Miami Grand Prix: Sprint Qualifying Recap

The first home event of the season saw both drivers successfully navigate their way through SQ1 – the opening round of knockout Sprint qualifying at the Miami International Autodrome. Magnussen set a blistering lap of 1:28.377 to put his VF-24 P5 on the timesheets. Hulkenberg joined his teammate in SQ2 having clocked a 1:29.040 (P15) – both drivers running the mandated Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires in SQ1.

With the same compound required in SQ2 Magnussen mustered a best effort of 1:28.614 (P14) but it wasn’t enough to put the Dane through into the final top-10 shootout. Hulkenberg fared better capturing a hot lap of 1:28.330 to bag P10 and entry into SQ3. Utilizing a used set of Red soft tires, the German then recorded one flying lap of 1:28.476 to secure P10 on the grid for Saturday’s Sprint race.

Prior to Sprint qualifying, Friday’s solitary 60-minute practice session delivered P12 and P13 on the screens for Magnussen and Hulkenberg – both drivers sampling the White hard tire for baseline runs followed by a high-fuel stint each. Switching to soft rubber for the final few minutes of track time, Magnussen duly set a 1:29.189 with Hulkenberg directly behind on a 1:29.314.

 

Nico Hulkenberg:

“This morning I didn’t feel good in the car at all, but sometimes it takes a moment, and we managed to clean up the set-up for this afternoon. It’s tricky as you know with the Sprint you only get one practice session, and we got a little bit lucky in SQ1 as I was on the verge of going out as it wasn’t very clean on my side. In SQ2, it was very clean and well executed. In SQ3, we ran only a used set of softs so we have more for tomorrow and Sunday but it was tight out there.”

Kevin Magnussen:

“I had great pace and showed that in SQ1, but I wasn’t able to do a good lap in SQ2. It went wrong in Turn 7, I braked too late and didn’t make the apex, and the lap was gone. The previous lap before that, I had traffic so didn’t have that as a banker either but the pace in the car is good. Let’s see tomorrow as I think we have a car that can overtake here and hopefully we have the pace in the sprint to move forward as well.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“Overall, it was a pretty good session; the target was always to get both cars into SQ2 which we managed. Nico was close to being out in SQ1, which he admitted himself was because his laps weren’t very good, so we were lucky to get through there. Kevin did an amazing job in SQ1, but unfortunately in SQ2 he didn’t put in a clean lap so he was out. Nico was the other way around, in SQ2 he delivered and that got us into SQ3. As always, we have to prioritize the main race, so we took the decision to not run a new set of softs, and instead ran a used set. We’re going to fight as much as we can tomorrow morning – it’s been a good start to the weekend.”

Today's Data

Event: Sprint Qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix – Friday May 3
Location: Miami International Autodrome, USA 
Layout: 5.41-kilometer (3.36-mile), 19-turn circuit 
Weather: Sunny
Air Temps: 28.4 degrees Celsius (83.1 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 47 degrees Celsius (116.6 degrees Fahrenheit)
Team Result: Nico Hulkenberg qualified 10th, Kevin Magnussen qualified 14th

Free Practice Rundown:

Magnussen: 12th overall (1:29.189), 26 laps 
Hulkenberg: 13th overall (1:29.314), 25 laps 
Fastest: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing (1:28.595)

SQ1 Qualifying: 12-mins with all 20 Drivers – Top 15 Advance to SQ2

Magnussen: 5th overall (1:28.377) – Advanced to SQ2
Hulkenberg: 15th overall (1:29.040) – Advanced to SQ2
Fastest: Lando Norris of McLaren (1:27.939)

SQ2 Qualifying: 10-mins – Top 10 Advance to SQ3

Hulkenberg: 10th overall (1:28.330) – Advanced to SQ3
Magnussen: 14th overall (1:28.614) 
Fastest: Lando Norris of McLaren (1:27.597) 

SQ3 Qualifying: 8-mins – Top 10 Drivers

Hulkenberg: 10th overall (1:28.476)
Sprint Pole: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing (1:27.641)