Lando Norris acknowledged that McLaren received a stark "reality check" after he secured fourth place on the grid for the Miami Grand Prix. Up until the qualifying session, Norris and his team had been riding a wave of confidence, having turned a sprint‑race pole position into an outright victory.
However, that momentum was abruptly halted when Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli clinched pole for the main race, edging out Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Antonelli's lap was almost four‑tenths of a second quicker than Norris's, prompting the Briton to suggest that McLaren's rivals simply executed their qualifying runs more effectively than they had in the sprint‑qualifying format. "Both cars seemed to struggle a little more than on Friday, and we need to understand why," Norris told Sky Sports F1.
"It’s not that we performed poorly; rather, other teams performed better on Friday and again today, doing the job they were supposed to do." He added that Mercedes appeared to be on a similar speed level to McLaren, noting that when you examine the GPS data from Ferrari and Red Bull, there are numerous sectors where those teams were faster. "We did a great job yesterday and in the sprint, which earned us the win. Qualifying, however, was a bit of a reality check – but it showed us where we truly belong and where we should be," Norris explained. The British driver reflected on the surprise of their Friday pace, attributing it to a combination of their own strong performance and the under‑performance of rivals.
"We were quick on Friday because we executed well and others didn’t. Today the situation was reversed. It’s not that we did a bad job; we just faced a few struggles," he said. Both McLaren drivers also dealt with minor power‑unit gremlins that hampered their overall speed.
Oscar Piastri managed to scrape into Q2 in sixteenth place and ultimately qualified seventh, confirming that his car continued to suffer from deployment issues during the final phase of qualifying. "It was a tough session, very variable – wind, track conditions, and what the power unit wanted to do all played a part.
It felt a little random, especially on the last lap of Q3," Piastri remarked. He described a bizarre incident in the middle sector where a sudden loss of power forced him to rely on extra energy down the back straight, which briefly made his sector time look unusually strong.
Turning to Max Verstappen, the Dutch driver entered Miami eager to escape the midfield after enduring three consecutive races without a top‑five finish – a slump not seen since 2017. Yet Red Bull appeared markedly more stable in the corners, and Verstappen gradually closed the gap to within two‑tenths of Antonelli’s pole time. "It’s an incredible turnaround for us.
I didn’t feel in control of the car until this weekend. I wasn’t sure what would happen," Verstappen told Sky Sports F1. He praised the team’s recent performance upgrade, saying it made the car far more driveable and that the moment he got back in the cockpit, everything clicked. "Being on the front row is a pleasant surprise, but we’ll take it.
It’s a massive boost for the whole team and shows we’re heading in the right direction," he added. Red Bull’s technical director Laurent Mekies hinted that the team still has work to do, noting that "we don’t have everything fixed yet," suggesting further improvements could be on the horizon.
The forecast of rain for Sunday’s race adds another variable, potentially giving Verstappen an extra advantage. Lewis Hamilton, mirroring his sprint‑qualifying performance, qualified sixth, just two‑tenths shy of his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc – the closest raw pace Hamilton has been to the Scuderia this weekend. Ferrari introduced eleven upgrades, including a revised suspension and a new floor, but Hamilton expressed frustration over lingering power‑unit concerns.
"The car felt much better in qualifying, so I don’t think we had any power issues there. It was the best we’ve felt all weekend," he said.
He continued, "We changed the car and I was much, much happier with the balance. I wish we’d started the weekend with that setup.
Q2 was solid, but in Q3 I struggled to extract the maximum performance." When asked whether Ferrari’s upgrades had paid off, Hamilton admitted uncertainty but praised the team’s effort: "I’m not sure if it’s giving us more confidence yet, but the team worked incredibly hard on the upgrades and I’m extremely grateful. Other teams are doing different things with their development, so we need to keep an eye on that. We know there’s more work to be done and more potential to unlock." He noted that while the car still loses a little on the straights, the gap appears to have narrowed compared to earlier in the season. "Before this weekend we were about four‑to‑five tenths slower on the straights; I’m not sure if that’s still the case now, but I feel we’ve taken a step forward.
It doesn’t reflect in my result yet, but I’m optimistic for the race," Hamilton concluded. The weekend schedule includes an F2 feature race at 2:25 pm on Sunday, followed by the Miami Grand Prix build‑up at 4 pm, the main Grand Prix at 6 pm, a post‑race reaction segment at 8 pm, and a final recap at 9 pm.
All sessions will be broadcast on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available via NOW without a long‑term contract. The Miami event marks the continuation of the 2026 Formula 1 season, promising an exciting showdown as teams seek to fine‑tune their cars ahead of the challenging street circuit.