Lando Norris put McLaren on sprint pole at the Miami Grand Prix, becoming the first driver to beat a Mercedes in qualifying this year. The world champion headed Kimi Antonelli by 0.222 seconds, with team-mate Oscar Piastri third. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth, ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell.
Lewis Hamilton, in the second Ferrari, qualified seventh, just in front of Argentine Franco Colapinto in the Alpine. McLaren arrived with a major upgrade package for Miami, as did most rivals, but Mercedes did not.
Norris, who claimed his first Formula 1 victory at this venue two years ago, credited the updates and a stronger feel from the car. "Was great. Perfect result for us. Nice way to reward the team. We have a lot of new upgrades, nice to feel some grip again and nice reward for the guys and girls," he said.
"Every track's 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 on to the back straight, completely missed it. I'm just happy to be back here."
It was Norris’ first pole since Las Vegas last year, three races from the end of his championship season. The display hinted Mercedes may not have things all their own way in qualifying as the campaign resumes after a five-week pause.
Antonelli salvaged a strong result for Mercedes after a scrappy session in 32C heat, conditions that have often highlighted the car’s weaknesses. By running last in the final segment, he capitalised on peak track grip to secure a front-row start. "It was a pretty messy session," the Italian said. "I struggled a lot with the car and on the medium (tyres) I couldn't get a lap in, and then on the soft, all of a sudden, the car became 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 on the final runs and ended up 0.4 seconds behind his team-mate, not ideal given he already trails Antonelli by nine points in the standings. "Pretty surprising how big a jump McLaren and Ferrari have made," Russell said. "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. Just overheating the tyres a lot in that twisty section in the middle. Struggling to get the right balance with the car."
Ferrari looked quick earlier on the medium tyre but faded on the soft compound in the decisive shootout. "The upgrades are fine," Leclerc said. "It's just everybody brought upgrades. McLaren did a very big step forward but I felt like they didn't optimise their first races so they were always there but didn't put everything together."
"On our side, we have struggled with tyres. The medium were working very well. On the soft, 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."
Ferrari and Red Bull also introduced major upgrade packages this weekend, with early signs suggesting Red Bull’s may be the more effective so far. Verstappen’s fifth place keeps him in the mix as teams assess the impact of their developments.
Miami is the first Formula 1 race for five weeks following the cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix. It is also the first event since changes to engine-management regulations were introduced.
Saturday’s sprint is at 17:00 BST, with qualifying for Sunday’s grand prix at 21:00. The focus now turns to whether McLaren can convert their qualifying edge into sprint points, how Ferrari manage tyre behaviour over longer runs, and whether Mercedes can rebound as conditions evolve.
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*Originally published on [News Formula One](https://newsformula.one/article/norris-takes-miami-sprint-pole-as-mclaren-upgrades-deliver). Visit for full coverage.*
