Lando Norris secured pole for the sprint qualifying in Miami, dominating a very competitive session where McLaren took the upper hand over Mercedes and Ferrari.
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In a particularly tight sprint qualifying session at the Miami Grand Prix circuit, McLaren once again demonstrated its competitiveness. After already promising free practice sessions, the British team converted the opportunity at the decisive moment.
On an extremely hot and demanding track, with temperatures exceeding 50°C, Lando Norris perfectly exploited the potential of his car to set a reference lap of 1’27’’869. A time that allowed him to claim first position ahead of a very dense competition.
His teammate Oscar Piastri also confirmed the team’s form, completing an excellent overall result for McLaren with a solid third place.
Mercedes and Ferrari try to keep up the pace
Behind McLaren, the fight was particularly close. Kimi Antonelli managed to slot in between the orange cars with a solid performance, while Mercedes generally showed a more irregular pace throughout the session.
Mercedes failed to turn their ambitions into concrete results, despite some promising attempts in SQ2 and SQ3. George Russell had set a good initial reference time, but the overall performance was not enough to challenge for pole.
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On the Ferrari side, Charles Leclerc led the session for a long time before giving way in the final phase. A small mistake in his decisive lap prevented him from securing a pole that seemed within reach.
A session marked by minimal gaps
The sprint qualifying was particularly undecided, with extremely tight gaps between the main teams. Several times, only a few thousandths separated the candidates for the front row.
Max Verstappen finished in the top 5 without managing to threaten McLaren over a full lap, while several outsiders managed to break into the top 10, confirming the density of the field in Miami.
With this pole in sprint qualifying, McLaren is ideally placed for the short race of the weekend. The pace shown since the start of the meeting suggests that the team could play a major role throughout the weekend, especially if weather conditions further complicate the hierarchy.
In a context where gaps remain very small, the slightest mistake could weigh heavily. But at this stage, McLaren seems to have taken a slight lead over its direct rivals… at least for this sprint in Miami.
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Sprint Qualifying Standings for the 2026 Miami GP F1:
