Lando Norris secured his maiden F1 victory in Miami two years ago.
McLaren’s Lando Norris achieved the distinction of being the first driver to outqualify a Mercedes this year, clinching sprint pole position at the Miami Grand Prix.
Norris edged out Kimi Antonelli by 0.222 seconds, with Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren securing third place.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari finished fourth, followed by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell.
Lewis Hamilton, driving the second Ferrari, claimed seventh position, ahead of Argentine driver Franco Colapinto in the Alpine.
McLaren introduced a significant upgrade package for this race, a move mirrored by most teams except Mercedes.
Notably, McLaren implemented a similar strategy in Miami in 2024, which proved to be a turning point in Norris’ season.
The sprint race is scheduled for Saturday at 17:00 BST, with qualifying for Sunday’s grand prix at 21:00 BST.
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The Miami Grand Prix marks the return of Formula 1 after a five-week hiatus due to the cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix.
It is also the first race since the implementation of rule changes affecting the complex engine-management regulations.
Norris expressed his satisfaction, stating: “It was great. A perfect result for us. A nice way to reward the team. We have a lot of new upgrades, and it’s nice to feel some grip again. It’s a nice reward for the guys and girls.”
“Every track is different. This track has always been good for us, but we knew that what we were bringing was going to give us a good step, and it has. Since the first lap, I felt comfortable, and I was like: ‘oh, I’ve got a bit of rear grip’. It was nice.”
“The lap was good, apart from one corner, 16 onto the back straight, completely missed it. I’m just happy to be back here.”
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‘I love the competition’
This pole position marks Norris’ first since Las Vegas last year, three races before the end of the championship season, and suggests that Mercedes may face significant challenges this year.
Antonelli managed to secure a positive result for Mercedes after a challenging session.
The Mercedes car has often struggled in hot conditions, and the 32C temperatures appeared to be a disadvantage.
Despite not appearing competitive for much of the session, Antonelli ensured he was the last car to set a time in the final session, capitalizing on the track’s improved grip.
“It was a pretty messy session,” the Italian driver stated. “I struggled a lot with the car, and on the medium tires, I couldn’t get a lap in. Then, on the soft tires, all of a sudden, the car came more alive. I felt more comfortable.”
“We definitely felt we were expecting this weekend to be quite a bit tougher, also because those teams brought major upgrades which they closed the gap massively, or even went in front of us. McLaren have the same engine as us and they improve a lot the car, but I think we can be in the fight.”
Russell took the opposite approach, running first, and ended up 0.4 seconds behind his teammate, a less than ideal result given his existing nine-point deficit to Antonelli in the championship.
“Pretty surprising how big a jump McLaren and Ferrari have made,” Russell commented. “That’s pretty damn impressive. All day they’ve been quicker than us. From my side, I’ve been struggling all day.
“Miami is not a track I particularly love, especially in these hotter conditions, but it’s only sprint qualifying. I’m just overheating the tires a lot in that twisty section in the middle and struggling to get the right balance with the car.”
The Ferrari demonstrated strong pace during practice and the initial qualifying sessions on the medium tires but struggled on the soft tires in the final session.
“The upgrades are fine,” Leclerc explained. “It’s just everybody brought upgrades. McLaren did a very big step forward, but I felt like they didn’t optimize their first races, so they were always there but didn’t put everything together.”
“On our side, we have struggled with tires. The medium tires were working very well. On the soft tires, it was not a nice feeling, so on that we have got to look at it. We know on the race pace we are stronger, but in terms of qualifying, there is still work to be done.”
Miami Grand Prix
1-3 May with race at 21:00 BST on Sunday
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Ferrari and Red Bull have also introduced significant upgrade packages this weekend, with Red Bull’s appearing to be more effective thus far.
Securing fifth on the grid, 0.592 seconds behind pole position—even if achieved by a McLaren rather than a Mercedes—represents a positive outcome considering the team’s challenging start to the season. Verstappen expressed satisfaction with the progress made, with the Dutchman finishing a second ahead of teammate Isack Hadjar in ninth place.
Verstappen noted: “It feels more together. There are still things we’re working on, but it’s been a really positive step for us.”
“Last few races we were over a second behind and I would say we have almost halved that gap now. So that’s positive.”
“We are still very weak in the first sector, which is mostly high speed, but the rest felt a bit more together. At least we have cleared the midfield. The car is at least allowing me to trust it a little bit more and I can basically take a bit more lap time out of it.”
Hamilton, who has had a strong start to the season, finished 0.379 seconds behind Leclerc and expressed his disappointment.
“I had hoped we would be better, but the car didn’t feel particularly great,” the seven-time champion said. “I thought we would be stronger than we were today.”
“We will have to do some work overnight to figure out why we are not that quick. I was positive coming in that we would be much higher, but it was not meant to be.”
1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
6. George Russell (Mercedes)
7. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
8. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
9. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
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