George Russell openly admitted that he was taken aback by the end of Mercedes' flawless pole‑position run at the start of the 2026 Formula 1 season, a streak that was snapped when Lando Norris secured the top spot in the Sprint Qualifying session for McLaren at the Miami Grand Prix. The German team had dominated the opening three rounds, clinching pole and converting it into victory each time, but the five‑week lull following the Japanese Grand Prix gave rival outfits the opportunity to introduce substantial upgrades that appeared to pay immediate dividends on the sunny Florida circuit. In the final Sprint Qualifying results, Norris claimed pole ahead of Mercedes teammate and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli, while Russell found himself down in sixth place. He was trailed not only by Norris but also by McLaren's Oscar Piastri, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Red Bull's Max Verstappen, all of whom posted faster times.
The performance gap was striking, especially considering that McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull arrived in Miami with extensive upgrade packages, whereas Mercedes introduced only a handful of new components as they prepared for a more comprehensive overhaul slated for the Canadian Grand Prix later 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' championship after back‑to‑back victories in China and Japan, seemed to have the edge over Russell throughout the day and cemented his position with a strong final lap that split the two McLarens. He later described the session as "pretty messy," noting that he had difficulty finding a rhythm on the medium‑compound tyres, but the car suddenly came alive on the softs, allowing him to extract a competitive time.
"I think there was a bit left on the table. Despite everything, it was a decent result and with the team we did a great job to recover. Definitely we will dig deep tonight to see what we can do better in order to be faster," Antonelli added.
Norris, who has been consistently quick throughout Friday, now sees a real chance to chip away at his 47‑point deficit to Antonelli. The reigning world champion expressed confidence in his McLaren, yet he was surprised by 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 notion that McLaren has reclaimed the form that made them a dominant force last season.
Meanwhile, Ferrari, despite introducing the largest number of new parts—eleven items listed by the FIA, including a revised floor and updated suspension—did not reap the same immediate benefits. Charles Leclerc topped practice and the second part of Sprint Qualifying, suggesting he could fight for pole, but he struggled to translate his medium‑compound speed onto the soft tyres when it mattered most.
Leclerc commented, "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. 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." Lewis Hamilton, now in his seventh season with Mercedes, qualified seventh, almost eight tenths off Norris' pole time, and voiced his disappointment.
"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." Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who has been vocal about his frustration with the new 2026 regulations and even hinted at considering his future beyond the season, delivered a more competitive performance in Miami.
He finished fifth, outpacing both Russell and Hamilton. Verstappen, who had never qualified higher than eighth in the first three rounds and sits ninth in the standings, 60 points behind Antonelli, said the car felt "more together" despite ongoing work on high‑speed corners.
"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," Verstappen explained.
The weekend schedule includes a series of support events, with F2 sprint and feature races, as well as extensive Sky Sports coverage, including pre‑race build‑ups, live commentary, and post‑race analysis. Fans can stream every session via NOW, the Sky Sports streaming platform, without a long‑term contract. As the 2026 season progresses, the Miami Sprint weekend serves as an early indicator of how the mid‑season upgrade race will shape the championship battle among Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull.