Lando Norris, McLaren Racing, 2026 Miami F1
Lando Norris, McLaren Racing, 2026 Miami F1
© XPB Images

F1 Miami reaction LIVE: Norris snatches pole in tense sprint qualifying

Live coverage of Friday at the F1 Miami Grand Prix

KEY MOMENTS

  • Norris takes sprint pole for the Miami Grand Prix
  • Leclerc leads SQ2
  • Norris leads SQ1
  • Aston, Cadillac, Audi, Williams, Racing Bulls, Haas fail to make SQ3

The 2026 Formula 1 season resumes this weekend, as the series makes its first of three visits to the United States of America, beginning with the Miami Grand Prix. 

A recent addition to the calendar, the circuit around the Miami Dolphins' NFL stadium marks the fourth round of the 2026 season and the first race in five weeks. 

The war in Iran forced F1 to cancel the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, meaning no racing took place in April. However, this offered the 11 teams plenty of time to work on car development. 

More significantly, this weekend's Miami Grand Prix will see the debut of new engine regulations aimed at improving the qualifying spectacle, as well as safety, following the scary shunt for Ollie Bearman at the Japanese Grand Prix. 

As a result, FP1 on Friday has been extended to 90 minutes to allow the teams extra time to understand the new energy deployment regulations. 

But that will represent the only practice for the weekend, with sprint qualifying following later on Friday, with the sprint itself on Saturday morning and then qualifying for the main race on Sunday. 

Mercedes' dominant start to the new campaign sees it come to Miami with a target on its back, as its rivals look to close the gap to the championship leader. 

Andrea Kimi Antonelli also leads the drivers' standings, following back-to-back wins in China and Japan, opening up an intriguing intra-team dynamic between himself and George Russell coming into the Miami Grand Prix. 

Ferrari has brought a raft of updates to its car as it looks to continue its strong start to the campaign, as well as close down the performance gap to Mercedes. 

2026 Miami Grand Prix Friday schedule

FP1: 5pm BST - 6:30pm BST

Sprint qualifying: 9:30pm BST - 10:14pm BST

01 May 2026
22:31
Report: Lando Norris breaks Mercedes' 2026 qualifying streak with Miami F1 sprint pole

Lando Norris takes surprise pole in Miami to break Mercedes' qualifying domination.

Lando Norris breaks Mercedes' 2026 qualifying streak with Miami F1 sprint pole

Norris celebrates his first pole of 2026
Norris celebrates his first pole of 2026


 

22:30
2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix: Full sprint qualifying and Friday practice results

Full results from Friday at the 2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix

2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix: Full sprint qualifying and Friday practice results

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing, 2026 Miami F1
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing, 2026 Miami F1
© XPB Images


 

22:17
Albon investigation

The FIA stewards are now going to investigate the potential track limits violation for Alex Albon in SQ1. 

22:15

Antonelli splits the McLarens!

But it's sprint pole for Lando Norris. Mercedes' qualifying streak in 2026 is over!

Antonelli will start second from Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen, Russell, Hamilton, Colapinto, Hadjar and Gasly.

Full results to follow...

22:14

Piastri up to second, Verstappen now fourth.

22:14
SQ3 - chequered flag

Chequered flag is out. Norris looks like he's got this.

22:13

And Leclerc is only second!

22:13

Norris now fastest for McLaren with a 1m27.869s. 

22:13

Hamilton only second, 0.125s off the pace!

22:13

Russell goes top with a 1m28.493s.

22:10

Russell breaks the silence and is the first on track. This is going to be a one-lap shootout. High stakes. Love it!

22:09

Looks like the Lawson situation in SQ2 was for a track limits investigation into Albon, which ultimately cleared the Williams driver. 

22:07

Nobody has come out yet. 

22:06
SQ3

The eight-minute SQ3 has gone green. 

Everyone now switches to the soft tyres for this session. 

22:04

Carlos Sainz made a strong statement on the Williams team radio when he got back to the pits: "We are three steps behind where we should be, every lap."

Yikes!

22:04

Leading Mercedes was 0.570s off the pace in SQ2. If the Silver Arrows wants to maintain its 100% qualifying record in 2026, Russell and Antonelli are going to have to dig deep in SQ3. 

22:01

Leclerc leads SQ2 from Piastri, Hamilton, Russell, Verstappen, Antonelli, Norris, Colapinto, Hadjar and Gasly. 

Bortoleto, Hulkenberg, Bearman, Albon, Sainz and Lindblad are out.

22:00
SQ2 - Chequered flag

Chequered flag is out.

21:59

Leclerc goes a little quicker with a 1m28.333s. 

21:58

Piastri has stayed in the pits, so McLaren are pretty confident he's safe. 

21:58

Lawson is still sat in his Racing Bull with 1m443s to go. What an odd situation. 

21:56

Bearman is now out on track. So, clearly he and Lindblad did not have any laps cancelled in SQ1. 

21:55

Lindblad has finally come out, but Bearman is still in the pits with just over three minutes to go. 

21:55

Norris had a shocking final sector on that last lap, which has put him seventh and in the danger zone. 

21:55

Leclerc, Piastri, Hamilton, Russell, Verstappen, Antonelli, Norris, Colapinto, Hadjar and Gasly are your top 10 with four minutes to go. 

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