04/05/2024
NEWS STORY
Ahead of Q1, the air temperature is 29 degrees C, while the track temperature is 48 degrees, warmer than yesterday. It is bright and sunny.
While Max Verstappen won the Sprint, it's debatable as to who was the star of the min-race, with Ricciardo and Magnussen among those who might claim the honour.
Despite his entertaining battle with Hamilton, Magnussen apologised for his tactics admitting that he was under orders to assist his teammate. Unfortunately, other than the four separate time penalties he was hit with the Dane is now up before the stewards for "unsportsmanlike behaviour".
Other than Magnussen's antics the drivers will have seen the difficulty Sainz had in attempting to pass Ricciardo, not forgetting that first corner clash which resulted in the elimination of Norris and Stroll, consequently, a good grid position will be vital.
As for that first corner clash, the stewards have opted to take no further action as they were unable to identify one or more drivers wholly or predominantly to blame for the various collisions or any one of them.
While that will please fans of Hamilton, Alonso and Stroll, Norris might not feel that justice has been done.
Rubbing salt in his wounds, Norris has been hit with a reprimand and a €50,000 for crossing the live track to return to the pit lane, €25,000 of which is suspended for the remainder of the
2024 season on condition that there are no further breaches of similar nature.
Tyre deg continues to be an issue, and as reported earlier Pirelli admitted to being flummoxed by the fact that in the Shootout's final phase the softs were no quicker, indeed less grippy than the mediums in SQ2. Indeed, some drivers complained that the red-banded rubber wasn't good for a whole lap.
Due to that first corner clash, and a number of other incidents, a number of teams have been kept busy with repairs during the break.
The lights go green and Sargeant leads the way, followed by Magnussen, Hulkenberg, Ocon and Gasly.
"We will report them," Ricciardo is told after Zhou pushes in front of the RB driver as they leave the pits.
The stewards are to investigate the incident after the session.
Magnussen posts a benchmark 29.015 but this is immediately beaten by his teammate (28.945).
A 28.817 sees Hamilton go top but this is eclipsed by his Mercedes teammate who crosses the line at 28.567.
Sainz posts a 28.159 as Alonso goes third with a 28.586.
Leclerc goes second (28.183), Perez third, Piastri fifth and Ricciardo seventh.
"That didn't sound very good out of the pits... the clutch," reports Verstappen, who, along with Bottas, is last out.
"Grip was very good," reports Hamilton.
Quickest in S2, Verstappen crosses the line at 28.023 to go top, 0.136s up on Sainz.
Hulkenberg goes fifth and Sargeant eleventh, while Magnussen improves to thirteenth.
PBs in all three sectors see Stroll go sixth.
As Leclerc goes quickest in S1, Hamilton goes third overall with a 28.167.
Ocon improves to seventh, as Sainz retakes the top spot with a 27.937.
Piastri goes third (28.032), but is demoted when his teammate bangs in a 28.017.
Ricciardo appears to brush the wall at Turn 16.
"What the **** was that Alpine doing," asks Verstappen, as Sargeant claims that Tsunoda "ruined" him.
Perez goes quickest with a 27.772.
Sargeant, Gasly, Magnussen, Zhou and Albon comprise the drop zone, with Ricciardo, Tsunoda and Bottas hovering.
A long train of cars heads down the pitlane, each driver seeking a perfect gap.
Soon, all bar Perez are on track.
Leclerc passes Hamilton on the back straight, as Verstappen improves to 27.689.
Norris goes third, Sargeant 13th and Albon ninth.
Ocon goes eighth, Tsunoda ninth and Russell seventh.
Ricciardo fails to improve while Gasly goes fifth, Alonso drops to 15th and Stroll goes tenth.
Quickest is Verstappen, ahead of Perez, Norris, Sainz, Gasly, Piastri, Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton and Stroll.
We lose Bottas, Sargeant, Ricciardo, Magnussen and Zhou. To make matters worse, Ricciardo has a 3-place grid penalty carried over from Shanghai.
With RB down to one car, Tsunoda leads the way as Q2 gets underway. He is followed by Stroll, Perez, Verstappen, Norris and Piastri.
As more drivers head out all are von fresh rubber bar the Red Bull pair.
Tsunoda posts a benchmark 28.223, while Perez can only manage 28.239.
Verstappen crosses the line at 27.972 but Norris responds with a 27.871 and Piastri a 27.721.
Russell goes sixth and his Mercedes teammate seventh.
Leclerc goes quickest with a 27.533 while a 27.941 sees his teammate go fourth.
Alonso can only manage 13th (28.765), the Spaniard really struggling this weekend.
Albon runs out of road at the hairpin, bringing out the yellows. "These tyres," he sighs, "I can't get them to last more than six corners."
Ahead of the final assault, Ocon, Hamilton, Stroll, Alonso and Albon comprise the drop zone.
As Norris heads out on mediums, both Aston Martins are on old rubber.
"Aston Martin on the limit there," complains Leclerc as Stroll is released into his path.
Alonso can only improve to thirteenth, despite a two from Albon on the back straight.
Perez goes third and Stroll tenth, but both are demoted when Hamilton goes second with a 27.697.
Verstappen goes second with a 27.566 as Russell goes eighth and Ocon thirteenth.
Quickest is Leclerc, ahead of Verstappen, Hamilton, Piastri, Perez, Norris, Sainz, Russell, Tsunoda and Hulkenberg.
We lose Stroll, Gasly, Ocon, Albon and Alonso, that's both Alpines and both Aston Martins out.
"It's pretty warm but it's pretty good," says Zak Brown, ahead of Q3, "just a bit of tyre debate with what to go out on. Lando is very comfortable on the mediums. We might give those a go."
Indeed, Norris is on the mediums while everyone else is on softs. Tsunoda and Hulkenberg on used rubber.
"We don't have telemetry at the moment," Verstappen is told, "so we'll leave you in charge."
"This track rewards good exit and good change of direction," Norris is told.
Hulkenberg posts a benchmark 29.104, while Tsunoda can only manage 31.700.
A 28.654 sees Hamilton go top[, but Russell responds with a 28.067 and Perez a 27.754.
Verstappen crosses the line at 27.241, while Leclerc goes second (27.382), Sainz third and Piastri fourth.
Hulkenberg has been noted for impeding Sainz.
Hamilton one of several drivers taking very rough rides over the kerbs.
"My tyres were overheating," says Hamilton.
The final assault gets underway, Hulkenberg leading the way. The Mercedes pair have switched to fresh mediums.
PBS in the opening sector for a number of drivers, as Verstappen goes purple.
Hulkenberg improves to eighth and Tsunoda ninth as Russell calls for his teammate to speed up.
Perez remains fourth and Piastri fifth while Verstappen fails to improve.
Sainz fails to improve while Norris goes fifth, with Russell leapfrogging Hamilton for seventh.
As expected, the tyres were acting differently corner to corner, and while the uncertainty was good for us it will have been a nightmare for the drivers and their teams.
So, Verstappen has pole, ahead of Leclerc, Sainz, Perez, Norris, Piastri, Russell, Hamilton, Hulkenberg and Tsunoda.
Stroll is eleventh, ahead of Gasly, Ocon, Albon, Alonso, Bottas, Sargeant, Ricciardo, Magnussen and Zhou.
"Honestly, a bit of a shame about this morning," says Sainz, "I couldn't get past Daniel but we knew the pace was there.
We managed to do some clean laps, every lap is a bit of an adventure with the wind," he adds. "You always finish the lap and feel like you could have gone so much faster, but it's almost impossible to put together a perfect lap. P3, clean side of the road might be a good place to start."
"It felt so much on the limit, it was very close until Q3," adds Leclerc. "When we started to push for the last one or two tenths, we started to lose it. However, the race is long and I hope tomorrow we can put Max under a bit more pressure.
"Tomorrow, I'll try to have an even better start."
"I think we improved the car a bit, but every year I come here I find it difficult to be consistent," admits Verstappen. "Today was about finding that balance and I think we did OK.
"It's not the most enjoyable lap of my career just because of how slippery it was. The car feels more under control, which should help us tomorrow... but we'll find out."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Miami here.