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With the running on Friday done and dusted, Saturday will feature qualifying for the 2023 F1 Miami GP.
Unlike the hassle of the sprint weekend in Baku, the first day in Miami has been more steadfast as the teams are analyzing what they could do to fine-tune their packages for the rest of the weekend.
The two seasons have thrown a surprise or two if we look at the timesheets. The first session saw a Mercedes 1-2 finish while the second one saw Max Verstappen at the top.
With the first day of running completed, what can the fans expect from the qualifying session? Who is going to qualify on pole? Which midfield team will make it to Q3? Let's find out as we share our predictions for the 2023 F1 Miami GP.
#1 Charles Leclerc secures pole position for the 2023 F1 Miami GP
The Ferrari was more or less a tenth or two behind the Red Bull over a lap on Friday. More of than not, whenever lap times were set in comparable conditions, the gap was neither monumental nor seemed unsurmountable. This is where one key trait of the Italian team's modus operandi comes to the fore.
Ferrari tends to run its Fridays very conservatively in terms of engine mode and then ramps things up as the weekend progresses. The team appears to be doing the same for the 2023 F1 Miami GP as well. Keeping that in mind, it is fair to say that whatever Leclerc has done until now there are still a few tenths left to be unleashed by the team.
We're backing the Ferrari driver once again to secure his second pole position start in a row as the Italian team is within touching distance for the race.
#2 Sergio Perez will secure a second-row start
Unlike the race in Baku where the Mexican was challenging Max Verstappen or was within a tenth of his lap time, Miami has not been the same.
Sergio Perez has found it a bit different to keep up with his teammate from the get-go and with both Ferrari drivers being very competitive this time around, the Mexican might need to find something big to stay within touching distance of his teammate for the race.
For the 2023 F1 Miami GP qualifying, with Ferrari proving to be a competitor over a single lap, Perez will find it to keep up and we're looking at a second-row start for the Mexican.
#3 A Mercedes driver will secure a second-row start
Mercedes did not look as good during FP2 as it did in FP1 where George Russell and Lewis Hamilton completed a '1-2' finish for the team.
Having said that, the car appears to be in a better position over a single lap in Miami as compared to Baku. Unlike Baku, Mercedes could be the third fastest car over a single lap.
If we keep that in mind and take a look at the two very impressive drivers, we back either one of them to pull off a lap good enough to jump to the second row of the 2023 F1 Miami GP starting grid.
#4 McLaren, Haas, and Alpine will battle for Q3 spots
By the looks of it, the single-lap pace shown by both McLaren and Haas is very impressive. Nico Hulkenberg in FP1 and Lando Norris in FP2 put together laps that were very impressive and gave an indication that these cars could battle it out for a slot in Q3.
Alpine on the other hand to has returned to its usual position in the pecking order with the team finally able to evaluate its upgrades that were brought in Baku.
With teams like Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri struggling to make much of an impact, we could see the last two spots in Q3 being battled for by these three teams.
#5 Williams is the darkhorse
Alex Albon has continued to show this tendency of putting together a lap time that indicates some very interesting prospects for the car. The driver has done that in quite a few races this season and he's doing it again in the 2023 F1 Miami GP race weekend as well.
However, Albon has not been fully able to exploit or fulfill that promise that he's shown this season as the Q3 appearances have not really been as frequent.
For Williams, once again the 2023 F1 Miami GP is a race with a lot of potential, it remains to be seen how much of it can be fulfilled.
