Norris Breaks Mercedes’ Perfect Start with Sprint Pole at the F1 Miami Grand Prix 2026

Lando Norris took sprint pole at the Miami International Autodrome with a 1:27.869, 0.222 seconds clear of Kimi Antonelli, and in doing so became the first non-Mercedes driver to start from the front in 2026. Oscar Piastri split the two title contenders in third, just 0.017 off Antonelli. Four rounds in, McLaren have finally broken the streak.

Key Points: F1 Miami Grand Prix 2026 Sprint Qualifying

• Norris takes sprint pole with a 1:27.869, the first non-Mercedes pole of the 2026 season. Antonelli second, Piastri third by 0.017
• Leclerc topped FP1 with a 1:29.310 on C5 Softs, heading Verstappen by 0.297 and Piastri by 0.448. Antonelli missed his Soft run after a Mercedes power unit issue
• Stroll eliminated in SQ1 without setting a time after a lock-up at Turn 17 sent him into the run-off and forced a systems reboot. Alonso also gone in SQ1
• Russell sixth for Mercedes, Hamilton seventh for Ferrari in SQ3. Both lost time in the final sector where Norris found the margin
• Colapinto eighth, Hadjar ninth, Gasly tenth. Alpine with both cars through to SQ3 for the second time this season
• Haas lost Bearman in SQ2. Audi lost both Hulkenberg and Bortoleto in SQ2. Neither team made SQ3

FP1

Leclerc topped the sole practice session of the Miami weekend with a 1:29.310, heading Verstappen by 0.297 seconds and Piastri by 0.448. The Ferrari was generating front-end grip through the slow corners from the opening runs, and Leclerc timed his C5 Soft switch precisely when the track surface had enough rubber to reward it. The session ran to 90 minutes, extended in recognition of the five-week gap, the sprint format and the rule refinements announced since Suzuka.

The opening phase was busy. Most teams carried significant upgrade packages developed across the break and drivers scrambled to bank early laps. Norris led the early running for McLaren, lapping just above 1:30 to head Verstappen and the two Ferraris. Aston Martin were the exception. Both Alonso and Stroll stayed in the garage with Honda power unit issues, the team monitoring the situation before eventually sending both cars out. They ran largely clean for the remainder of the session as Honda worked through further countermeasures to its reliability problems.

By the half-hour mark Antonelli had moved to the top with a 1:30.079. Red Bull were the outliers on compound choice, spending most of the session on C4 Mediums while the rest of the front runners used C5 Softs. Leclerc moved things on with a 1:29.855 on C3 Hards around the halfway point before converting to Softs in the final phase and posting a 1:29.310 that nobody could match.

Mercedes struggled throughout. Antonelli missed his C5 run entirely when a power unit issue on the W17 kept him in the garage during the final phase. Russell, who had been complaining of handling issues throughout the session and flat-spotted his front tyres after a lock-up, managed a Soft run but couldn’t extract a competitive time. Sixth, 0.790 off Leclerc. Norris ended up seventh after aborting his Soft run due to traffic, Gasly eighth, Hadjar ninth, Sainz tenth.

SQ1

The session had its defining moment before the first runs were even complete. Stroll ran wide at Turn 17 with seven minutes remaining, a lock-up sending him into the run-off and forcing a systems reboot to get moving again. Yellow flags compromised laps behind him and by the time the dust settled Stroll was back in the garage and out of the car. No time set. Eliminated without a representative lap.

Leclerc went to the top with a 1:29.290, Antonelli and Hamilton close behind. Norris moved to the front in the final two minutes by over half a second, Piastri slotting second but 0.446 back on his team-mate.

The bottom of the order sorted itself in the closing seconds. Lindblad improved to P12 in the final moments, dropping Ocon into the elimination zone. The Haas driver couldn’t respond. Albon survived by going P16 on his final lap, which pushed Lawson out. Perez was already in the pit lane. Bottas couldn’t find the time he needed.

Eliminated: Lawson, Ocon, Perez, Bottas, Alonso, Stroll.

SQ2

Track temperature at 52 degrees, air above 30. The heat that had shaped FP1 was still fully in play as the 16 survivors filed out on C4 Mediums.

Russell moved to the top early with a 1:28.903. Verstappen slotted second but couldn’t hold it. Leclerc went half a second clear of the field on his push lap, Hamilton second, three tenths back. Two Ferraris at the top, both stable on entry, consistent through the mid-corner and with no rear slide across the run.

Piastri split the Ferrari pair with four minutes remaining, just 0.036 off Leclerc. McLaren were in the fight. Norris was down in seventh after a drift cost him. With two minutes to go Alpine had both cars in the top ten alongside Hadjar for Red Bull. Audi were the team on the outside looking in.

Neither Hulkenberg nor Bortoleto could find the lap they needed. Both gone. Bearman crossed the line in P13 and was eliminated. Albon, Sainz and Lindblad completed the eliminations.

Eliminated: Bortoleto, Hulkenberg, Bearman, Albon, Sainz, Lindblad.

SQ3

Five teams. Eight minutes. The first non-Mercedes pole of 2026 on the table.

Russell led the queue out, unwilling to risk yellow flags by waiting. Hamilton next, then Norris, Leclerc, Gasly and Colapinto. Hadjar and Verstappen behind. Piastri penultimate. Antonelli last out by some margin, still on his out-lap with two minutes on the clock.

Russell set the early benchmark at 1:28.493. Hamilton 0.125 back in second. Then Norris arrived. A 1:27.869, nearly four tenths clear. Leclerc came next and couldn’t get close. Verstappen third on his lap. Piastri pushed to second, two tenths off Norris. Antonelli, last to set a time, got the job done. Second place. But 0.222 off the McLaren. Russell ended up sixth for Mercedes, Hamilton seventh for Ferrari, both losing time in the final sector where Norris had found the gap”

Colapinto eighth for Alpine. Hadjar ninth. Gasly tenth.

Sprint Pole: Lando Norris

What We Learned

Norris found the pole in the final sector. Exit speed through the back complex was where he gained it, 0.370 clear of Leclerc in fourth. His own SQ2 was a second off the pace and he said so. None of that showed up when it mattered.

Ferrari’s practice form didn’t convert. Leclerc had front-end grip and tyre timing working across FP1, the car rotating cleanly through the slow corners. In SQ3 that balance wasn’t there and Leclerc was fourth, Hamilton seventh. Neither Ferrari converted what the morning suggested.

Russell lost the lap in the same place Norris won it. Through the first two sectors the gap to the McLaren was manageable. The back section is where the W17 gave up exit traction on a single hot lap. Whether that is a setup trade-off made with Sunday’s race in mind or a genuine one-lap weakness at this circuit is what the rest of the weekend will start to answer.

Verstappen fifth. Red Bull ran C4 Mediums through most of FP1 while the front runners were on Softs, building long-run data instead of one-lap pace. Fifth on the sprint grid at a circuit where clean air disappears quickly is the cost of that call. It may make more sense on Sunday.

Alpine made SQ3 with both cars. Colapinto eighth, his best sprint qualifying result of the season. The equal specification he arrived with in Japan is producing results.

Aston Martin had a Friday to move past. Alonso and Stroll both out in SQ1, Stroll without setting a time. Honda power unit issues opened the session from the garage, a lock-up closed it before a lap was turned. The problems that have followed this partnership since Australia are not gone.

Coffee Corner Take

Norris on sprint pole changes the conversation heading into Saturday. Not because one sprint result resets the championship, but because it confirms what McLaren have been saying since Japan. The upgrades are working. The car has grip it didn’t have in the opening rounds. And when Norris is fully locked in across a qualifying lap he is one of the strongest over one lap on this grid.

The gap to Antonelli is 0.222. On a sprint grid that matters. Antonelli came through under pressure, last out, championship leader, and put it in second. That is not a poor lap. It just wasn’t enough when the McLaren had found something in the final sector that the Mercedes couldn’t answer.

Russell sixth and Hamilton seventh tells you where the W17 sits over one lap at this circuit right now. Based on the opening three rounds it remains the fastest car across a race distance. On Friday evening in Miami in SQ3 conditions it was not. Whether that is a deliberate setup trade-off or a genuine one-lap weakness is what Saturday qualifying will start to answer.

Leclerc fourth after topping FP1 is the result that sits awkwardly. The front-end grip that made the practice session so clean wasn’t there in the same way when SQ3 began. Ferrari will need to understand that before Sunday’s qualifying because the championship picture doesn’t have room for sessions where the practice form doesn’t convert.

Colapinto eighth. Quietly building. Equal spec, growing confidence, and now the strongest sprint qualifying result of his 2026 season. Points are close. That matters.