sainz who stormed to a 1-2 for Ferrari after Max Verstappen failed to deliver a lap at the end of Q3.

Ferrari back on top in 2022

The history books will surely be looking fondly on Leclerc, who claimed pole position in Miami with a record of only ever winning from the top spot of the grid in his career.

Meanwhile, the Monegasque’s teammate narrowly missed out on his first pole position, a strong recovery given the Spaniard’s poor run of form and accident in Practice.

He said:

“I guess building up from a pretty heavy crash yesterday, it wasn’t easy at all to get the confidence back in such a difficult circuit like this.

“From where I was yesterday, I will take it.”

This was the team’s first front-row lockout since Mexico 2019, when Leclerc led Sebastian Vettel at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Russell fails to deliver after FP2 promise

After Mercedes seemed to be back in the mix during practice, many expected the German manufacturer to bounce back after a difficult start to 2022.

However, the team saw one of their cars exit Qualifying after a mistake in the second session. This, on the contrary to recent results, was George Russell who lost out to teammate Lewis Hamilton in Miami.

Although P12 is not a major loss for Mercedes and Russell can make up positions around the Hard Rock Stadium, the Briton will still be looking at the mistake he made in the closing stages of Q2.

Home heartbreak for Haas F1 Team

Haas returned to the United States after a strong run of form for Kevin Magnussen, outscoring their previous two seasons in the first four races.

But the team could only manage 15th and 16th, only ahead of Zhou Guanyu, the two Williams cars and Esteban Ocon, who did not complete a lap.

Although this is unlikely to represent a return to their previous form, the American team needs to improve on their pace if they hope to stick in F1’s competitive midfield fight.

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