In a qualifying session dominated by tire management throughout the lap, preventing everyone from finding the perfect lap, it was the cool-headedness of Verstappen, that allowed him to secure yet another pole position and fend off the Ferrari’s attempted attack.
At the end of the Miami qualifying session, none of the ten drivers emerged from their respective cars with big smiles, including pole-sitter Verstappen. Just like on Friday, yesterday Max was taken by surprise when his engineer Giampiero Lambiase confirmed his sixth pole of the season over the radio. As helmets came off and initial impressions were exchanged, the drivers realized that none of them had managed a perfect lap.
Some had gripes about the first sector, others slipped at the apex of Turn 2, while some found themselves with overheated tires in the final sector. Subsequent debriefings revealed that under the conditions of yesterday’s Miami qualifying, a perfect lap was effectively impossible. The blanket was too short for everyone. “It really just took a tiny slip,” explained Lando Norris, “a 2 km/h increase in speed and suddenly you ended up with hotter tires for the rest of the lap“.
Once again, in a scenario that could have been an opportunity for rivals to shine, it was Verstappen who stood out. Tire management under the track conditions in Miami was made extremely difficult by the high level of unpredictability; the slightest correction could trigger the dreaded temperature increase, ruining the tire’s usable window. Teams worked on pressures, on the out-lap, and some (like Mercedes and McLaren) opted for medium tires in the hope that it might somehow prove to be a winning choice. In the end, however, it was once again Verstappen who made the difference.
“It was necessary to find the best compromise“, commented Helmut Marko, “and Max found it. I believe everyone was searching for something that ultimately wasn’t achievable. No one had the situation under control, as confirmed by Mercedes’ decision to use a set of mediums in Q3, which was practically a desperate move. Perez didn’t make mistakes; like Max, he sought the balance between speed and tire preservation. But it’s a delicate balance that requires a lot of feeling and even a touch of luck because if you make a small slip, it’s game over. And Sergio couldn’t quite put everything together like Max did“.
There are days when Red Bull’s technical superiority takes over, but that’s not always the case. Yesterday in Miami, it required cool-headedness, understanding where to push a bit more and where to avoid any unnecessary risks. “It’s not exactly fun driving in these conditions“, explained Verstappen. “You approach a corner exactly like the previous lap, but suddenly you lose a tenth or two on exit, and you don’t know why. You lose grip, but you don’t understand what you did differently. When the tire behavior is consistent, it’s simply about pushing, but on this track, you really have no idea whether it will go well or badly in terms of lap times“.
The 57 laps of today’s race shouldn’t be as challenging as the single qualifying lap. There are no uncertainties about strategies; barring the ‘safety car’ variable, the race will see only one stop, with the most popular scenario being starting on the medium compound and then switching to the hard. Even for Verstappen, like Sainz, Pirelli’s choice to use the C2, C3, and C4 compounds for the weekend is likely too conservative. “I don’t think there are many doubts about the strategies,” confirmed Max. “Personally, I find races with two or three stops more enjoyable; there are more variables and different possible scenarios. But there are also many factors to consider; these are issues that need to be addressed with Pirelli.”
