Lando Norris claimed sprint qualifying pole in Miami as McLaren took the fight to Mercedes.
The reigning champion will start Saturday’s 19-lap dash from the front of the grid after beating Mercedes’ championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 0.222 seconds, with Oscar Piastri lining up third in the second McLaren ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in fourth.
Mercedes had dominated the first three grands prix of the season, winning every race and comfortably clinching a one-two in every full and sprint qualifying session.
But, after a five-week break since Antonelli won the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29 – due to the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races – Mercedes found their grip broken on the streets around Hard Rock Stadium.
Leclerc looked to have the edge throughout qualifying, but Norris pulled it out of the bag on the final soft-tyre run and Antonelli’s impressive lap was not enough to topple him.
Mercedes’ George Russell struggled for pace and will line up sixth, behind Max Verstappen in fifth.
Teams up and down the grid brought extensive upgrades to the sunshine state, none more so than Ferrari and McLaren as they hoped to close the gap to Mercedes – who have only made minor tweaks to their package.
Norris trails Antonelli by 47 points in the early championship standings, having not started the Chinese Grand Prix due to a mechanical failure.
Miami holds good memories for Norris, having been the scene of his first Grand Prix victory back in 2024, and the 26-year-old is happy to be back fighting at the front.
“Perfect way for me to start the weekend,” Norris said.
“I’ve always loved Miami, it’s a good result for us. Long way to go but nice to tick it off by doing this.
“This track has always been good to us, we knew the upgrades we were bringing was going to hopefully do a good step and it has. Since the first lap today I felt comfortable.”
Four-time champion Verstappen, who had not qualified higher than eighth this season and sits ninth in the standings, looked happier with his upgraded Red Bull car.
Lewis Hamilton could manage only seventh for Ferrari.
There are weather concerns around Sunday’s race, with forecast heavy rain and thunderstorms which may impact the running.
The FIA is considering various options, in line with Miami state law around the presence of lightning in the vicinity of sporting events, which may include changes to the start time of the 57-lap race.
