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 snapped by Lando Norris, who topped the Sprint Qualifying session for McLaren at the Miami Grand Prix. The German team had ridden a wave of dominance through the opening three rounds, securing pole and race victories at each event, but the five‑week lull after the Japanese Grand Prix gave rival outfits the chance to introduce substantial upgrades that seemed to pay off immediately on the streets of Miami. Norris clinched the pole, edging out Russell's teammate and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli, while the Briton was relegated to sixth place.
Also ahead of him were 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 Florida with extensive aerodynamic and mechanical packages, whereas Mercedes only fitted a handful of new components, planning a more comprehensive update for the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix in May. "It was 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 leads the drivers' championship after back‑to‑back victories in China and Japan, appeared to have the edge over his teammate for most of the day. He capped his effort with a strong final lap that split the two McLarens, reinforcing his position at the top of the standings.
When asked about his own performance, Antonelli described the session as "pretty messy". He explained that on the medium‑compound tyres he could not extract a competitive lap, but the moment he switched to the softs the car suddenly came alive. "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," he 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 the McLaren, yet 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 said. He continued, "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 have recaptured a level of performance reminiscent of their dominant form in the latter half of the 2023 season. While the team’s upgrades have clearly vaulted them to the front of the pack, Ferrari’s extensive update list – 11 new parts approved by the FIA, including a revised floor and revised suspension geometry – has not translated into the same immediate gains.
Charles Leclerc, who was quickest in practice and set the fastest time in the second part of Sprint Qualifying, could not convert his medium‑tyre speed into a pole‑winning soft‑tyre lap. He remained optimistic about race pace, noting that everyone had brought upgrades and that Mercedes, once the benchmark, now faced a serious challenge from McLaren. Lewis Hamilton, who qualified seventh, nearly eight‑tenths of a second off Norris’s pole, expressed disappointment with his car’s lack of pace.
"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 struggled with the new 2026 regulations and admitted he has been contemplating his future beyond the season, showed a markedly improved performance in Miami.
He finished fifth, ahead of both Russell and Hamilton, a significant step up from his best qualifying position of eighth in the first three rounds. Verstappen praised the progress, stating, "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: Saturday will feature an F2 sprint race, a build‑up show for the Miami Sprint, and the Sprint Qualifying itself, followed by a series of analysis shows. Sunday will host the F2 feature race, a pre‑Grand Prix build‑up, the main Grand Prix, and post‑race reaction programmes.
All events will be streamed live on Sky Sports F1 and can also be accessed via the NOW platform, which offers a contract‑free, cancel‑anytime streaming option. Overall, the Miami Sprint Qualifying highlighted a shifting balance of power in the early part of the 2026 season. Mercedes, which seemed unstoppable after the first three rounds, now faces fierce competition from a McLaren that appears to have made a substantial step forward, a Ferrari still searching for the full benefit of its upgrades, and a Red Bull that is finally beginning to close the performance gap that has plagued it since the new technical regulations were introduced.
The upcoming race on Sunday will be crucial for all teams to gauge whether the trends observed in Sprint Qualifying will translate into race‑day results, and for drivers like Russell and Hamilton to determine how quickly they can adapt to the evolving competitive landscape.