Miami GP – Sprint Qualifying: Lando Norris on pole, George Russell back

The evolutionary war has delivered its first verdict. While McLaren, Classic Ferrari for sale et Red Bull arrived in Florida decked out with new parts on their single-seaters. Mercedes Benz They opted for continuity, making only minor changes to their W17, saving their "wild cards" for future development, due to budget constraints. So, while the cat rests on its laurels, which have worked wonders at the start of the season, the mice are not holding back!

In this game, McLaren pulled off a great feat by taking the lead in the first qualifying session of the weekend. During the switch to soft tires in Q3, Lando Norris emerged from the shadows to claim pole position with a substantial margin of 0.222s over Kimi Antonelli, who finished second, a year after securing his first pole in Florida. At McLaren, however... Oscar piastri who had seemed the quickest from the start of the session, and the Australian, who finished third, missed qualifying on the front row by only 0.017s.

As seen since Free Practice, Charles Leclerc He had the ideal profile of a pole-sitter, but the Monegasque driver made a slight mistake in the second sector on his only lap of Q3 and had to settle for fourth place, while Lewis Hamilton He is 7th, half a second behind his garage neighbor.

The two Ferrari drivers are separated by Max Verstappen (5th) and George Russell, a rather disappointing 6th. While Antonelli salvaged a front-row start at the last minute, the Mercedes drivers seemed slightly off the pace, appearing to struggle somewhat with their cars. Kimi Antonelli complained of persistent wheel lock-ups on his W17, while George Russell lacked the pace to match his teammate.

LANDO NORRIS IS ON #F1SPRINT POLE IN MIAMI! 👏🥇

IT'S ON! 👀#F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/vOPMK38DM3

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 1, 2026

Aston Martin in trouble Alpine has a smile

Arriving in Miami without any progress, Aston Martin continues to face its share of difficulties. While the Silverstone-based firm has made progress with Honda—its engine supplier—to address the vibration issues in its power unit, it still hasn't resolved its reliability problems. Nor Fernando Alonso ni Lance stroll were unable to complete a flying lap. The Canadian even found himself stopped at turn 17 early in the session, causing a yellow flag before returning to the pits to get out of his car.

Also accustomed to eliminations in Q1, the Cadillacs will start from the penultimate row, just behind Liam Lawson (17th) and Esteban Ocon (18th), also eliminated in Q1. A real disappointment for the Frenchman, relegated to six tenths of a second behind his teammate Ollie Bearman, 13th in the first segment. Ocon suffered a major wheel lock-up in the first sector, which cost him precious tenths and left his medium tires badly damaged for the remainder of the session. Haas, like the Racing Bulls, the Audis and the WilliamsIn any case, they don't seem to be in great shape at the start of this weekend: none of these cars reached SQ3, unlike the two Alpine by Franco Colapinto (8th) and Pierre Gasly (10e).

The Argentinian, dominant over his teammate throughout the session, is back in form after disappointing in Japan (16th), two weeks after his first point with Alpine, scored in China (10th). For his part, the Frenchman continues to shine. He has reached Q3 for the fourth consecutive time — Sprints and Grands Prix combined — and can realistically aim for a top-eight finish in the race, which would signify his fifth points finish in as many races this season. He is currently the only driver, along with George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, and Kimi Antonelli, to have never finished outside the points zone.

It's also worth noting that Isack Hadjar's Q3 streak continues: the Parisian driver qualified 9th, admittedly a good distance behind Max Verstappen, but this allows him to reach the third segment of qualifying for the fifth time in as many attempts since arriving in Milton Keynes in January. He now needs to climb back into the points in the first race of the weekend, which will be covered with live text commentary on AUTOhebdo.fr from 18 pm CET on Saturday, May 2nd.

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F1 – Miami Grand Prix
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