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Charles Leclerc in Ferrari
Photo:
IMAGO/Mark Sutton / IMAGO/Motorsport Images
World championship leader Charles Leclerc has secured pole position for the first Formula 1 race in Miami.
The Ferrari driver from Monaco beat his Spanish team-mate Carlos Sainz and the two Red Bulls of world champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez in qualifying on Saturday.
Valtteri Bottas caused a surprise.
The Alfa Romeo driver finished fifth in qualifying - one place ahead of his former team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
"Not a good lap, but it was enough," said Leclerc: "We have to finish the job." Verstappen made a mistake in the first sector.
"I screwed it up," he said on the radio.
Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher retired early.
Neither got any further in the second round of the starting position hunt on Saturday.
Vettel finished 13th in the Aston Martin.
Schumacher had to settle for 15th place at the home game of his US team Haas.
Hamilton's teammate George Russell also missed the top ten in twelfth place.
19 curves and a marina without water
Formula 1 will be racing in the US metropolis of Miami for the first time on Sunday (9:30 p.m. CEST, live ticker SPIEGEL.de, TV: Sky).
A 5.4-kilometer track was built around the Miami Dolphins' Hard Rock Stadium for the Florida Grand Prix.
There are 19 curves and three straights, and the top speed will be around 324 kilometers per hour.
Around 85,000 spectators are expected to attend the race. Despite the high ticket prices, all three days of the debut event in Miami were soon sold out.
Before the fifth round of the season, Leclerc leads the overall standings with a 27-point lead over Verstappen.
Both have won two races each this year.
It's the first of two races this year in the USA – after Florida, there's Austin/Texas in October.
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