Verstappen headed Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in the session while there was disappointment for Daniel Ricciardo.

Ricciardo complained about a lack of rear grip, with moments at Turn 6 and another at Turn 17 as he struggled for traction on the run to the flag.

It’s a result that will leave the Australian, who starred in the Sprint earlier in the day, last on the grid.

With teams able to make setup changes following the Sprint earlier in the day, there was a traffic jam exiting the pit lane as Qualifying 1 began.

Track conditions had changed since the Sprint following a hefty crash in a support race that saw oil dropped on the racing surface, cleaned up with cement dust.

Not everyone completed a timed lap with some opting to return to the pits, while Logan Sargeant, Valtteri Bottas, and Verstappen simply didn’t head out like the others.

The initial timed laps saw Ferrari fastest with Sainz topping the timesheets with a 1:28.159s, 0.024s quicker than team-mate Leclerc.

When Verstappen did eventually head out, he reported an unusual sound from the clutch as he departed the garage, which was quickly given the all okay from the pit wall.

The Dutchman’s initial lap put him on provisional pole courtesy of a 1:28.023s.

Bottas and Sargeant completed their first timed laps soon after, the entire field on the board with eight minutes to run.

With four minutes remaining, the field again began to queue exiting the lane ahead of their final timed efforts.

Perez had moved onto provisional pole in the minutes since Verstappen had recorded his lap.

Trapped in the bottom five after the final flurry were Bottas, Sargeant, Daniel Ricciardo, Kevin Magnussen, and Zhou Guanyu.

It’s a result that will see Ricciardo start last, given his three-place penalty carried over from the Chinese Grand Prix.

Qualifying 2 began with no cars immediately heading out before all 15 did so with 10 minutes remaining.

McLaren demonstrated good initial pace, with Oscar Piastri on provisional pole from team-mate Lando Norris with their first laps before Leclerc went faster for Ferrari.

A moment from Alex Albon at Turn 17 saw the Williams driver briefly draw the double-waved yellows, though was able to get going again without further drama.

With four minutes to run, again the field streamed out of the lane, Norris fielding a set of medium tyres while Piastri was last out.

The Australian failed to make the flag in time to start his timed lap, but it didn’t matter as Qualifying 2 ended with Leclerc fastest from Verstappen, Hamilton improving to third with Piastri bumped down to fourth.

Eliminated were Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Albon, and Fernando Alonso.

Norris again headed out on medium tyres, the only driver to opt for the yellow-walled tyres, as Qualifying 3 began.

Verstappen was fastest with his initial lap, a 1:27.241s to head team-mate Perez before Leclerc slotted in between the two Red Bull Racing entries, Sainz joining him in third fastest to bump Perez back a further spot.

Norris was fifth best on his medium rubber, 0.581s back from the pace, while a late lap from Piastri put the Australian fourth.

For his second lap, McLaren fitted Norris with a set of soft tyres, while Mercedes went the other way with mediums for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

Piastri was unable to improve his position with his final lap, dropping behind Perez as the Mexican did go faster to move up to fourth.

Verstappen also failed to improve but remained fastest courtesy of his earlier effort, while Leclerc was also unable to improve. Sainz remained third while Norris improved to fifth to push Piastri to sixth as the chequered flag waved.

Next were the two Mercedes, Russell ahead of Hamilton, with Nico Hulkenberg ninth and Yuki Tsunoda 10th.

Pole for Verstappen sees the Dutchman log his seventh in a row, while drawing level with Alain Prost’s record of six straight to start the year, dating back to 1993.

The Miami Grand Prix begins at 16:00 local time on Sunday (Monday, 06:00 AEST).