McLaren’s world champion Lando Norris claimed pole for Saturday’s sprint race in Miami, denying Mercedes top spot for the first time in a competitive session this season.
Norris beat Mercedes’ championship leader Kimi Antonelli into second by a pretty handy margin, 0.222 seconds, as the top teams unveiled what they had been working on during Formula One’s enforced five-week break.
Norris’s team-mate Oscar Piastri will start third on Saturday morning with the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc fourth and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fifth, just ahead of Mercedes’ title favourite George Russell. That is not a sentence anyone expected to write heading into the weekend.
Russell told Sky Sports F1 he was “surprised” by the extent of the progress made by Mercedes’ rivals over the break, particularly McLaren and Ferrari. “It’s pretty damn impressive,” he said.
“We knew they had probably closed the gap but all day they were quicker than us. From my side I’ve been struggling. Miami is not a track I love, especially in these hotter conditions. But it’s only sprint qualifying so let’s see what tomorrow brings. I’ve been quite surprised by the progress of the others. I’m not in a great starting position.”
McLaren Ferrari and Red Bull appear to have used the five-week gap profitably, arriving in Miami with a raft of upgrades and squeezing the gap at the top to Mercedes.
Red Bull had earlier unveiled their own version of Ferrari’s “Macarena” rotating rear wing, one of a number of eye-catching upgrades on the RB22. They appear to have made a big difference. Verstappen was second quickest in practice, just behind Leclerc, and Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said it had been an “encouraging” day.
“It was a massive amount of work done in Milton Keynes to deep-dive into what was limiting us and to bring updates, it’s basically two parallel floors,” said Mekies, who denied Red Bull had copied Ferrari’s rear-wing concept. “As much as you will not believe me anyway, I have to say, in fairness to the guys, they came up with that concept far, far before we hit the track and we saw what everybody else had been doing,”
Mercedes are expected to bring a significant upgrade package to the Canadian Grand Prix later this month.
Their moods were in stark contrast to the teams at the other end of the grid. Williams’s Carlos Sainz, who qualified 15th, one place behind team-mate Alex Albon, complained his team were “three steps behind where we should be on every lap” describing it as unacceptable.
At least Sainz made it out of SQ1. Aston Martin, still in a world of pain amid rumours they are planning to unveil a B-spec car in Spa later this year, will start Saturday’s sprint at the back of the field again with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll 21st and 22nd respectively.
Miami GP sprint qualifying top 10
- Lando Norris, McLaren 1:27.869sec
- Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes +0.222sec
- Oscar Piastri, McLaren +0.239sec
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +0.370sec
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull +0.592sec
- George Russell, Mercedes +0.624sec
- Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari +0.749sec
- Franco Colapinto, Alpine +1.451sec
- Isack Hadjar, Red Bull +1.553sec
- Pierre Gasly, Alpine +1.605sec
We will be back tomorrow
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For the sprint race at 5pm and qualifying for the main grand prix at 9pm.
Russell speaks after a disappointing session
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“Surprising how big a jump McLaren and Ferrari have made. We knew they’d probably close the gap but... my side I have been struggling today. Miami is not a track that I love to be honest. It’s only sprint qualifying, so let’s see what tomorrow brings.”
He said he was overheating the tyres in the middle section and struggled with the balance, too. Also says he is surprised (again) with how much of a step Ferrari and McLaren made. Bottom line, though, is that is true but he is also 0.4sec off his team-mate...
Encouraging signs...
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Four cars from three different teams within 0.4sec of each other and it’s not a Mercedes on pole for the first time this season. Of course, the sprint, main qualifying and the grand prix are different things, but perhaps Mercedes are not going to have it all their own way. Not sure what happened to Russell. Or Hamilton for that matter.
SQ3 - Classification
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- NOR 1:27.869
- ANT +0.222
- PIA +0.239
- LEC +0.370
- VER +0.592
- RUS +0.624
- HAM +0.749
- COL +1.451
- HAD +1.553
- GAS +1.605
Lando Norris speaks
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“It was great, perfect result for us, nice way to reward the team. We’ve got a lot of upgrades on the car, it’s nice to feel grip again. I’ve always loved Miami... it’s a good result for us. Still a long way to go but nice to tick it off by doing this. It’s tough to know, every track is different. We’ve known that this track has always been good to us... it’s nice that our estimations are proved correct. Since the first lap today I felt comfortable.”
🏁 LANDO NORRIS TAKES MIAMI GP SPRINT POLE
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It’s a good lap from Antonelli, but not good enough. Second, 0.222sec off the pace of Norris, the world champion, who takes the best result of the season for McLaren in qualifying.
Piastri third, Leclerc fourth and Verstappen fifth. A mistake from Hamilton I believe.
SQ3 - Or is he?
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Verstappen goes third! It looked a bit ragged. Piastri then into second... McLaren currently 1-2.
Over to Antonelli, who does the fastest middle sector...
SQ3 - Hamilton slower than Russell in the end
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What have Norris and Leclerc got? Norris 0.6sec faster than Russell...
Leclerc into second, losing time to Norris.
Antonelli has only just started his fast lap.
Verstappen wringing the neck of the car but is unlikely to challenge the front two rows...
SQ3 - Hamilton and Norris looking fast after sector one
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George Russell not so much...
I am not sure Mercedes are in contention here.
Russell crosses the line with a 1:28.493...
SQ3 - We have some drivers on track...
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Everyone on soft compound tyres, as is mandated. Mercedes with time to find, it could be a shoot-out between McLaren and Ferrari on current form this session.
Mercedes have some time to find
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They might well do so in SQ3 but this is the furthest off the pace that they have been all season.
Sainz is not happy
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He says they are “three steps behind” where they need to be on every lap and that they cannot be like this after 90 minutes of practice. A criticism of how they are going about things rather than the session, I believe.
🏁SQ2 ends - Leclerc fastest
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OUT: BOR, HUL, BEA, ALB, SAI
- LEC 1:28.333
- PIA +0.173
- HAM +0.508
- RUS +0.570
- VER +0.760
- ANT +0.876
- NOR +1.033
- COL +1.194
- HAD +1.417
- GAS +1.640
SQ2 - Both Audis out...
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11th and 12th. Not terrible, but about where they are. Russell goes again but stays fourth on a used set of tyres.
SQ2 - Drivers in the drop zone
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BOR, HUL, ALB, SAI, LIN, BEA
Piastri is staying in the garage and he should be safe. Norris and Leclerc are out, though Norris has backed off.
SQ2 - Leclerc with a rapid lap!
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A full four tenths faster than Russell. Hamilton is second but is still a long way from Leclerc, 0.371sec. Piastri splits the Ferraris but Norris can only move seventh, nearly 0.9sec slower.
Looking like a three-team fight for pole here. Looks like Norris got a bit squirmy in the middle sector, which is where he lost a lot of time, in the chicane.
SQ2 - A much better time for Russell
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He is 0.339sec faster than Kimi Antonelli. Verstappen moves just under two tenths to split the Mercedes cars.
SQ2 begins
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Verstappen has a close shave with an Alpine. Not sure who was to blame. Nobody, really. Tight pit lane and all that.
Pain for Aston Martin... Spa is a long time away
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More misery for Aston Martin. Some eyebrows were raised when they turned up here without any upgrades. Been told they are saving them up for a B-spec car in Spa.
🏁SQ1 ends - Norris fastest
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Eliminated: LAW, OCO, PER, BOT, ALO, STR
- NOR 1:28.723
- LEC +0.010
- PIA +0.446
- HAM +0.532
- ANT +0.589
- RUS +0.936
- VER +1.078
- GAS +1.261
- HUL +1.547
- HAD +1.629
- COL +1.663
- BOR +1.838
- BEA +1.891
- LIN +2.149
- SAI +2.264
- ALB +2.265
SQ1 - Lindblad out of the drop zone
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Perez is back in the garage so will be eliminated. Russell crosses the line just in sixth and still a long way, nearly a second, from the fastest time of the session. Albon in danger of being knocked out here if he doesn’t improve significantly...
Alonso yet to set a lap time... but then dives into the pits. So he is eliminated, too.
Albon into 16th. Is that enough? It might be...
SQ1 - Norris goes to the top
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0.567sec ahead of Leclerc, but then Piastri crosses the line to move to second, albeit more than four tenths slower than the world champion. Stroll’s session looks to be over. Oh dear.
Two minutes remain. In the drop zone are: BOT, ALO, COL, LIN, LAW, STR.
SQ1 - Leclerc leads the way so far
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Hamilton posts a time 0.352sec behind him. What has Russell got in his pocket? He is 1.175sec slower but I think a good chunk of that might have been because of the yellow flags... or did he have a problem somewhere else?
That said Antonelli goes within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc. Verstappen fourth, 0.5sec slower than Leclerc.
SQ1 - Everyone out now
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🟨We have a yellow flag somewhere. Can see that Lance Stroll looks to have stopped on track. He is stationary on the run-off at turn 16 but eventually gets going. That has ruined a fair few laps, including Lando Norris.
SQ1 - A bit of a stand-off in the pits
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Eventually a few drivers get out there, though mostly backmarkers.
🟢GREEN LIGHT - SQ1 begins
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22 drivers in, six to be eliminated at the end of the 12 minutes.
Russell could do with a strong weekend
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He is trailing Antonelli in the championship but there is a long way to go. He was unlucky not to win in Suzuka, though. That said, this was one of Antonelli’s strongest tracks last year and one of Russell’s weakest, at least in qualifying. Both sessions he was behind Antonelli, though finished ahead in the sprint and main grand prix.
Constructor standings
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Mercedes dominating so far. Will that change this weekend?
Red Bull: We are not worried about Verstappen leaving
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Laurent Mekies has denied that the recent exodus of staff at Red Bull, particularly from Max Verstappen’s side of the garage, has increased the likelihood of the Dutchman departing the team later this year.
Mekies, who took over as Red Bull team principal after Christian Horner was sacked last summer, insisted the number of leavers was still “tiny” relative to the size of Red Bull’s overall workforce and that Verstappen “understood” the bigger picture.
Speaking in the build-up to this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix – Formula One’s first race in five weeks because of the cancellation of rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia – Mekies also claimed morale at the team’s HQ in Milton Keynes was “fantastic” and that he detected a “fire” in the bellies of his staff.
Verstappen has cut a hugely frustrated figure so far this season, slamming F1’s new hybrid-electric formula, which he has described as “anti-racing” and akin to “Formula E on steroids”. The four-time world champion, who is contracted to Red Bull until 2028, has even spoken about quitting the sport.
Session timings this weekend
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All times BST.
Friday, May 1
Sprint qualifying – 9.30pm
Saturday, May 2
Sprint race – 5pm
Qualifying – 9pm
Sunday, May 3
Race – 9pm
A reminder of the current driver standings
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It has been a while since F1 last raced, so here is a reminder...
FP1 classification
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1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari 1min29.310sec
2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull +0.297
3. Oscar Piastri, McLaren +0.448
4. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari +0.467
5. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes +0.769
6. George Russell, Mercedes +0.790
7. Lando Norris, McLaren +0.898
8. Pierre Gasly, Alpine +1.277
9. Isack Hadjar, Red Bull +1.563
10. Carlos Sainz, Williams +1.620
11. Franco Colapinto, Alpine +1.705
12. Alexander Albon, Williams +1.714
13. Oliver Bearman, Haas +1.781
14. Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi +1.801
15. Nico Hulkenberg, Audi +2.285
16. Esteban Ocon, Haas +2.325
17. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls +2.338
18. Sergio Perez, Cadillac +2.737
19. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +3.283
20. Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac +3.452
21. Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls +3.552
22. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +3.649
Good evening
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It has been a long time, hasn’t it? With the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races, F1 has had an enforced and unexpected spring break after just three rounds of the new regulation set. But here we are, back in Miami for a sprint weekend, with some tweaks to the regulations.
Without going into too much detail – and the new regulations are so detailed that it beggars belief – there will, of course, be hope that the tweaks make for better, more sensible racing as well as bringing some of the challengers close to leaders Mercedes. Hard to say if that has happened on the basis of one (albeit extended) practice session in Miami, but there were some fairly promising signs.
Charles Leclerc was fastest for Ferrari ahead of Max Verstappen in the Red Bull, nearly 0.3sec behind, followed by Oscar Piastri, Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton and then the lead Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli. George Russell, who is hoping to overturn the Italian’s championship advantage this weekend, was sixth, only marginally behind his team-mate.
I am not sure the additional 30 minutes in FP1 feels like enough time for the teams before sprint qualifying, but who cares? It’s up to them and the drivers to get on with it. Plenty of upgrades here as well as the regulation amendments, so let’s see if they have made a difference.
SQ1 begins at 9.30pm and the whole session should be done in about an hour, so let’s get back on with it, shall we?