Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco set the fastest time in qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix on Saturday, round five of the Formula 1 World Championship.
The 24-year-old clocked 1:28.796 minutes, 0:190 seconds ahead of his Spanish Scuderia colleague Carlos Sainz, while Dutch world champion Max Verstappen finished third, 0:195 seconds back after a minor error in his last plane. .
Verstappen’s teammate, Mexican Sergio “Checo” Pérez, completed the top four, while Finnish Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas finished fifth, ahead of his former Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion.
This is the third time this season that Leclerc has posted the best time in the Test on Saturday and the 12th of his career, while his teammate Sainz has started in first place for the second time in his career.
Ferrari finished first and second on pole for the first time since the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix.
“It’s amazing to be here and the fans are going crazy,” said Leclerc, the leader with 86 points.
“It will be a big challenge, but we are very excited because there are a lot of Ferrari fans here. Hope we can win!”
Verstappen, who is 27 points behind the Principality, refused to show his disappointment: “Overall I’m happy with the qualification because I only had four or five laps yesterday. But we have to start making this weekend less difficult,” he said. is he. . . .
Here are the times for the third round of official testing:
1- Charles Leclerc (Monaco/Ferrari) 1:28.796
2- Carlos Saiens (Spain/Ferrari) 1:28.986 d
3- Max Verstappen (Netherlands/Red Bull) 1:28.991
4- Sergio Perez (Mexico/Red Bull) 1:29.036
5- Valtteri Bottas (Finland/Alfa Romeo) 1:29.475
6- Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain/Mercedes) 1:29.625 d
7- Pierre Gasly (France/Alvatore) 1:29.690 h
8- Lando Norris (Great Britain/McLaren) 1:29.750 d
9- Yuki Tsunoda (Japan/Alfatatori) 1:29.932 d
10- Lance Stroll (Canada/Aston Martin) 1:30.676