Max Verstappen emerged on top during an exciting climax to Sprint Qualifying at the Miami International Autodrome on Friday afternoon, narrowly getting the better of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez.
Verstappen clocked a time of 1m 27.641s in the decisive SQ3 phase to bag pole position, with Leclerc impressively bouncing back from his FP1 spin to finish a tenth back, and Perez winding up a further tenth adrift in third.
READ MORE: Verstappen claims pole in Miami Sprint Qualifying ahead of Leclerc and Perez
Daniel Ricciardo was a high-flying fourth for RB, from the other Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, as the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris struggled to cope with the move from medium to soft tyres and had to settle for sixth and ninth respectively.
It was a disappointing session for Mercedes, with both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton dropping out in the SQ2 phase – the seven-time world champion reporting that he had tapped a wall in his bid to progress to the pole shootout.
Watch the highlights from the Sprint grid-decider in the video player above.
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