New father Max Verstappen wins pole in Miami, his third through six F1 races this season
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain reacts after being eliminated during the qualifying session for the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race at the International Autodrome, Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Shawn Thew/Pool Photo via AP)
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia is wheeled in to the garage during the qualifying session for the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race at the International Autodrome, Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Shawn Thew/Pool Photo via AP)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands gets a pit stop during the qualifying session for the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race at the International Autodrome, Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Shawn Thew/Pool Photo via AP)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands prepares to start a practice session for the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race, Friday, May 2, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands prepares to start a practice session for the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race, Friday, May 2, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain reacts after being eliminated during the qualifying session for the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race at the International Autodrome, Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Shawn Thew/Pool Photo via AP)
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia is wheeled in to the garage during the qualifying session for the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race at the International Autodrome, Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Shawn Thew/Pool Photo via AP)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands gets a pit stop during the qualifying session for the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race at the International Autodrome, Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Shawn Thew/Pool Photo via AP)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands prepares to start a practice session for the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race, Friday, May 2, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Max Verstappen celebrated the birth of his first child with a pole-winning run at the Miami Grand Prix.
The four-time defending Formula 1 champion edged Lando Norris of McLaren by .065 seconds to take the top starting spot for Sunday's race. It was a rebound for Verstappen, who was penalized earlier Saturday in the sprint race and finished 17th.
Advertisement
'It's been a great qualifying, it worked out well and I'm very happy to be on pole,' Verstappen said of his 43rd career pole. It is his third pole through six races this season and second consecutive.
It wasn't the result Norris hoped for from F1's newest father. There's a myth that having children can slow drivers because they suddenly become a bit more conservative. Verstappen and his partner, Kelly Piquet, announced the birth of a baby girl on Friday.
'Nod to Max, especially being a dad now,' Norris said. 'I was hoping it was going to slow him down a little bit, but it clearly didn't.'
Verstappen agreed.
Advertisement
'Clearly it didn't make me slower, being a dad. We can throw that out the window for people mentioning it,' he said. And although he didn't reveal when Lily was born, he indicated the reason he skipped Thursday activities in Miami was to 'spend a few days at home to make sure everything is OK.'
He also said the myth that parenthood can change a driver's style is ridiculous.
'I don't really listen to these kinds of silly things, you know,' Verstappen said. 'I just do my thing. There are enough racing drivers in the past that they became world champion after having kids. I don't even know where that (myth) comes from.'
Norris is both the defending race winner — his Miami victory last year was the first of his F1 career and ended Verstappen's two-year winning streak at Hard Rock Stadium — and the winner of Saturday's sprint race.
Advertisement
Kimi Antonelli, who at 18 years old became F1's youngest pole winner in history when he started first in Saturday's sprint race, qualified third for Mercedes. It is the first time he qualified higher than teammate George Russell, who was fifth behind current F1 points leader Oscar Piastri of McLaren.
Williams qualified sixth and seventh with Carlos Sainz Jr. and Alex Albon, while Charles Leclerc rebounded from crashing before the sprint race started to qualify eighth. He did not compete in the sprint race as his team worked to repair his Ferrari in time for qualifying.
Esteban Ocon qualified ninth for Haas and Yuki Tsunoda was 10th to give Red Bull both its cars in points-paying position.
Lewis Hamilton failed to carry momentum from his third-place finish in the sprint race held four hours before qualifying as the Ferrari driver was eliminated in the second round. His 12th-place effort was his lowest qualifying run since joining his new team.
Advertisement
'I don't feel in my heart that I'm — I mean, as I said, I'm trying everything, we're trying everything, I mean like the smallest, the smallest (margin) of time today I was out,' Hamilton said. 'It doesn't make a huge difference, but the fact is, you know, we are trying.'
It rained early Saturday — hard enough to delay the sprint race — and the forecast calls for more weather issues on Sunday. The uncertainty on if it will be a wet or dry race has made it impossible for drivers to predict how the event will unfold.
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
19 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Angels rookie Christian Moore, a NYC native, gets 1st MLB hit in 1st visit to Yankee Stadium
NEW YORK (AP) — Christian Moore's first visit to Yankee Stadium came as the Los Angeles Angels' second baseman, even though he grew up a fan of the pinstripes just 20 miles from the ballpark. 'My dad's a huge Met fan,' he explained. 'We argued about it all the time when I was a kid. My brother and I were both Yankees fans growing up so we definitely had a lot of smack talk going on in the house, but it was all friendly. It was all good.' Three days after his major league debut , Moore tripled past right fielder Aaron Judge for his first big league hit, then threw out Paul Goldschmidt at the plate in the 11th inning to help the Angels beat the Yankees 1-0 on Monday night. Moore grew up in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, near the Queens border. The 22-year-old had a group of about 40 family members and friends at the game Monday, including dad Charles, mom Lazette, sisters Tysheena and Cynnamon, and brother CJ. Christian was a two-way player at Suffield Academy in Suffield, Connecticut, and played three seasons at the University of Tennessee, helping the Vols win their first College World Series title with a leadoff homer in the decisive third game of the championship series against Texas A&M. He was selected eighth overall in last July's amateur draft and signed for a $4,997,500 bonus. He started at Class-A Inland Empire and after two games was moved up to Double-A Rocket City last Aug. 2. Moore hit .234 in 34 games with the Trash Pandas this year, was promoted to to Triple-A Salt Lake on May 20, then batted .350 with four homers, 18 RBIs and a .999 OPS in 20 games. Last Thursday, he woke up after hitting a two-run homer and an RBI single during an 8-7 loss at Las Vegas and saw a couple of missed calls from Bees manager Keith Johnson. 'I said, `Hey, man. Sorry. I was sleeping,'' Moore recalled. 'He said: `Don't sleep through calls in Baltimore.' And I was like, `Oh, what? What do you mean Baltimore?' And he was like: `You're going to the show.'' Moore flew from Las Vegas to Baltimore. His parents drove there from New York and he debuted Friday night, going 0 for 3 in a 2-0 loss. He said he attended 15-20 Mets games growing up, but Yankee Stadium was a new experience. Batting ninth, he flied out in the third and sixth. Then with two outs in the eighth, he sliced an opposite-field liner to right. Judge tried for a sprawling backhand catch, but the ball landed in front of the two-time AL MVP and rolled to the wall. Moore slid headfirst into third. 'His at-bat was much, much better tonight,' Angels manager Ron Washington said. 'And I think from this day forward they'll get better because of the fact he got his first base hit out the way.' Moore hit an inning-ending flyout in the 10th, then scored in the 11th as the automatic runner when Nolan Schanuel doubled off Jonathan Loáisiga. New York had runners at the corners in the bottom half and the infield was in when Jasson Domínguez hit a broken-bat, one-hopper to Moore, who charged in a bit and made a perfect sidearm throw to Travis d'Arnaud. The catcher nabbed the ball just to the third-base side of the plate in time to tag a sliding Goldschmidt on the left foot. Moore had the ball from the triple in his locker and planned to give it to his parents. He hadn't worried about how long it would take to reach the big leagues. 'I just try to put in the work and trust the process,' he said. ___ AP MLB:
Fox Sports
42 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Bangladesh bats first in Galle as Sri Lanka's Mathews plays his final test
Associated Press GALLE, Sri Lanka (AP) — Bangladesh won the toss Tuesday and opted to bat in the first cricket test against Sri Lanka, expecting spin to play a major part as the game progresses. The tourists had to leave out Mehidy Hasan Miraz because of a fever. Sri Lanka gave debuts to spinner Tharindu Ratnayake and top-order batter Lahiru Udara in what will be Angelo Mathews' 119th and last test match for his country. He is set to retire as Sri Lanka's third-highest scorer in test cricket. The match at Galle is the first in the 2025-2027 cycle of the World Test Championship, starting just days after South Africa won the title for the first time with a victory over defending champion Australia at Lord's on the weekend. Lineups: Bangladesh: Shadman Islam, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Mominul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Jaker Ali, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana. Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Udara, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (captain), Kusal Mendis, Milan Ratnayake, Tharindu Ratnayake, Prabath Jayasuriya and Asitha Fernando. Umpires: Alex Wharf, England, and Rod Tucker, Australia. Third Umpire: Allahuddien Paleker, South Africa. Match Referee: Andy Pycroft, Zimbabwe. ___ AP cricket: recommended in this topic
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Luiz Araujo leads Flamengo to a 2-0 win over Esperance de Tunis at Club World Cup
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Luiz Araujo and Giorgian de Arrascaeta each scored a goal and Flamengo beat Esperance Sportive de Tunis 2-0 on Monday night in the Club World Cup. After dominating possession for 17 minutes, de Arrascaeta opened the scoring after finishing off a cross from Araujo. Araujo capped an amazing performance in the 70th minute by scoring Flamengo's second goal. This came from an assist by Jorginho, Flamengo's new signing and former Club World Cup Champion. The Lincoln Financial Stadium brimmed with energy for the entire 90 minutes thanks to the 25,797 Flamengo and Esperance's fans present. The attendance was far from the stadium's 67,594 maximum capacity. Key Moment In the 66th minute, Esperance had a chance to tie the score with a counter-attack led by Youcef Belaili, but Agustin Rossi made a crucial save to keep Flamengo in the lead. This allowed Araujo to put the game out of Esperance's reach four minutes later. Takeaways Flamengo could earn a first-place finish in Group D if they continue playing like they did in this one. Esperance's chances of making it past the group stage diminished a lot with the loss. However, with a win against LAFC and a tie between Chelsea and Flamengo, Esperance could still hope of making it into the elimination round of the Club World Cup. ___
