George Russell confessed that he was taken aback when Mercedes' flawless run of pole positions at the start of the 2026 Formula One season was broken by Lando Norris, who topped the Sprint Qualifying session for McLaren at the Miami Grand Prix. The German team had enjoyed a commanding opening to the year, securing pole and victory in each of the first three rounds.
However, the five‑week hiatus since the Japanese Grand Prix gave rival outfits the opportunity to introduce substantial upgrades, and those improvements appeared to pay off on the first day of action on the sunny streets of Miami. Norris clinched the pole, edging out Russell's teammate and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli. Russell himself could only manage sixth place, trailing McLaren's Oscar Piastri, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Red Bull's Max Verstappen. The result highlighted a shift in the competitive hierarchy, with McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull all arriving in Florida with major aerodynamic and mechanical packages, while Mercedes introduced only a handful of new components as they bide their time for a more comprehensive update 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 remarked 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 edge over his teammate throughout the day.
He capped his effort with a strong lap at the end of Sprint Qualifying, splitting the McLarens and reinforcing his position at the top of the table. "It was a pretty messy session. I struggled a lot with the car.
On the medium I couldn't get a good lap in, then on the soft, all of a sudden, the car came alive," Antonelli explained. "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." Norris, who has been consistently quick throughout Friday, now sees a genuine chance to chip away at his 47‑point deficit to Antonelli.
The reigning world champion expressed confidence in his McLaren, yet admitted 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," Norris said. "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 had rediscovered the form that made them a dominant force last season. Their upgrade package, which included a new front wing, revised bargeboards and a refined rear diffuser, seemed to unlock significant downforce without compromising straight‑line speed.
Ferrari, despite introducing the largest number of new parts of any team – eleven items listed by the FIA, including a revised floor, updated suspension geometry and a new rear brake duct – did not reap the same immediate benefit. Charles Leclerc, who had been fastest in practice and the second part of Sprint Qualifying, was unable to translate his medium‑tire pace onto the soft compound when it mattered most. "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." Lewis Hamilton, who qualified seventh, nearly eight‑tenths off Norris' pole time, expressed disappointment with his pace.
The seven‑time champion said the car felt uncharacteristically sluggish. "We didn't really know what to expect. I hoped we would be better but the car didn't feel particularly great," Hamilton 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 struggled to break into the top eight in qualifying over the first three rounds, showed a marked improvement by finishing fifth, ahead of both Russell and Hamilton. After a difficult start to the season, Verstappen noted that the car felt more cohesive. "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 starts at 2.55 pm, followed by the Miami GP Sprint build‑up at 4 pm, the Sprint itself at 5 pm, and a series of pre‑race 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, and the main event – the Miami Grand Prix – at 9 pm, with post‑race reaction and analysis later in the night. Overall, the Miami Sprint Qualifying session underscored how quickly the competitive landscape can evolve when teams bring significant upgrades. McLaren's rapid ascent, Ferrari's mixed results, Red Bull's incremental progress and Mercedes' cautious approach set the stage for an intriguing race weekend, where the championship battle could see new dynamics emerge as the season heads toward its next pivotal round in Canada.