Sergio Perez picks up surprise pole as Mercedes struggle at Miami Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes was criticised by Toto Wolff as being "a nasty piece of work" after the British driver qualified only 13th for the Miami Grand Prix.

As Sergio Perez took a surprise pole position – with Charles Leclerc’s late crash resulting in a red flag to leave Max Verstappen ninth on the grid – Hamilton endured another sobering evening in his unruly machine.

Fernando Alonso joins Perez on the front row following another impressive display by the evergreen Spaniard, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz third.

Kevin Magnussen qualified fourth for Haas ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell. Leclerc, who broke his rear wing in the accident at Turn 7, qualified seventh.

On Friday, Hamilton described the performance of his lacklustre Mercedes as "a kick in the guts", and his mood will only have worsened after he was eliminated from Q2, an eye-watering 1.1 seconds off the pace, and two tenths down on Russell.

He returned to the pits shaking his head and took aim at Mercedes for leaving him with too much to do by not releasing him early enough for his final attempt in Q2.

"We left that way too late, guys," he said over the radio. Hamilton now trails team-mate Russell 4-1 in qualifying after the opening five rounds.

"There is not a lot to say to Lewis because the car is simply not fast enough," said Mercedes team principal Wolff.

"Putting him in a situation on his out lap where the driver is not able to prepare his tyres makes it even worse.

"We are not trying to make mistakes. We are trying to give the drivers the best position on the track, and we have in the past got it wrong many times, and also got it right many times. But if things go badly, they compound the situation.

"I take no enjoyment from