Norris on Miami sprint pole as McLaren return to form

· BBC Sport
Lando Norris won his first F1 race in Miami two years agoGetty Images

By
Andrew Benson
F1 Correspondent in Miami
Published

McLaren's Lando Norris became the first driver to beat a Mercedes in qualifying this year with sprint pole at the Miami Grand Prix.

The world champion beat Kimi Antonelli by 0.222 seconds with the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri third fastest.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fourth, ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Mercedes' George Russell.

Lewis Hamilton was seventh in the second Ferrari, ahead of Argentine Franco Colapinto in the Alpine.

McLaren brought a major upgrade package to this race - along with most other teams, but not Mercedes.

McLaren did the same thing in Miami in 2024 and it turned Norris' season around.

Saturday's sprint is at 17:00 BST with qualifying for Sunday's grand prix at 21:00.

Miami is the first Formula 1 race for five weeks because of the cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix.

It is also the first race since the rule changes to the complicated engine-management regulations.

Briton Norris said: "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.

"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."

Russell 'surprised' by 'big jump' from McLaren and Ferrari

It was Norris' first pole since Las Vegas last year, three races from the end of his championship season, and a suggestion - at the very least - that Mercedes may not have things all their own way this year, after all.

Antonelli salvaged a good result for Mercedes after a difficult session.

The Mercedes car has often struggled in the heat, and the 32C temperatures did not seem to do it any favours.

But after not looking competitive for most of the session, Antonelli ensured he was the very last car to set a time in the final session, when the track would be at its grippiest, and it paid off.

"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 route, running first, and he ended up 0.4secs back from his team-mate, not an ideal result given he already has to make up nine points on Antonelli in the championship.

"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."

The Ferrari was very fast through practice and the first two qualifying sessions on the medium tyre, but struggled on the soft in the final session.

"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."

Miami Grand Prix

1-3 May with race at 21:00 BST on Sunday

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'Really positive step' for Verstappen

Ferrari and Red Bull also have major upgrade packages this weekend, and Red Bull's seem the more effective so far.

Fifth on the grid and 0.592secs from pole - even if it is a McLaren and not a Mercedes - counts as a good result in the context of a difficult start to the season and Verstappen was pleased with the progress made. The Dutchman was a second clear of team-mate Isack Hadjar in ninth place.

Verstappen said: "It feels more together. There are still things we're working on but it's been a really positive step for us.

"Last few races we were over a second behind and I would say we have almost halved that gap now. So that's positive.

"We are still very weak in the first sector, which is mostly high speed, but the rest felt a bit more together. At least we have cleared the midfield. The car is at least allowing me to trust it a little bit more and I can basically take a bit more lap time out of it."

Hamilton, who has started the season well, was 0.379secs off Leclerc in the final reckoning and could not hide his disappointment.

"I had hoped we would be better but the car didn't feel particularly great," the seven-time champion said. "I thought we would be stronger than we were today.

"We will have to do some work overnight to figure out why we are not that quick. I was positive coming in that we would be much higher but not meant to be."

Top 10

1. Lando Norris (McLaren)

2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

6. George Russell (Mercedes)

7. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

8. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

9. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)

10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

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