Miami Grand Prix: Sprint Race / Qualifying Recap

With pre-Sprint issues befalling others, Ocon gained two places moving from P18 in Sprint qualifying to P16 on the grid, while Bearman lined up P13 – both drivers on used Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires. A processional affair followed for the pairing – running the majority of the Sprint with Bearman holding P12 and Ocon P13. Lap 15 saw a swap in position with Ocon ultimately taking the checkered flag after 19 laps in P12 with Bearman directly behind securing P13 – elevated to P11 and P12 post-Sprint with the disqualification of Audi’s Bortoleto (P11).

Saturday afternoon then saw Ocon and Bearman back in action to qualify for Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix – both drivers running solely on soft tires through their respective qualifying efforts and both with the pace to ease straight from Q1 into Q2. Bearman ran twice in Q1 with a best lap of 1:29.340 taking him forward. Ocon joined his teammate in the following knockout session courtesy of a 1:29.838 run for P14 on his third and final stint.

Each driver ran twice in Q2 – both improving their lap times on fresh sets of tires but exiting qualifying having finished outside of the top 10. Bearman earned P13 with a flying tour of 1:29.567, while Ocon clocked a 1:29.772 for P15.

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli claimed pole position for Sunday thanks to a Q3 fastest lap of 1:27.798 with Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen posting a 1:27.964 for second on the grid.

Ollie Bearman:

“We were really struggling with the rear axle, particularly in high-speed in the Sprint. This track has so many traction zones, and I was really struggling, it was a fight staying on track. We had some ideas before the Sprint, and it confirmed the direction we’re thinking of going in is probably the right one. In qualifying we struggled for pace a bit more than normal. We didn’t bring an update compared to everyone else, so we knew it was going to be a tough weekend. Q1 looked a bit better, but we were on a different strategy to others cars, and in Q2, others made a big step. It seems that everything has to be perfect, and it’s been on a knife-edge, but it’s improved and the car feels quicker, but everyone has done the same. It’s meant to rain tomorrow, so I’ll keep my head up.”

Esteban Ocon:

"I think we were struggling a little bit with pace in the Sprint. We were with Ollie trying to catch Gabi (Bortoleto), but unfortunately he was a bit too fast for us. We then improved quite a lot from this morning and compared to yesterday. We made a good step forward with the car, obviously not quite enough to get into Q3, but we really pushed everything as much as we could. Unfortunately I hit the wall a little bit so the steering wasn't quite straight. I could have gained a couple more positions as I lost some time into the last corner. It's a shame, but we’re trying to push the limits and that's something that can happen. Tomorrow’s going to be interesting, depending on the weather, so if there are some opportunities to take, we’ll hopefully be there to take them."

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“It was a bit of a challenging day. In the Sprint, we uncovered a weakness we knew we had from FP1, but in consecutive running it was pretty obvious, so we’re trying to make some changes. We did definitely improve the car, but ultimately I don’t think we’re fast enough in these conditions. Many teams brought upgrades, and we didn’t, so we knew we would be up against it. P13 with Ollie is reasonably fair, and even if we did leave a couple of tenths on the table, it’s not too far away from maximizing our potential. With weather conditions tomorrow, it’s going to be quite challenging, so we need to be on top of our game and take every opportunity possible, that’s the target. There are certain things we don’t understand on this car, regardless of upgrades, so I believe there’s more to unlock, but with the car we have today, and our understanding, P13 is a fair result.”