Leclerc on pole, Ferrari dominates qualifying for inaugural Miami GP

Ferrari drivers led the inaugural Miami Grand Prix qualifying session, with championship leader Charles Leclerc clinching pole position for Sunday's race and Carlos Sainz completing the front row.

The Red Bulls will comprise the second row, with reigning champion Max Verstappen posting the third-best time, five one-thousandths of a second slower than Sainz.

Each of Leclerc's four career wins has come after starting at pole position. Even further, the other two times he's claimed pole in the 2022 season, he's gone on to win the grand prix.

"It's amazing," Leclerc shared following the race. "Today went well, we're starting on pole so we need to finish the job tomorrow."

Beyond the two front rows, Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas made waves in the midfield race, going fifth-fastest to best former Mercedes teammate and seven-time champ Lewis Hamilton.

Meanwhile, Mercedes' woes continued. Not only did Hamilton place sixth, but George Russell - who took Bottas' seat for the 2022 season - failed to make it out of the second qualifying session.

Leclerc currently leads the championship with 86 points, while Verstappen is second with 59.

Ferrari also leads the constructor standings with 124 points to Red Bull's 113. Mercedes follows with 77 points. McLaren is fourth with 46 and Alfa Romeo sits fifth with 25.

AlphaTauri was the third team to see both drivers make it into the final qualifying session, with Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda placing seventh and ninth, respectively.

While the Ferraris earned the front-row lockout, no one driver swept the fastest times in each sector. Sainz claimed the first sector and Leclerc was fastest in the second - the two portions of the track that feature the most difficult corners. However, Red Bull's Sergio Perez wound up fastest in the final sector, which features the longest straight.