Norris puts upgraded McLaren on sprint pole, ending Mercedes qualifying streak in Miami

Key facts

• Lando Norris claimed pole for the Miami sprint race on Friday, his first competitive session pole of 2026.
• Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli qualified second, ending Mercedes' run of qualifying dominance this season.
• Norris's McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri took third, ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in fourth.
• Red Bull's Max Verstappen qualified fifth, his best grid position of a difficult season so far.
• George Russell, early season leader, managed only sixth and complained of overheating tyres and lack of grip.
• Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was seventh in the second Ferrari.
• The session was the first competitive running after a five-week hiatus due to the conflict in the Middle East.
• McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull all brought major upgrade packages to Miami; Mercedes deferred its upgrades.

McLaren's upgrades deliver immediate pace

Lando Norris beamed in the Florida sunshine on Friday after steering his upgraded McLaren to pole position for Saturday's sprint race at the Miami Grand Prix. The 26-year-old Briton made the most of extensive upgrades on his car to outpace Mercedes' Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli and end Mercedes' early-season domination in qualifying. "I've always loved Miami, both on and off the track," said Norris, who claimed his maiden F1 triumph at the compact circuit built around the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens in 2024. "And this is a good result for us, but still only at the beginning of the weekend. There's still a long way to go, but it's nice to kick off by doing this." Norris added: "We've got a lot of new upgrades on the car and it is nice to feel some grip again — and nice to reward the guys and girls who have put a lot of work into this."

Mercedes loses qualifying edge for first time in 2026

Formula 1's first competitive session for almost five weeks threw up plenty of surprise and intrigue, as well as McLaren's first 'pole' of the season. A first defeat of the year in a competitive session for Mercedes has to go down as a loss, even though championship leader Kimi Antonelli made the front row. It would seem the double whammy of rule changes designed to reduce reliance on extreme electrical energy recharge and deployment tactics, plus other teams bringing major upgrades while Mercedes defers, has suddenly put F1's dominant team under pressure. George Russell was well down the order and complaining of a lack of grip and car balance, as well as expressing surprise at how much progress rivals have made. "I think it is pretty surprising how big a jump McLaren and Ferrari have made. It's much bigger than we expected, even if this has never been a favourite circuit for me," Russell said.

Verstappen shows improvement but Red Bull still weak in high-speed corners

It's still nowhere near where he wants or expects to be, but this is comfortably the closest Max Verstappen has been to the pace so far this season. The four-time world champion qualified fifth, his best grid position of a difficult campaign that has driven him towards considering an early exit. Red Bull looks to have made a similar trade-off with deployment as Mercedes, so gaining on the runs to Turns 11 and 17 is offset against McLaren's superior speed heading to Turn 1 and between Turns 3 and 4. The rest of that near-0.6s gap looks to be from the inferior speed Verstappen can carry through the corners. He loses a big chunk from Turns 4-8 and another whack though the fiddly bit of Turns 11-16. As he indicated afterwards, the Red Bull is feeling "more together" and "I can trust it a bit more", but it still likely lacks the pin-sharp rotation that allows Verstappen to do his best work. "We need to work on that," he said, referring to the team's weakness in high-speed sections.

Ferrari upgrades underwhelm Hamilton and Leclerc

Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was seventh in the second Ferrari, the Italian team along with Red Bull having brought major upgrade packages to the Miami race. Hamilton said he had hoped Ferrari's extensive upgrade package would have delivered greater rewards. Charles Leclerc managed fourth, ahead of Verstappen but behind the McLarens and Antonelli. The Ferrari upgrades, while significant, did not close the gap to the front as much as the team had anticipated. Hamilton's comments echoed Verstappen's: both drivers expressed disappointment that their teams' new parts did not yield a bigger step in performance.

Norris cautious about reading too much into one session

Asked if he felt this indicated that the defending constructors' champions had regained the initiative from McLaren, Norris was cautious. "It's so tough to know because every track is different. We've known that this track has always been good to us, but we knew that what we were bringing was hopefully going to be a good step so it's nice that our estimations have proved to be correct." "The team deserve that... Since the first lap today, I felt very comfortable and I thought I had a bit of rear grip, so it is good to start with pole," he added. A comparison of Norris's at-times scruffy pole lap versus a relatively cleaner run from Antonelli suggests nearly all the Mercedes time loss came through a slightly understeery run through Turn 1 and then a lack of pace through the high-speed sweeps thereafter. Probably McLaren has closed the gap in terms of pure grip and downforce with that upgrade, but the speed traces also suggest — as in Suzuka — an initial divergence in terms of energy deployment strategy that seems to have once again given McLaren a Friday edge. The question now is whether it persists or (as in Suzuka) Mercedes manages to reassert itself.

Hadjar and other drivers struggle in Miami heat

Isack Hadjar made it into the top 10 yet again — but there the positives end. This was Hadjar's worst qualifying of the season, and even if it's 'only' for the sprint, he was clearly annoyed and baffled by it afterwards. The young driver had been a consistent performer in earlier sessions but could not replicate that form in Miami. Other drivers also faced difficulties. Russell struggled with overheating tyres and other problems throughout Friday. The Miami circuit, with its tight layout and high temperatures, proved challenging for several teams, exposing weaknesses that may persist into the main race.

Outlook for sprint and main race remains open

The sprint race on Saturday will provide an early test of whether McLaren's Friday edge translates into race-day performance. Mercedes, having been beaten in qualifying for the first time this year, will look to reassert itself through race strategy and tyre management. Red Bull, encouraged by Verstappen's improved feeling in the car, hopes to close the gap further. Ferrari, meanwhile, will seek to understand why its upgrades did not deliver as expected and adjust for Sunday's grand prix. With the field tighter than at any point this season, the Miami weekend promises to be a pivotal moment in the 2026 championship battle.

The bottom line

• Lando Norris took sprint pole in Miami, ending Mercedes' perfect qualifying record in 2026.
• McLaren's extensive upgrades delivered immediate grip and rear stability, especially in high-speed corners.
• Max Verstappen qualified fifth, his best of the season, but Red Bull remains weak in high-speed sections.
• Ferrari's major upgrade package underwhelmed, with Lewis Hamilton only seventh.
• The five-week hiatus due to Middle East conflict reset team development trajectories, with McLaren and Ferrari gaining on Mercedes.
• The sprint race will reveal whether McLaren's Friday pace holds over a full race distance.