Verstappen takes 'terrible' Miami sprint pole as Hamilton hits wall

Max Verstappen claimed sprint qualifying pole at the Miami Grand Prix, beating Charles Leclerc and team-mate Sergio Perez, despite a hairy moment in the Turn 14/15 chicane on his one timed run - with him calling his attempt "terrible".

The Dutch driver missed out on sprint qualifying pole at the Chinese Grand Prix, but made amends in Miami, beating the Ferrari by a tenth of a second.

Daniel Ricciardo was the standout performer, putting his RB in fourth, ahead of Carlos Sainz and the McLarens and Aston Martins.

It was a disappointing session for Lando Norris, who despite upgrades, could only get the better of Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg in the final sprint qualifying session. He will line up in ninth for the Saturday morning sprint.

In the eight minute session, the entire pack of 10 cars would wait until there was only around three minutes to go before emerging from the pits. Therefore, there was only time for one hot lap per driver.

The high track temperature meant the Pirelli soft tyres were struggling to hold on for an entire push lap, let alone two - as it has become customary to do in sprint qualifying sessions since the format was introduced last year.

The result, a high pressure situation for all drivers, who eventually made their way onto the circuit, tip-toeing around, trying not to take any life out of the red-walled Pirellis.

Sprint qualifying 2

With just the 10 minutes for SQ2, the remaining 15 cars would emerge from the pits as soon as possible, led by the Haas pair of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.

They would set the first representative lap times, but it would be Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc who would lead the way after the first round of push laps. Lewis Hamilton found himself just P11. Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda, however, would hold their respective nerves - opting to stay in the pits and set just the one lap time.

Daniel Ricciardo hit the wall at the exit of the tricky chicane section, getting on the radio to let the RB team know.

Lando Norris led the way with just two minutes to go, as the field prepared for the last round of push runs. The bottom five heading into that critical juncture was: Hamilton, Esteban Ocon, Kevin Magnussen and the two who decided not to set a first hot lap.

Verstappen would set his lap early, going fourth fastest. As the chequered flag flew for the second sprint qualifying session, Ocon would be the first to meet their fate - the French driver only able to set a time good enough for P13.

But drama for Mercedes. Like Ricciardo, Hamilton would hit the wall, ruining his lap and leaving him only just ahead of Ocon. He would be joined by team-mate George Russell in an underwhelming SQ2 for the team.

Norris and Perez would remain out front, leading the remaining 10 drivers through after Magnussen and Tsunoda were also eliminated.

Sprint qualifying 1

After the green light to start the 12 minutes of SQ1, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was immediately on track, set to make up for lost time following his costly error during the sole practice session.

The 26-year-old would, however, have to bail out of his first timed run following a bit of a moment at Turn 7 and 8.

With just eight minutes left to run, only the Aston Martins and Stake F1 cars had set a representative time. The Red Bulls would quickly put pay to that, going over three-tenths of a second clear, before Oscar Piastri slotted in between them.

The Williams duo were last to set a time, but Logan Sargeant would only be able to set a P15 lap at his first go of asking. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso whacked the wall heading into the back straight.

Only a couple of minutes left to run and Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas and Nico Hulkenberg were keeping the Williams pair company in the bottom five, when the Finnish driver found the side of Piastri's McLaren at Turn 1. Bottas had just pulled himself out of the drop zone moments prior - penalty incoming?

Kevin Magnussen had put in a stellar lap to keep the McLaren of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen company atop the timing board.

With Sargeant, the two Stakes and his team-mate Alex Albon consigned to the bottom five, Pierre Gasly was the last driver with the chance to have his session. Unfortunately for Alpine, the Frenchman was unable to improve on his time.

Albon would soon find himself shuffled from P16 to P20, after his lap time was deleted for missing the Turn 14/15 chicane - a clear track limits violation.