Lando Norris has topped sprint qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix, defeating championship leader Kimi Antonelli in an upgraded McLaren Formula 1 car.
Norris topped what turned into a single-lap SQ3 shoot-out at the Miami International Autodrome, handing early 2026 dominator Mercedes a first defeat.
The session at the Miami Autodrome was the first competitive outing following a mid-season rules refinement to help drivers push flat out instead of being hampered by excessive energy management, although the stop-start circuit around the Hard Rock Stadium was not the most representative venue to evaluate the success of the FIA’s intervention.
It was also the first qualifying session following an enforced month-long break, which most teams put to use to introduce vast upgrades. While 2026 leader Mercedes kept its powder dry for now, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull all rolled out significant updates to their respective machines.
In SQ1 McLaren’s Norris topped the charts, tantalisingly just 0.010s quicker than Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc with Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton behind. Mercedes duo Antonelli and George Russell were fifth and sixth, a first indication Mercedes might have to pay a short-term price for being out of sync with its upgrade plan.
There was disappointment for Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, he struggled for brake temperature after a compromised warm-up, with the New Zealander eliminated ahead of Haas’ Esteban Ocon.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Ryan Pierse / Getty Images
Cadillac duo Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas were out in 19th and 20th respectively, the slowest of the 20 cars to set a competitive lap time. And that’s because Aston Martin’s woes with Honda continued, with neither Fernando Alonso nor Lance Stroll able to set a proper lap.
Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon had just about scraped through SQ1 but then stumbled at the next hurdle. As Leclerc led from Piastri with a 1m28.333s lap, Audi drivers Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg were also eliminated in SQ2, with Bortoleto missing the cut by just 0.021s to 10th-placed Pierre Gasly. Arvid Lindblad also followed Lawson out the door in 15th.
In the top 10 shoot-out of SQ3, drivers waited until the end of the session for a single-lap run, with Norris confirming McLaren’s progress to take a sprint pole. At the venue of his maiden grand prix win in 2024, the reigning world champion established a 1m27.869s as the field moved to soft tyres.
Championship leader Antonelli was just over one tenth off in second, narrowly bumped the second McLaren of Piastri off the front row. Leclerc was fourth, with Max Verstappen also showing some progress in the Red Bull in fifth.
Russell was only sixth, ahead of Hamilton and an impressive Franco Colapinto, with Isack Hadjar and Pierre Gasly rounding out the top 10.
The action continues with the 19-lap sprint on Saturday at noon local Miami time, followed by grand prix qualifying at 4pm.
F1 Miami GP – Sprint qualifying results
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– The Autosport.com Team
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