George Russell confessed that he was taken aback when Mercedes’ early‑season run of pole positions was halted by Lando Norris, who topped the Sprint Qualifying session for McLaren at the Miami Grand Prix. After a flawless opening to the year—securing pole and victory in each of the first three rounds—Mercedes found its advantage eroded after a five‑week lull following the Japanese Grand Prix. During that interval, rival teams were able to introduce substantial upgrades that clearly paid off when the cars first hit the Florida circuit.
Norris clinched the top spot on the grid, edging out Russell’s teammate and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli, while the British driver could only manage sixth place. He finished behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The performance gap was stark: McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull all arrived in Miami with extensive aerodynamic and mechanical packages, whereas Mercedes introduced only a handful of new components, opting to wait for a larger upgrade package slated for the Canadian Grand Prix in May.
Russell reflected on the surprise, saying, “It’s pretty shocking how much of a leap McLaren and Ferrari have made. That’s genuinely impressive.
We knew they were closing the gap, but they were outright quicker than us all day.” He added that Miami has never been his favourite venue, especially when the heat climbs, but he remained optimistic about the race proper, noting, “It’s only Sprint Qualifying, so let’s see what tomorrow brings.” Antonelli, who leads the drivers’ championship after back‑to‑back wins in China and Japan, appeared to have the upper hand over his teammate throughout the day. He capped his effort with a strong lap at the end of Sprint Qualifying that split the two McLarens. “It was a messy session for me,” Antonelli admitted. “I struggled on the medium tyre, couldn’t find a clean lap, but when we switched to the softs the car suddenly came alive.
There’s still a bit left on the table, but overall it was a decent result and the team did a great job recovering. We’ll dig deep tonight to see how we can get even quicker.” Norris’s pace on Friday suggested a genuine chance to chip away at Antonelli’s 47‑point lead. The reigning world champion expressed confidence in his car, yet was surprised by the narrow two‑tenths margin separating him from the rest of the field.
“I feel very good and I’m happy for the team,” he said. “There are always huge expectations and a lot of work goes into bringing upgrades. It’s hard to predict how a new weekend will unfold.” He continued, “From the first lap, literally turn one, everything felt better. It reminded me a bit of last year, giving me confidence in the car.
I think I exploited that feeling throughout the day. It’s a nice start to the weekend—better than we expected, though we were hoping for even more.
It’s a pleasant surprise.” Piastri’s third‑place finish reinforced McLaren’s resurgence, echoing the dominant form the team displayed for much of the previous season. While McLaren’s upgrades have propelled them to the front, Ferrari’s extensive update list—11 new components including a revised floor and suspension—has not translated into the same level of performance.
Lewis Hamilton, who qualified seventh, expressed disappointment at being nearly eight‑tenths off Norris’s pole time. “We didn’t really know what to expect,” the seven‑time champion said.
“I hoped we would be better, but the car didn’t feel great. We need to work overnight to understand why we’re not as quick.
I came in hopeful and positive, but it just wasn’t meant to be.” Leclerc, who topped practice and the second part of Sprint Qualifying, entered the session as a strong contender for pole. However, he could not convert his medium‑tyre speed onto the softs when it mattered most.
“The upgrades are fine, but everyone brought upgrades,” he explained. “We expected Mercedes to be the car to beat, but McLaren made a huge step forward. They didn’t optimise their first races, so they were always there but never fully realised their potential.
On our side, we struggled with the tyres. The medium worked well, but the softs felt uncomfortable, so we need to investigate that.” Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, still grappling with the new 2026 regulations, had voiced concerns about his car’s competitiveness after the first three rounds. Yet Miami offered a glimpse of improvement as he finished fifth, ahead of both Russell and Hamilton. Verstappen, who had not qualified higher than eighth in the opening three events and sits ninth in the standings, 60 points behind Antonelli, said, “The car feels more together now.
We’re still working on several areas, but it’s a positive step. In the last few races we were over a second off the pace; now we’ve almost halved that gap. We’re still weak in the first sector, especially the high‑speed corners, so that’s where we need to focus. The rest of the car feels more cohesive, and it seems we’ve cleared the midfield.
It feels more normal, and I can trust it a bit more, allowing me to extract a little extra lap time.” The weekend schedule is packed: on Saturday, May 2, the F2 Sprint begins at 2.55 pm, followed by Miami GP Sprint build‑up at 4 pm, the Sprint itself at 5 pm, and various analysis shows throughout the evening. Sunday, May 3, features the F2 Feature Race at 5.25 pm, the Grand Prix build‑up at 7 pm, the Miami Grand Prix at 9 pm, and post‑race reaction and commentary into the early hours. All events are broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and can be streamed via NOW without a long‑term contract. In summary, the Miami Sprint Qualifying highlighted a shifting balance of power in Formula 1.
McLaren’s aggressive upgrade strategy paid immediate dividends, allowing them to seize pole and challenge the championship leaders. Mercedes, while still a front‑running team, will need to accelerate its development timetable ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix if it wishes to reclaim its pole‑position dominance.
Ferrari’s extensive parts list has yet to translate into tangible speed, and Hamilton’s struggle underscores the difficulty of extracting performance from a car that feels out of sync. Meanwhile, Verstappen’s incremental gains suggest Red Bull may be narrowing the gap, but the team still has work to do before it can consistently threaten the front‑runners. The upcoming race will test how quickly each team can convert their qualifying performance into race‑day results, and whether Mercedes can halt the momentum that McLaren and, to a lesser extent, Ferrari have built in Miami.