Perez records his first pole position outside of Saudi Arabia, Hamilton records his worst qualifying result on American soil and McLaren record their first double Q1 exit in over four years. Here are the facts and statistics from qualifying at the 2023 Miami Grand Prix!
PEREZ ON POLE FOR THE 2023 MIAMI GRAND PRIX
A red flag with 96 seconds left on the clock prevented drivers from running for a second lap in Q3 at the 2023 Miami Grand Prix, leaving Sergio Perez as the polesitter. This is the third pole position of Perez’s career and his first pole position not taken at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
2023 becomes the first season in which Perez has started from pole position twice.
Their pole at the 2023 Miami Grand Prix marked Red Bull’s 85th pole position in Formula 1. They are the sixth team to achieve the feat – and the first to do so since Mercedes at the 2017 Japanese Grand Prix.
IN THE TOP 10
Fernando Alonso lines up on the front row of the grid for the 2023 Miami Grand Prix, recording his first top five start in the United States since the 2007 United States Grand Prix.
Alonso joins Sergio Perez on the front row of the grid for the second time this season. The duo also lined up on the front row at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
This was the first time Alonso qualified on the front row of the grid – without any grid penalties – since the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix. It’s the first time he has done so in a dry Q3 session since the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz recorded his first top three qualifying result of the 2023 season. This was the first time Sainz qualified in the top three since the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Qualifying fourth, Kevin Magnussen equalled his best ever starting position for a Grand Prix. He also started fourth on debut at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix and at the 2014 German Grand Prix.
This marked Magnussen’s first Q3 appearance since the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix – a race weekend in which he secured pole position for the F1 Sprint.
Fourth place is Haas’ best-ever qualifying result (excluding qualifying for Sprint events). This will be the ninth time that the team has started in the top five for a Grand Prix – and the first time they have done so in a position other than fifth.
There’s still yet to be a Mercedes driver qualifying in the top five at the Miami Grand Prix. George Russell recorded the team’s best qualifying result at the 2023 Miami Grand Prix with sixth place. It’s the same position in which Lewis Hamilton qualified for the 2022 race.
While neither Alpine driver reached Q3 at last year’s Miami Grand Prix, both did so at the 2023 Miami Grand Prix. Pierre Gasly qualified fifth, while Esteban Ocon qualified eighth. This is the first time that both Alpine drivers have qualified in the top eight in a conventional qualifying session since the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Gasly qualified in fifth place, recording his first top five qualifying result since the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix.
Bringing out the red flags with a crash in Q3, Charles Leclerc qualified only seventh for the 2023 Miami Grand Prix. He equalled his worst qualifying result of the season to date, having also qualified seventh at the Australian Grand Prix.
After making a mistake on his first lap in Q3, Max Verstappen did not set a lap time in the final stage of qualifying and qualified only ninth for the 2023 Miami Grand Prix. Despite this, Verstappen now holds the Track Record at Miami International Autodrome. His lap time of 1:26.814, set in Q2 on used tyres, was faster than any lap time set in Q3.
Valtteri Bottas gave Alfa Romeo their first Q3 appearance of the 2023 season. The timing of the red flag meant that Bottas failed to set a lap time in the final part of qualifying.
This was Bottas’ first Q3 appearance since the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix.
OUT IN Q2
Qualifying in 11th place, Alex Albon maintained his record of out-qualifying his team-mate at every race in the 2023 season. Fernando Alonso is the only other driver to have done so.
For only the 22nd time in his 315 Grand Prix career, Lewis Hamilton failed to qualify in the top ten. Qualifying 13th, the 2023 Miami Grand Prix marks the first time in Hamilton’s career that he has out-qualified outside of the top six on American soil in his F1 career.
13th is Hamilton’s worst qualifying result since the 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, where he qualified in 14th place.
Both AlphaTauri drivers reached Q3 at the 2022 Miami Grand Prix – but neither did so in 2023. Nyck De Vries was eliminated in Q2, qualifying in 15th. De Vries equalled his best qualifying result of the season. He also qualified 15th at the Australian Grand Prix.
OUT IN Q1
With both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri out in Q1, McLaren recorded their first double Q1 elimination since the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Both Norris and Piastri recorded the third Q1 exits of their respective careers. Piastri has reached that number in five races, while Norris has taken 87 races to do so. The 2019 German Grand Prix and the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix are the only other races at which Norris has not progressed to Q2.
Qualifying in 19th place, this was the first back row qualification of Piastri’s F1 career.
Yuki Tsunoda was out-qualified by Nyck de Vries for the first time as AlphaTauri team-mates. Tsunoda could qualify no higher than 17th, recording his second Q1 elimination of the season.
17th place is Tsunoda’s worst qualifying result since the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix.
Lance Stroll was eliminated in Q1, ending Aston Martin’s 100% Q3 appearance record in 2023. It’s Stroll’s worst qualifying performance since the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix.
On his first home race appearance, Logan Sargeant was eliminated in Q1. Setting the slowest time of the 20 drivers, this was the second time that a Williams driver has qualified on the back row at the Miami Grand Prix. Nicholas Latifi qualified 19th last year.
This is the second time that Sargeant has qualified last. He also set the slowest qualifying time at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
