Beaten by Antonelli, McLaren rely on race pace to win the Miami Sprint

Once again, this is not a McLaren who will start from pole position in the Sprint race this Saturday in Miami. This time, the troublemaker is Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The driver Mercedes beat the two British single-seaters in the Sprint Qualifying session on Friday at the Florida track. By less than a tenth of a second, the Italian beat the two championship protagonists, who were the logical favorites for this qualifying session for the Sprint.

On the side ofOscar piastri, it was a mistake in the last sector that cost him dearly in his only attempt at SQ3. "I'm pretty happy. It wasn't the best lap ever, I had a blockage at the last corner. That's probably where the pole went, but second place is still a good result." explained the championship leader after the Sprint qualifications on Friday. The Australian, who will start on the front row, remains confident of winning the Sprint. "We could fight from this position in the Sprint. Overall, I'm pretty happy. (…) I hope we have some performance to unlock. I'm optimistic and I'll try to gain a position in the Sprint before we focus on what brings big points."

Norris regains confidence for the rest of the weekend

The McLaren drivers are indeed hoping to rely on the intrinsic qualities of the MCL39, particularly its tire management, to win the Sprint where, let's remember, pit stops are not obligatory and generally not planned. Even Lando Norris, which is however more in difficulty with the car British driver since the start of the season, is showing some optimism ahead of Saturday's race. The Englishman was satisfied with his performance in Sprint Qualifying and is aiming for a result that will allow him to regain confidence.

“Qualifying was very close. I felt good. I’m happy to have put in a good lap. It was close, so I couldn’t ask for much more, said Lando Norris, who won his first Grand Prix here in Miami. I have a lot of good memories here, but right now it doesn't matter, it's in the past. I'm focused on this weekend and today's performance, which I think was about average. It's obviously not good enough, but it shows how close it is, it shows how quick the Mercedes are because we're both behind [Antonelli]. There's a bit of work to do for the Sprint, but we're close enough that we can aim for pole position [in qualifying]. In China, Lewis Hamilton managed to hold off the McLarens to win the Sprint. Will Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris get their revenge in Miami?

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