07/05/2022
NEWS STORY
Alex Albon qualified 18th and Nicholas Latifi 19th for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix. Both drivers ran the soft Pirelli tyres and continued to improve throughout Q1, with Alex setting a 1:31.266 on his final lap, and Nicholas a 1:31.325.
Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: Our week has been very up and down since FP1 and the behaviour of the tyres in the heat has been confusing, which has led to some big swings in pace and balance. On both cars we struggled to get the tyres in a good window and hold them there for a complete lap. Alex's best sectors were good enough to challenge the two cars ahead and if we had got everything perfect for one lap, then he could have challenged for Q2. Nicholas drove well today and built momentum over the two sessions and was able to push Alex very hard in Q1. Given that some of the better parts were only available for Alex this weekend, Nicholas's pace was impressive, and this hopefully sets him up for a strong race tomorrow.
Alex Albon: Today was frustrating and a little confusing. We were missing something in Qualifying and struggled to find the performance that we had in the earlier practice sessions. As we've seen already this season, the tyres are incredibly sensitive and, combined with the heat here, it's making finding grip very tricky. We'll have a look through the data tonight and come back stronger tomorrow for the race.
Nicholas Latifi: We're obviously not where we want to be as a team but I think, from where I came from in FP1, I'm pretty happy with Qualifying. There's been quite a big gap all weekend, and I've been struggling to get the feeling that I needed, so I think we've made the right changes from FP1 onwards to get as good a feeling as we felt. It's still not perfect and I think there was still some time to gain but with the differences in the cars right now, and the faster parts on Alex's car, I was satisfied to end up where I ended up.
Check out our Saturday gallery from Miami, here.