Miami – Qualifying: Max Verstappen stuns the McLarens

The King has regained his throne. After ceding pole position in the sprint to Kimi Antonelli, then victory to Lando Norris, Max Verstappen decided to set the record straight. The four-time world champion secured a third pole position in 2025 by dominating Q3.

However, nothing was decided after the first attempt, where the gaps were tiny between Max Verstappen, the fastest, Lando Norris (+0”003) and Oscar piastri (+0). The Dutchman improved his time on a second lap to overtake Lando Norris (+017), who let pole slip away by hitting the kerb at the final corner.

At Mercedes, the trend from the start of the weekend was confirmed: Kimi Antonelli was the most comfortable (3rd), while George Russell had a lot of trouble controlling his car. " Get me out of the pits early, I have no confidence in the car, I'm sliding everywhere", the Briton fumed on the radio as he returned to the garage after his first lap of Q2, which placed him only 11th, more than half a second behind his teammate. The gap was reduced in Q3, but the Bologna native maintained the advantage.

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Ocon in Q3, Ferrari lacks pace

To Pierre GaslyThe satisfaction of having inherited the point for 8th place in the sprint was short-lived. Having climbed the rankings following the penalties in front of him, the Frenchman did not have the pace to reach the points, and it was not much better in qualifying. Gasly went out in Q1 (18th), after being thrown into traffic on his last flying lap, something he complained about on the radio. On Friday, Jack Doohan was also furious with his team's management after his elimination in SQ1, a sign that at the A-marked driver, some things still need to be reviewed.

If the Blue is looking gloomy, life is not always rosy for Isack Hadjar, despite his special livery this weekend. After reaching SQ3 on Friday, the Racing Bulls driver failed to achieve a frustrating 11th place in Q2, 0 seconds behindEsteban Ocon, last qualified for Q3. The driver Haas hadn't reached the final segment of qualifying since the Brazilian GP at the end of last season. He finished 2nd in the Grand Prix then - if that could give him any ideas...

If the Norman reached Q3 (9th), this is not the case for Lewis Hamilton, remained at the dock in Q2. The Briton came back down to earth after his 3rd place in the sprint race, but there was little better to do, as his teammate Charles Leclerc also suffered at the wheel of his SF-25 (8th). One man's misfortune is another man's gain: the Prancing Horse's difficulties made the riders of Williams. Alex Albon et Carlos Sainz also confirmed their good start to the weekend by reaching Q3. The Thai driver, 4th in the sprint before being penalized, continues his momentum (7th), while Carlos Sainz (6th) makes up for lost time after abandoning the first race of the weekend following a driving error.

F1 – Miami GP 

The starting grid

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