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F1: Ferrari's Leclerc grabs pole and praises 'crazy' Miami fans

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Monaco" s="" Formula="" driver="" Charles="" Leclerc="" of="" Scuderia="" Ferrari="" in="" action="" during="" qualifying="" for="" the="" Grand="" Miami="" at="" International="" Autodrome="" May="" Greg="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/sports/05/08/20220508-f1_miami-gp-charles-leclerc_epa.jpg"/><figcaption>Monaco&#x27;s Formula One driver Charles Leclerc of Scuderia Ferrari in action during qualifying for the Formula One Grand Prix​ of Miami at the Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, Florida, USA, 07 May 2022. Greg Nash, EPA-EFE.</figcaption></figure></div>MIAMI -- World championship leader Charles Leclerc praised the enthusiasm of Ferrari&#x27;s many American fans Saturday, but warned of a tense battle ahead after leading the Italian team to a front-row lockout at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix.The 24-year-old Monegasque claimed pole position ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz after world champion Max Verstappen made a rare error and slipped to third on the grid for Red Bull at a packed Miami International Autodrome.&quot;The fans are crazy,&quot; said a beaming Leclerc. &quot;But it&#x27;s incredible to be here in the United States and to see how much the sport has grown over the last few years.&quot;The last race weekend wasn&#x27;t great for me. I made a mistake in that race. But today it went well.&quot;We are starting on pole and we need to finish the job tomorrow.&quot;Red Bull are extremely quick in the straight lines, but we are quick in the corners and it will be a tight challenge tomorrow. We feel very motivated as there are so many Ferrari fans here.&quot;Leclerc clocked a fastest lap in one minute and 28.796 seconds to outpace team-mate Sainz by two-tenths.<div>- &#x27;Learn the track&#x27; -</div>Verstappen was third after making a slight mistake on his final flying lap. His Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez was fourth with Valtteri Bottas fifth for Alfa Romeo and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton sixth for Mercedes.Verstappen, who is on 59 points in the championship and trails Leclerc by 27 points, swallowed his disappointment after missing much of Friday practice.&quot;Overall, I&#x27;m pretty pleased with qualifying,&quot; the Dutch driver said. &quot;I literally did four or five laps yesterday. The whole of today I was trying to learn the track and trying to find a decent balance in the car and actually, to be that competitive in qualifying, it was a bit of a surprise because this is not an easy track to learn.&quot;Of course, you want to be on pole but where we came from, we&#x27;ve done a really good job. But we have to start making the weekends a little bit less difficult because like this, it&#x27;s always going to be tricky.&quot;We have a good chance tomorrow. The car is handling quite well, so I&#x27;m looking forward to it.&quot;<div>- &#x27;It&#x27;s confusing&#x27; -</div>Sainz, who recovered well after a crash in practice on Friday, said it had not been easy to regain his confidence and push hard on such a punishing circuit.&quot;Building up a bit from a pretty heavy crash,&quot; he said. &quot;It wasn&#x27;t easy at all to get the confidence back in such a difficult circuit like this new one.&quot;&quot;Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day with everything going on this weekend. We haven&#x27;t done any long runs yet, haven&#x27;t put fuel in the car, so tomorrow will be the first time.&quot;It could be a challenge, but I&#x27;m feeling confident with the car. It is nice to drive round here so I think we can do a good job.&quot;It was Leclerc&#x27;s third pole this year and the 12th of his career. For Sainz it was the second time he had secured a front-row start. It was Ferrari&#x27;s first front-row lockout since the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix.Pierre Gasly of Alpha Tauri qualified seventh ahead of McLaren&#x27;s Lando Norris and Yuki Tsunoda in the second Alpha Tauri, with Lance Stroll taking 10th for Aston Martin.Hamilton was relieved with a place on the third row after Mercedes suffered the ignominy of failing to qualify either of their cars in the top 10 at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.&quot;This is much better than last week for me,&quot; he said. &quot;So, I&#x27;ll take it. The car is a little better, but we have to keep working and keep our heads down.&quot;His team-mate George Russell qualified 12th.&quot;It&#x27;s confusing,&quot; he said. &quot;My lap was slower today than I was in second practice yesterday. There was potential in there, but it&#x27;s feeling too inconsistent.&quot;<div>© Agence France-Presse</div>

World championship leader Charles Leclerc warned of a tense battle ahead after leading Ferrari to a front-row lockout at the Miami Grand Prix.