2024 Miami Grand Prix – Sprint and GP Qualifying Report “Qualifying was intense today”

Miami International Autodrome​​​​​​, Saturday, 4 May

Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, as well as Team Principal Andrea Stella, after the F1 Sprint and Qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix.

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Started 9th  
Finished DNF  
Q1 1m27.913s (Soft) 3rd
Q2 1m27.871s (Soft) 6th
Q3 1m27.594s (Soft) 5th

“I think it’s been a reasonable Qualifying. I probably couldn’t have asked for a lot more. The team did a great job to get the car back together after the Sprint, first of all, so thank you to them after the unfortunate incident we were involved in this morning.

“Otherwise, P5 and P6 is good for us as a team. I think that’s where we deserve to be and that’s all we had in the car today, so we maximised it and we’ll try to get a good amount of points tomorrow.” 

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Started 6th  
Finished 6th  
Fastest lap 1m31.393s on lap 19 (+0.978s, 4th)  
Q1 1m28.032s (Soft) 6th
Q2 1m27.721s (Soft) 4th
Q3 1m27.675s (Soft) 6th

“I’m pretty happy with that. It felt like it was a good Qualifying session, and the car was consistent the whole way through. I don’t think there was too much more in it to be able to push us any further forward, so I am pleased. The team have done a good job so let’s see what we can do tomorrow.” 

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Andrea Stella

“Qualifying was intense today. Like most sessions in Miami, it was made difficult by a very hot track temperature and tyres behaving in a way that made it difficult to exploit the grip available. We tried a few different compounds but ultimately the result is largely according to competitive order. We had hoped for a little more, after a strong performance yesterday, but there is potential for a strong race from fifth and sixth on the grid. The pace Oscar displayed in the Sprint gives us encouragement for tomorrow.  

“I want to take this opportunity to praise the incredible work in the garage to prepare Lando’s car after the damage it suffered at the start of the Sprint. There were moments where it looked like he wouldn’t be able to take part this afternoon, but the work done by the mechanics, with great support from the factory, was excellent and has put us in a strong position for tomorrow’s race.”