Lando Norris stormed to pole position at the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, demonstrating that McLaren and Ferrari may have caught Mercedes on track.
With only one practice session for the teams to get to grips with the enhancements brought in for the F1 Miami GP, questions permeated the paddock over the competitive order ahead of Sprint Qualifying.
First blood went to Charles Leclerc and Ferrari in practice, with both Mercedes cars running into issues in practice. Whether they could bounce back in qualifying was a major talking point ahead of SQ1.
Red Bull looked to have made a step forward, while McLaren’s late runs were compromised in practice, as the team ran a brand-new car effectively, with a strong midfield battle beginning to develop.
SQ1
In a surprise move, no queue at the end of the pit lane accompanied the green light. Instead, drivers were on standby for their engineers; no one seemed to want to go first. Oscar Piastri broke the deadlock, but Cadillac were the first to take to the circuit. A stampede then ensued, the queue then forming as 22 drivers took to the track. George Russell won a strange battle between him and teammate Kimi Antonelli in the pits to get out first.
Before the McLarens could complete their first laps, Lance Stroll ran wide at the final corner, bringing out a double-waved yellow flag. The Aston Martin continued, but Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were badly compromised. The track now clear, those behind had a clear run, with Leclerc jumping to the top, ahead of Antonelli and Hamilton. The McLarens showed their hand, Norris nearly half a second clear of Piastri.
At the bottom of the standings, Stroll exited the session early after his excursion at the final corner. Both Racing Bulls needed to find something, propping up the order ahead of the Aston Martin, with teammate Alonso, Franco Colapinto, Valtteri Bottas and Alex Albon all needing to improve. At the chequered flag, Lawson and Lindblad progressed, with Esteban Ocon failing to progress owing to a lockup.
Eliminated: Lawson, Ocon, Perez, Bottas, Alonso, Stroll
SQ2
The queue in the pit lane took a while to clear at the start of SQ2, as battle commenced for spot in the final session of the day. With less than ten minutes to do this, all drivers were out quickly to get in banker laps. Antonelli was the first to set a lap, immediately usurped by George Russell. Verstappen slotted into second, before the Ferraris jumped to the top of the timesheets.
The McLarens were once again next, Norris nine tenths of a second adrift, putting him in danger, while Piastri moved to within 0.036s of Leclerc. In the bottom five, Oliver Bearman and Arvid Lindblad had yet to set a lap time, with both Williams’ and Audis on the cusp of progressing to the top ten. The cars returned to the pits for the final runs, with Liam Lawson ready to rejoin the circuit despite his SQ1 elimination due to a potential penalty for Alex Albon that failed to materialise.
At the chequered flag, Bearman failed to improve and was eliminated along with Hulkenberg and Sainz. The rest of the bottom six failed to improve on their laps, sealing their fate before they crossed the line.
Eliminated: Bortoleto, Hulkenberg, Bearman, Albon, Sainz, Lindblad
SQ3
SQ3 saw the mandatory switch to soft tyres, threatening to change the competitive order seen in previous sessions. Mercedes, having taken pole in every race to date in 2026, faced an uphill struggle to repeat that achievement. The cars did not rush onto the circuit at the green light, given the soft tyre’s limited lifespan. A one-lap shootout seemed to be the order of business as the clock ticked down.
With less than five minutes to go, the top ten cars finally took to the track to battle for pole position. With maximum pressure applied, the drivers pushed hard, with Norris and Leclerc evenly matched on pace in the opening sector. Hamilton slotted into second behind Russell, before Norris jumped to the top, Leclerc moving into second. Vertstappen jumped into third, with Antonelli moving onto the front row.
Hamilton dropped down the order due to a slide, while Russell’s efforts were only good enough for sixth. Franco Colapinto outqualified teammate Pierre Gasly, while Isack Hadjar failed to move up the timesheets, finishing ninth.
Top 10: Norris, Antonelli, Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen, Russell, Hamilton, Colapinto, Hadjar, Gasly
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