17:28
The new Racing Bulls livery is... something
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
17:26
Most are out there on the hard tyres. Verstappen, Hadjar, Lindblad and Bottas have the mediums fitted.
17:25
Both Aston's have been out on track, but are now both back in.
17:24
Take a look at Red Bull's new rear wing.
17:23
Antonelli has now gone top with a 1m30.079s from Norris.
17:21
Interesting watching the Norris onboard a few moments ago. There was evident superclipping towards the end of the back straight, but it didn't seem as sudden as in previous races.
Let's wait and see what happens in full qualifying attack later today.
17:21
Leclerc had a big slide into Turn 11, like Hamilton.
17:18
Aston engine issue
Aston Martin has provided a brief update as to why Alonso and Stroll are still in the pits.
"Both cars' running is delayed due to a power issue in the garage."
17:18
Some trouble for George Russell:
"It's making a noise like a steam train. I don't know what it is." He even gave us some steam train sound effects!
17:17
Norris goes quicker with a 1m30.335s from Verstappen.
17:16
Red Bull has debuted its flippy rear wing, like the one Ferrari used. And it's a pretty big space it opens up on the rear wing.
17:16
Bortoleto's had a bit of a spin but he's fine and back underway.
17:15
Standings after 15 minutes
- Norris
- Verstappen
- Leclerc
- Hamilton
- Antonelli
- Piastri
- Bearman
- Sains
- Lawson
- Ocon
- Russell
- Hadjar
- Albon
- Hulkenberg
- Gasly
- Colapinto
- Linblad
- Perez
- Bortoleto
- Bottas
17:13
Odd message from Pierre Gasly over the radio:
"It smells very strange in the car."
17:10
Norris crosses the line with a 1m30.688s from Verstappen and Piastri.
Everyone is on track apart from the Aston's at this stage. All of the mechanics have insulated gloves on just now, so that's not good.
17:09
Leclerc takes the updated Ferrari to the top of the pile again with a 1m31.874s.
17:08
Lewis Hamilton has just shown how little grip there is just now on the hard tyres. He had a big slide into Turn 11.
17:07
Williams will be ones to watch this weekend, as it looks to make a step from a disappointing start to the season.
17:05
Reigning champion and a previous Miami winner Lando Norris is now top in the McLaren on a 1m31.941s.
McLaren has a lot of new parts on its car for this weekend.
17:04
Lewis Hamilton has gone top early on with a 1m32.564s.
17:04
We've just had our first look at the Audi on track. With everything that's gone, it's easy to forget that Allan McNish, ex-F1 driver and Le Mans legend, has taken on a new senior role in the wake of Jonathan Wheatley's departure.
McNish is on the pitwall this weekend.
17:02
It's absolutely scorching out there. Air temp is up at 30 degrees Celsius. Track temp is at 54C already.
17:00
Carlos Sains and Charles Leclerc are the first on track.
17:00
Green flag: F1 Miami FP1 is underway
Pitlane has gone green.
FP1 at the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix is underway.
16:57
Charles Leclerc also has a fresh lid for this weekend's Miami GP.