Red Bulls Sergio Perez has edged out Scuderia Ferraris Charles Leclerc to take top position ahead of qualifying at Formula Ones 2022 Miami Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc has beaten title rival Max Verstappen to the top spot at final practice ahead of the Spanish GP, with Mercedes continuing to display a newfound sense of speed. Championship leader Charles Leclerc has secured pole position at this weekends Spanish Grand Prix, starting ahead of Red Bulls Max Verstappen on Sunday. Charles Leclerc managed to overtake Max Verstappen at the end of qualifying, putting him in pole position for tomorrows Spanish Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc has saved his fourth Formula 1 pole position of the season following an incredible last lap of Spanish GP qualifying, while Max Verstappen was left lamenting the latest problem from Red Bull that ended his hopes of challenging him. The battle for the starting pole position takes place this Saturday afternoon at Montmelo, Barcelona, as Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz aim to get their Ferrari cars to the front of the grid, whilst Max Verstappen aims to continue his fine Red Bull form. Charles Leclerc has taken pole at Formula Ones Miami Grand Prix of the 2022 Formula One World Championship, ahead of his Ferrari Scuderia teammate Carlos Sainz. Mercedes George Russell was fastest in practice at the F1 Miami Grand Prix 2022 on Friday, around a new circuit scheduled for the 2022 F1 World Championship.
Road to POLECharles Leclerc led a one-two for the Scuderia Ferrari during qualifying, all cars running on soft tyres in the P Zero Red at the beginning and end of the session.
Carlos Sainz qualified third in another Ferrari, while the Mercedes, though improving, failed to get into the pole battle. Carlos Sainz and Mercedes George Russell form the second row tomorrow, while Sergio Perez is in fifth. While Lewis Hamilton took pole position in the Spanish GP last year, this year Lewis Hamilton had to make do with P6 position on the grid, only just ahead of his former teammate Valtteri Bottas. Ferrari and title rival Sebastian Vettels were on top in the opening two parts of qualifying, with Kimi Raikkonen closely behind, with Hamiltons Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas also involved — particularly late in the race, where he almost took pole by himself, missing by only 0.040s. World champion Lewis Hamilton has won three out of the opening five races of this year — taking his tally for the career to 87 — and so far this season, he has been out-qualified by just Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and Red Bulls Max Verstappen.
Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, of course, has a history in Spain, having defeated Lewis Hamilton in last years Spanish GP, and there is no doubt that Sundays race will be hotly contested. If Lewis Hamilton shows anything like the same kind of drive and determination that he showed during qualifying, Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosbergs healthy lead atop the drivers standings may very well be threatened. With both Ferraris and two of the Red Bulls showing stronger pace on long runs than Mercedes on Friday practice, Lewis Hamilton seems quietly upbeat about his chances on Sunday. Mercedes, however, are likely to be slightly disappointed by the final timesheet, given the encouraging pace Mercedes showed in qualifying for the Spanish GP.
Mercedes brought upgrades here, and they appear to have corrected for the worst of Mercedess bouncing phenomena, but they are still behind Red Bulls and Ferraris on pure pace. Mercedes has won the constructors championship every year since 2014, but are now facing losing their titles to either Ferrari or Red Bull. Sebastian Vettel is suffering the worst start to a season since 2008, failing to score in the top five of any race.
Max Verstappen is dangerously close to becoming the youngest driver to take a grand prix pole position, but is narrowly beaten out by Red Bulls other driver, Daniel Ricciardo, who will begin Sundays race third. Max Verstappen has shown flashes in the past, and only last race at Miami, when he came from third to pass both Ferraris en route to victory. Fernando Alonso was also third in 2007, and has taken two more second places, in 2010 and 2012. In both those races, Alonso finished ahead of the Williams of Spanish-speaking Pastor Maldonado, who won from pole; it was the first victory and pole for a Venezuelan driver at a Grand Prix, the first for Williams after their 2004 victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix, and the teams first win and pole at the Spanish Grand Prix since 1997.
Red Bulls Sergio Perez set his fastest lap in under five minutes, with the rapid closing sectors particularly taking him to an fastest time of 1m30.304s, which beat Charles Leclercs best time by only 0.194s. Ferraris Sebastian Vettel also posted a second fastest lap, which saw him finish a tenth behind Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, while Red Bulls newly signed Max Verstappen was another five-tenths behind, having jumped over team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. Team-mate Esteban Ocon crashed into the wall and damaged Esteban Ocons Renault front end, prompting the red flag that stopped Fridays practice session, giving Mercedes only two hours to fix the car. Teammate Esteban Ocon took part in the race, although he crashed during the morning session.
