Charles Leclerc claims pole position for Miami Grand Prix as Ferrari lock out front row

Ferrari will start the inaugural Miami Grand Prix with an advantageous one-two after Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz topped the times in Saturday's qualifying session.

Formula 1 pace-setter Leclerc leads the drivers' standings by 27 points heading into Sunday's showdown at the Miami International Autodrome. Leclerc, 24, has won two of four races so far this season, finishing first in Bahrain and Australia, where he started first on the grid in both races.

The Monegasque finished fastest in Q1 and improved as the session progressed, pipping Max Verstappen in his last lap of Q3 with a final time of one minute and 28.796 seconds. Red Bull's Verstappen appeared to let his foot off the gas in his own last attempt, giving up the lead as disaster struck to leave him and team-mate Sergio Perez third and fourth on the grid.

Saturday's qualifying action got off to a sorry start for Mercedes ' Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, who looked on the verge of exiting in Q1. The Briton left his best for last, however, and moved from 18th to fifth in the times with only seconds remaining in the session.

Hamilton looked sturdier as qualifying progressed and took sixth overall, which will see him start just behind former Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas. George Russell felt the pressure in Q2 when Mercedes' porpoising issues reared their head once more, resulting in the Silver Arrows star bowing out alongside Alpine's Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel and McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo.

Lance Stroll impressed to earn his spot in the final segment and nabbed a 10th-place start on Sunday for McLaren. Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top 10 fastest in seventh and ninth, respectively, with Alpha Tauri sure to be