Friday Team Quotes

McLaren Formula 1 Team

Oscar Piastri (2nd, 1:26.527): "I'm reasonably happy with that result. It certainly wasn't the best lap ever. I had a lock-up going into the last corner which I think was probably where P1 got away, but congratulations to Kimi [Antonelli] on his first Pole in F1. P2 is still a good result, and I think we've got a bit more pace to unlock. I'm feeling positive and hopeful of making up a spot tomorrow."

Lando Norris (3rd, 1:26.582): "A decent result in a close Sprint Qualifying. We were just pipped by the Mercedes, so congrats to Kimi [Antonelli] on his first Pole. I think there was probably a little bit more in it but otherwise I'm happy with P3 and looking forward to going racing tomorrow."

Andrea Stella, Team Principal: "First of all, congratulations to Andrea Kimi Antonelli on his first Pole position in Formula 1. It's pretty impressive for a driver of his age to be able to achieve this result, clearly proving great talent. In terms of our Sprint Qualifying session, we were quick in every mini session on both the Medium and Soft. The field is tight as we have seen all season. There are no margins, so unless you really put together perfect laps, Pole position should not be given as a granted result. We are happy with today's result, it's good starting positions for the Sprint tomorrow and proves once again that we are competitive. The team can now continue to work hard and look forward to the remainder of the weekend."

Scuderia Ferrari HP

Charles Leclerc (6th, 1:26.808): "We're not happy with our position. There wasn't much room for improvement today, and it looks like this is our baseline for now. I'll try to have a good start in tomorrow's Sprint and take it from there. It isn't an easy weekend so far, so we have lots of work to do."

Lewis Hamilton (7th, 1:27.030): "We're not quite where we want to be just yet, but there were definitely some encouraging signs, especially in SQ1 where the car felt more connected. There's still work to do, but we're focused on maximising the package we have and continuing to build from here."

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal: "Congratulation to Kimi (Antonelli) for his mega lap, he did a very good job and he is a long way ahead. Behind him the situation was much closer and we were not far from the guys in front of us but that's not enough, as we found it difficult to put everything together. There were some mistakes and we have struggled with the car balance and that comes at a price in today's Formula 1. Tomorrow in the Sprint race, tyre management and degradation will come into play and it could be another story."

Oracle Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen (4th, 1:26.737): "I think what we did in Q3 today was good and the tyres were holding on quite well, but unfortunately from FP1 I was struggling a little bit with understeer in the car. Around here with those low-speed corners you just lose quite a bit of lap time. In the first sector, we were quite competitive, as that's where there are a few high-speed corners, but as soon as we got to the low-speed we were lacking a bit of grip. P4 is alright, it is not where I want to be, but we need to be realistic with the limitations that we have at the moment. I do think we are still quite competitive. It is difficult to say where we will be in the Sprint weekend as we don't have a lot of data in the long runs. Going off my own feeling and the balance of the car, it will be tough with the heat but we will try our best."

Yuki Tsunoda (18th, 1:29.246): "Today was a disappointing day for me. A lot of cars cost my lap on my first run and then on the last corner I had a big lock up and didn't get the lap banked. To be honest that lap was pretty gone from turn one already, because of the traffic and I wasn't able to do a proper lap at all. I knew I was going to be tight for my second run, but I couldn't do much about it, there's a car in front of me and I can only go so fast on my out lap. We were held up in the garage and these things can sometimes happen, but we know we need to work on communication too. I am pretty far back for the Sprint but I, obviously, will try my best and anything can happen on this track. I will keep positive and try my best."

Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

Andrea Kimi Antonelli (1st, 1:26.487): "I did not expect that! It feels fantastic to take my first pole position. When I crossed the line, I thought it was a good lap. I was happy with how it came together. There were a few areas that I felt I could have found a little bit more time, but I was pleased that I managed to hook up all three sectors. I will enjoy this moment but quickly focus on tomorrow as it would be good to repeat today by taking victory in the Sprint itself. We know the McLarens, the Ferraris, and the Red Bull of Verstappen have strong race pace. It won't be easy to keep them behind tomorrow, but I will be giving it my all to do so. It will be important to have a good start and hopefully from there, set a good pace without suffering too much from tyre degradation. After the Sprint, we will have to try and do the job we have done today to secure a good grid position for the Grand Prix on Sunday."

George Russell (5th, 1:26.791): "Firstly, massive congratulations to Kimi! I'm really pleased to see him take his first pole position. He's been really quick right from the first lap in FP1 and that is really impressive. It is great for him and the whole team; hopefully he can convert that into a strong result in tomorrow's Sprint. I've not felt at my most comfortable with the car today. I've been struggling a little and have just been a touch off the pace. I chose to go on the early side in SQ3 because I ultimately didn't quite have the confidence to go in the pack at the end. I didn't want to get caught by a yellow flag either, so we opted to play it safer. P5 is obviously not great, and we need to improve on that in tomorrow's Qualifying. These Sprint weekends can be tricky, but we will do what we can to enjoy a better day than we have today."

Toto Wolff, Team Principal: "Congratulations to Kimi on his first Sprint pole position in F1. It was a great lap in a tight session and will be a moment he will never forget. Whilst it is good that we will start tomorrow's Sprint from P1, the most important thing is the progress we are seeing from Kimi. He continues to learn and get better every weekend. He has now topped a session, even if it came in Sprint Qualifying. It is another important milestone in his development, and we will continue to support him to maintain this trajectory. On the other side of the garage, George was slightly unlucky. He hasn't felt as comfortable in the car as Kimi today and that showed throughout FP1 and Sprint Qualifying. We decided to go on the early side in SQ3 to make sure he got a clean lap. That was the right decision but probably cost us a little bit of track evolution. He put together a decent effort but was just on the wrong side of the pack at the front. He will be determined to fight back from P5 tomorrow, before we focus on the most important session of the weekend so far in Qualifying."

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director: "It's great to see Kimi take a well deserved Sprint pole! He has looked strong from the first lap of FP1 but clearly saved the best until last. To become the youngest driver to take a pole position in any format in F1 is a special moment and one he deserves to savour right now. Our attention will swiftly turn to tomorrow though with the Sprint and then Qualifying for the Grand Prix later in the afternoon. George started Sprint Qualifying well but as it progressed, he was struggling to get the tyres to bite and is understandably disappointed with P5. We probably went too early on the final run with him but that was to get a bit of flexibility if the lap didn't go to plan. We will review that ahead of Qualifying tomorrow. We spent a long time focusing on long run work this morning, so didn't get a look at the Soft tyre until SQ3. That long run programme was aimed at understanding why our long run pace was not as competitive as we hoped for in Jeddah. We know that we have work to do to improve the car in that area, and we don't expect a quick fix, but it will be interesting to see how we get on tomorrow. The Sprint always provides some useful learning and we'll be doing whatever we can to get a strong result with both cars."

Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team

Fernando Alonso (10th, 1:27.790): "It's a bit of a surprise to qualify where we did because the car is still struggling with balance and it's not always consistent - but all in all, a good day. This is the first time we have made it into SQ3 this season so hopefully we can keep up that momentum. Only the top eight cars will score points tomorrow, but we will try our best."

Lance Stroll (16th, 1:29.028): "Sprint Qualifying didn't play out well for me today: I had a lot of traffic on my final push lap and was a bit unlucky with where I came across [Max] Verstappen on the final straight. All of that cost me a few tenths and I just missed the chance to get through to SQ2. Let's see what tomorrow brings for the Sprint race, hopefully some opportunities come our way and there is a chance to make up some positions."

BWT Alpine F1 Team

Pierre Gasly (13th, 1:28.167): "It has been good to be back on track here in Miami where there is such enthusiasm for Formula One. Today was important as we had just one Free Practice session to prepare for Sprint Qualifying and the weekend ahead. This morning's FP1 was very tricky, but we made some good progress and improvements ahead of Sprint Qualifying this afternoon. We lacked some grip at the start of the last run in SQ2 as the tyres still felt a bit cold and that meant that I lost two tenths there however there was more grip later in the lap. We will review today's work and analyse the learnings. The focus is now to work with the engineers to prepare for tomorrow's Sprint Race."

Jack Doohan (17th, 1:29.171): "Of course, from the result, it was not the end to Sprint Qualifying we were hoping for. The feeling in the car was good and we felt good heading into the session. On the final run, we lost places in the queue in the pitlane with the car having to be pushed back by the mechanics, which meant we were out of position and chasing to make it to the line in time. It's frustrating not to be able to put in a second fast lap, particularly with the improvement in lap time we saw and potential in the car. It's something we'll review and debrief as a team on. We will look to maximise what is possible in tomorrow's Sprint Race to move through the order and learn as much as we can ahead of the rest of the weekend. We also have tomorrow's Qualifying where we will aim to set ourselves up well for the race on Sunday."

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team

Esteban Ocon (12th, 1:28.070): "I think there was a little bit more in the car, especially as in the last corner I went in a bit deep, so I need to see how much we lost but I don't think it was enough to go through. Overall, I think it was quite positive because we look pretty strong, but obviously it's not quite enough for where we want to be for a Sprint, as it's the top eight scoring points, but we're giving it our best tomorrow. It was a good preparation ahead of qualifying tomorrow as well. I think the car feels better than in Jeddah which is a good thing, from the simulator work we did and also some of the running we've done here, it was quite clear to us, but we still have more to work on."

Oliver Bearman (20th, 1:29.825): "It was tough but I only managed to get one lap in as I missed the flag unfortunately, so we need to analyze it."

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: "We didn't maximize the potential of Sprint quali today. Our Q1 execution, especially on Ollie's car, we need to review as he didn't make it around to have a second attempt. Esteban did a very good job in SQ1, in SQ2 it wasn't perfect, but I think we need to improve the overall package to make the car a bit more forgiving. At the moment, if drivers do an absolutely perfect lap, it's good, but if there's the slightest deviation from that, it can cause big front lock-up issues. The good thing is that when we put it together, the car looks like it has good speed. In the Sprint tomorrow, especially from Esteban's position, we'll do our best and with Ollie as well, we have potential."

Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team

Isack Hadjar (9th, 1:27.543): "We were really tight on time, and it wasn't an ideal position to start the lap as I was only a couple of seconds behind Charles, but I knew we had to make the most out of it. It was a stressful Sprint Qualifying today. We didn't have a good first run in SQ1 as I made a mistake in the last corner, and that put pressure on us to finalize the last push lap. After that, I was happy with the lap I made in SQ2, which allowed us to go to SQ3. We were really tight on time, and it wasn't an ideal position to start the lap as I was only a couple of seconds behind Charles, but I knew we had to make the most out of it. Tomorrow, the start of the race will be crucial, so we'll try to have a good shot at it, to then try and fight for points."

Liam Lawson (14th, 1:28.375): "We obviously have some things to analyse as a team, so we hope that will put ourselves in a good place ahead of the sprint race tomorrow. It was quite a messy session, very different to FP1. It's a shame because the car wasn't in a bad place this morning, but we fought with the balance a lot more in Sprint Qualifying. We obviously have some things to analyse as a team, so we hope that will put ourselves in a good place ahead of the sprint race tomorrow."

Alan Permane, Racing Director: "We obviously have some things to analyse as a team, so we hope that will put ourselves in a good place ahead of the sprint race tomorrow. It was quite a messy session, very different to FP1. It's a shame because the car wasn't in a bad place this morning, but we fought with the balance a lot more in Sprint Qualifying. We obviously have some things to analyse as a team, so we hope that will put ourselves in a good place ahead of the sprint race tomorrow."

Williams Racing

Alexander Albon (8th, 1:27.193): "Friday done with and it was generally a very positive day. The car's been in a really good place from the moment we did the first lap in FP1. I'm happy but it looks like some of the other teams found a bit more performance on their side over the course of the day. We were pretty much optimised from the outset, but we fell back a little bit in SQ3. It's not a bad place to be though. Best of the midfield and we're in a good place to score points, but there's still a little bit of homework to be done before main Qualifying tomorrow."

Carlos Sainz (15th, No Time): "In hindsight, it was not the right call to risk getting into SQ3 with only one lap. I made a mistake locking up into Turn 11 and that was it, there was no time left on the clock. Up to that point, the lap was good but I'm obviously not happy because we were fast today. It's going to be a tough Sprint tomorrow. I'll try my best to recover and go at it again in the afternoon in Qualifying. We seem to have good pace this weekend, so I look forward to getting back on track."

Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber

Nico Hulkenberg (11th, 1:27.850): "I'm happy we maximised our potential in Sprint Qualifying today. Given the challenging FP1 we had this morning, P11 feels even more rewarding. I suffered from a flat spot in my first stint on the medium tyres, leaving me only the soft tyres for another four laps – obviously, that wasn't the best preparation for qualifying. It's definitely a positive start for the team as we enter the Miami race weekend: now our aim will be to retain the competitiveness we have shown today into tomorrow's Sprint race."

Gabriel Bortoleto (19th, 1:29.312): "I was really happy with my final SQ1 lap, as I was gaining quite a bit on my previous attempt and I think it would have been enough for a place in SQ2. But I had a lock up at turn 17 and effectively lost the lap. It's a shame, and it will make the Sprint very difficult: overtaking here can be a challenge, especially in tomorrow's shorter format. We will give it our best to improve our position and learn as much as we can about race conditions. Most importantly, we saw today that our performance is quite solid and can allow us to be in the midfield: we can look forward to Qualifying, later tomorrow, where we can hopefully have a stronger showing."

Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal: "Nico delivered a very strong Sprint Qualifying session today, just missing out on SQ3 by eight hundredths of a second. Gabriel made a small mistake going into the final corner, and that ultimately cost him—he had the potential to make it into SQ2. Overall, an encouraging performance from both drivers, and credit to the team for doing an excellent job in preparing the cars and putting us in a competitive position. We're looking forward to tomorrow's Sprint race and the Qualifying session to follow."