Norris tops Antonelli by 0.222s for Miami Sprint pole — F1 Sprint Qualifying
Lando Norris took pole for the Miami Grand Prix Sprint after leading f1 sprint qualifying on Friday, edging Kimi Antonelli by 0.222s. The McLaren driver’s 1m 27.869s lap in SQ3 put him at the front of Saturday’s grid and gave the team its first P1 slot of the season.
Norris and Antonelli at the front
Norris arrived at the final one-lap shootout with speed already in hand, then delivered the lap that settled the session. Antonelli followed in second, while Oscar Piastri made it a strong start for McLaren by qualifying third in the other car.
Charles Leclerc took fourth for Ferrari, with Max Verstappen fifth for Red Bull and George Russell sixth in the sister Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton lined up seventh for Ferrari, followed by Franco Colapinto in eighth for Alpine, Isack Hadjar ninth for Red Bull and Pierre Gasly tenth for Alpine.
Stroll’s lock-up at Turn 17
Lance Stroll’s SQ1 ended after a heavy lock-up at Turn 17 brought out a yellow flag, and he got out of his car in the garage without setting a time. That left him 22nd on the sheet and added one sharp interruption to a session run on mandatory medium tyres in SQ1.
The midfield cut fell quickly. Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg missed SQ3 in 11th and 12th for Audi, while Williams lost both cars in SQ2 with Alex Albon 14th and Carlos Sainz 15th.
Miami Sprint grid set
Behind the top 10, Ollie Bearman was 13th for Haas, Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson were 16th and 17th for Racing Bulls, Esteban Ocon was 18th for Haas, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas took 19th and 20th for Cadillac, and Fernando Alonso started 21st for Aston Martin. Lawson described his session as “a series of bad events,” a blunt line that matched the damage once SQ2 and SQ3 slipped away.
The result gives Norris the clearest early edge for the second Sprint of the season on Saturday. He now starts from P1 with McLaren in front and Antonelli alongside, a front row that will shape the first lap and the fight behind it.
