NBA Spurs Legend Tony Parker Holds Miami GP Polesitter Charles Leclerc in High Regard

The stars have descended down to the beaches of Miami. The first-ever Grand Prix of Miami has seen attendance from some of the biggest celebrities all across the spectrum. NBA, NFL, IndyCar, A-list celebrities, music producers, and the list goes on. You name it, and everyone has gathered in the party city. Perhaps the biggest celebrity cheer for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc came from former NBA star, Tony Parker. 

Tony, who always had high praises for the Monegasque driver, was seen cheering him on this weekend. Speaking to Sky Sports Italia, the French basketball player made his feelings very clear about who he would like to see on pole in the first-ever qualifying session in the street circuit. 

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“Beautiful atmosphere here, it’s fabulous. And I hope it goes well with my friend Charles,” said the former San Antonio Spurs player. 

Charles Leclerc clinches pole in Miami

An intense build-up to the qualifying session has come to an end as Charles Leclerc stands victorious. The Ferrari driver clocked in a staggering 1:28.796, just a tenth up on his Spanish teammate, Carlos Sainz. Current championship rival, Max Verstappen had to back out of his final flying lap due to oversteer. This gave Charles all the impetus he needed to take the top position. 

An up and down qualifying session had seen the Mercedes of George Russell get knocked out in Q2, while Esteban Ocon couldn’t take part in qualifying as he crashed out earlier in free practice 3. Valtteri Bottas qualified a well-earned P5 and both AlphaTauris will be starting in the top ten.

Tomorrow’s race will be interesting for a multitude of reasons. With rain forecasted for Sunday’s race, the well-timed pit stops and strategy will be crucial to determine the winner. Most teams haven’t been able to get a long run in, hence a question of how bad the tire degradation is going to be is crucial.

One thing is for sure, teams will be spending a long night reading the data from today’s exciting showdown to battle it out tomorrow. 

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