George Russell confessed that he was genuinely taken aback when Mercedes' flawless run of pole positions at the start of the 2026 Formula One campaign was halted by Lando Norris, who clinched the top spot in the Sprint Qualifying session for McLaren at the Miami Grand Prix. The German team had enjoyed an almost unbroken dominance over the opening three rounds, securing pole and converting it into victory at each event. However, the five‑week hiatus following the Japanese Grand Prix gave rival outfits the opportunity to develop and install substantial upgrades, and the impact of those improvements was unmistakable on the sun‑baked streets of Miami.
Norris topped the session, edging out Russell's teammate and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli, while the British driver found himself down in sixth place. Also ahead of him were McLaren's Oscar Piastri, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The reason for this reshuffle was clear: McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull arrived in Florida with extensive upgrade packages, whereas Mercedes introduced only a handful of new components, opting to save a larger, more comprehensive package for the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix in May. "It's pretty surprising how big a jump McLaren and Ferrari made. That's pretty damn impressive," Russell said after the session.
"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 those hotter conditions but it's only Sprint Qualifying, so let's see what tomorrow brings." Antonelli, who currently leads the drivers' standings after back‑to‑back wins in China and Japan, appeared to have the upper hand over his teammate throughout the day. He cemented his advantage with a strong final lap that split the two McLarens, reinforcing his position at the front of the grid.
Norris, who has been consistently quick throughout the Friday schedule, now sees a genuine chance to chip away at Antonelli's 47‑point lead. The reigning world champion expressed confidence in his car but admitted surprise at the narrow two‑tenths margin separating him from the rest of the field.
"I feel very good. I'm very happy for the team. It's always a lot of expectations.
A lot of work has gone into trying to bring these upgrades and it's always just difficult to anticipate or to know what to expect coming into a new weekend," he explained. "But since lap one, literally, turn one, everything felt better. It felt a little bit more like last year with just having some confidence in the car. And I felt like I exploited that through the whole day today.
So, a nice start to the weekend. Probably better than we were expecting, honestly.
We were expecting better of course but we didn't know in terms of quantity how it was going to be. So, a little surprise, but a pleasant one for sure." Piastri's third‑place finish reinforced the impression that McLaren have returned to a form reminiscent of their dominant 2023 season, where they were regular front‑runners. While McLaren's upgrades have clearly propelled them to the forefront, Ferrari's extensive development effort—11 new parts listed by the FIA, including a revised floor and suspension—has not yielded the same immediate payoff.
Lewis Hamilton, who qualified seventh, was left visibly disappointed with the pace gap to Norris. "We didn't really know what to expect.
I 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 have to do some work overnight to try to figure out why we are not that quick. I was hopeful coming here, positive, that we would be much higher but...
not meant to be." Ferrari's Charles Leclerc had shown speed in practice and the second part of Sprint Qualifying, leading many to anticipate a strong challenge for pole. However, he was unable to translate his medium‑tyre pace onto the soft compound when it mattered most, leaving him outside the top three. "The upgrades are fine. It's just that everyone brought upgrades.
We kind of expected that situation where Mercedes is the car to beat but McLaren have done a big step forward," Leclerc commented. "I felt like they didn't really optimise their first races, so were always there but didn't put everything together. On our side, today, we particularly struggled with tyres. The medium worked very well but on the softs it wasn't a nice feeling, so we have to look at it." Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who has been vocal about his frustration with the new 2026 regulations and his car's relative lack of competitiveness in the first three rounds, delivered a markedly improved performance in Miami.
Starting from fifth, he outpaced both Russell and Hamilton, marking his best qualifying result since the start of the season. Verstappen noted, "It feels more together.
Of course, there are still things we are working on, but it's been a more positive step for us. The last few races we were over one second behind.
I would say we have almost halved that. We are still very weak in the first sector, which is mainly high‑speed corners so we know we need to work on that, but the rest seemed more together. It seems we have cleared the midfield.
It feels a bit more normal and together. Still not where I want it to be, but it allows me to trust it a bit more and I can take a bit more lap time out of it." The weekend schedule is packed: on Saturday, May 2, the F2 Sprint will kick off at 2.55 pm, followed by a series of build‑up shows for the Miami Sprint Qualifying, and later the main qualifying session.
Sunday, May 3, features the F2 Feature Race, the Grand Prix build‑up, the race itself at 9 pm, and post‑race analysis. All events will be broadcast on Sky Sports, with streaming available via NOW without a long‑term contract. In summary, the Miami Sprint Qualifying has dramatically reshaped the early‑season narrative.
Mercedes' conservative upgrade strategy has left them vulnerable, while McLaren's aggressive development has paid immediate dividends, propelling Norris to the front and giving the team a realistic shot at closing the championship gap. Ferrari, despite bringing the most new parts, still faces tyre integration challenges, and Hamilton's struggle underscores the difficulty of finding pace under the current conditions.
Verstappen's resurgence hints that Red Bull may be finding its stride again, but the true test will come in the race on Sunday, where strategy, tyre management and the new upgrades will be put to the ultimate test.