Mercedes' Antonelli storms to Miami pole as Verstappen and Leclerc follow

Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli will start the Miami Grand Prix from pole position after setting a commanding 1:27.798 in qualifying, finishing ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in second and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third.

“It’s been an amazing day to be on pole again,” Antonelli said after the session.

“It was a difficult start with the Sprint when it didn’t go our way but super happy with the recovery.

“I got a bit excited with the last lap in Q3 but the first lap was good enough and I’m really happy with that.”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff praised the young driver’s performance, highlighting the strength of his initial run.

“That first lap was really special. He was three or more tenths ahead of the next guy. Spectacular. That made the pole,” Wolff said.

Qualifying unfolded as a tightly contested session, with McLaren initially appearing to hold the advantage. Lando Norris set the early benchmark in Q3 with a 1:28.183, comfortably ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri, but the session quickly swung as the track evolved.

Verstappen responded immediately, edging Norris by just two thousandths of a second before Leclerc briefly seized provisional pole.

However, Antonelli’s first flying lap proved untouchable. While rivals prepared for a final push, the Mercedes driver had already done enough, and with others unable to improve on their final runs, his time stood to secure pole.

Behind the top three, Norris had to settle for fourth despite showing strong pace early in the session, while teammate Piastri dropped to seventh after failing to improve. Mercedes’ George Russell remained fifth, unable to extract more from his final lap, with Ferrari’s Sir Lewis Hamilton sixth.

Hamilton, however, struck a more positive tone despite the result, pointing to clear progress made during the session.

“The car was much better in qualifying. It’s the best it has been all weekend,” he said.

“There is more to extract from what we currently have. We are still losing a bit on the straights, but I think we’ve improved a lot in the session.

“Before this weekend we knew we were four to five tenths down on the straights. I don’t know if it’s the same here, but I feel like we took a step forward.

“It doesn’t show in my result, but I’m optimistic about tomorrow.”

Further down the top ten, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar featured among the leading group.

Verstappen, encouraged by recent upgrades, admitted the front-row start marked a significant step forward for Red Bull after a challenging run of races.

“For me, it’s been two things. The car has not been great in the previous races, but also from my side I never felt comfortable with the layout of the car,” he said.

“Over the last few weeks the team has been pushing flat out to bring upgrades and make me feel more comfortable. It really pays off, I feel more in control of the car again.

“To be on the front row is way better than I expected heading into this weekend.”

The Dutchman also pointed to renewed optimism within the team heading into race day.

“From here, there’s light at the end of the tunnel and we can push on and try to close the gap further.”

Leclerc, meanwhile, highlighted the challenging conditions throughout qualifying, with shifting winds making consistency difficult.

“It was on the limit. We were just not fast enough today and this weekend,” he said.

“We brought a significant package, which helped us, but there’s still here and there where we need to improve a little bit.

“It was a very tricky qualifying. The wind was changing slightly from run to run, so the car was behaving differently, especially in Turns 11 and 12. There were massive differences between laps, so that was tricky to manage.”

Earlier in the session, several names fell short of reaching Q3. Aston Martin endured a difficult outing with both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll eliminated in Q1, while Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez also exited at the first hurdle.

Q2 saw further casualties, including Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg and Williams’ Carlos Sainz, as the midfield battle intensified.

Antonelli now heads into Sunday’s Grand Prix from pole, but with rain forecast for race day, the picture remains far from clear. The extent of the weather remains uncertain, with conditions expected to play a significant role in shaping the outcome.

History at the Miami International Autodrome also suggests pole position offers no guarantees. In each of the previous editions of the race, victory has not come from the front of the grid, adding another layer of intrigue as the field prepares for what could be an unpredictable Grand Prix.

Official results: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2026/races/1284/miami/qualifying