21:16
Russell finds a small gain to seventh. But Antonelli has gone top with a 1m28.653s on new tyres. Russell stayed on used.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, 2026 Miami F1
© XPB Images
F1 Miami LIVE: Antonelli snatches pole in tight grand prix qualifying
Live text coverage of Saturday's sprint and main qualifying action from the 2026 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix
Key Moments
- Antonelli takes pole
- Antonelli tops Q1, Verstappen fastest in Q2
- Hulkenberg, Lawson, Haas, Williams out in Q2
- Lindblad, Aston, Cadillac, Bortoleto out in Q1
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 sees 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.
Reigning world champion Lando Norris will started on pole for today's sprint, having topped a tight sprint qualifying on Friday evening in Miami, and went on to take a dominant win.
The vastly updated McLaren appears to be working well this weekend so far, with Oscar Piastri third after a scrappy lap in the sister car.
Mercedes looks to be on the back foot, as it elected against any major updates ahead of a significant package of upgrades for the Canadian Grand Prix in a few weeks.
Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli was second on the grid in sprint qualifying, while team-mate George Russell was sixth. They finished fourth and fifth on the road, but Antonelli was dropped to sixth because of a track limits penalty.
Ferrari's updated car looked like it was delivering across Friday, but Charles Leclerc only came away with a best of fourth in sprint qualifying, which he converted to third in the sprint.
Max Verstappen was much happier with his Red Bull after Friday, claiming that he can "trust" it more than in the opening three rounds.
Qualifying for the grand prix concludes Saturday's track action.
2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix: Saturday schedule
Sprint - 5pm BST
Qualifying - 9pm BST
02 May 2026
21:18
F1 Miami - Q1 chequered flag
Chequered flag is out.
21:16
Piastri stays 12th with that latest lap. He doesn't have any time to fit new tyres, so this could be a nervous 90 seconds.
21:14
Bortoleto has gone out now, so well done to Audi.
21:14
Russell is going to have to go again. He's only 12th with four minutes to go. Piastri will need another lap too, and indeed, has just started it.
21:13
Five minutes to go.
Lindblad, Alonso, Stroll, Perez, Bottas and Bortoleto are in the elimination zone.
21:12
Worrying lap for Gasly, there. He's on new soft tyres but could only go 13th.
21:11
Whatever Bortoleto's issue was, he may well be coming out now because he's in his car and the team is fitting tyres to his machine.
Just under seven minutes to go.
21:10
Lawson has now jumped up to sixth, but set that lap on fresh softs compared to the used rubber those around him have run.
21:09
Just under 10 minutes to go in Q1.
Bottas, Gasly, Colapinto, Albon and Lawson in the drop zone.
21:09
Albon had a big lock-up into Turn 11 a few moments ago, while team-mate Sainz had a big one into Turn 1.
21:08
Piastri's first lap is only good enough for seventh. Antonelli has gone second, while Russell is just eighth.
21:07
Verstappen has been saying this weekend that he trusts the Red Bull a bit more. The car was "jumping" through low-speed turns in the sprint, but it's looking good so far for him at this early stage.
21:06
Verstappen leads from Norris, Leclerc, Hamilton and Hadjar.
21:06
Norris now moves up to second, 0.084s down on Verstappen's benchmark.
21:05
Max Verstappen goes top now with a 1m29.099s in the Red Bull from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
21:05
Pretty much everyone out on the soft tyre, apart from Hulkenberg, who has just gone fifth on some mediums.
21:04
The pole time in sprint qualifying was a 1m27.869s, for reference.
21:04
That has been beaten by Bearman on a 1m30.203s.
21:03
Perez sets the initial pace at 1m32.103s.
21:02
In more positive news for Audi, however, the team has managed to get Hulkenberg out there for the start of Q1. Mega job, that.
21:01
Looks like Bortoleto's issue is related to the technical infringement that DSQd him from the sprint, with Audi not sure what caused it.
21:00
F1 Miami - Q1
Pitlane has opened for the start of the 18-minute Q1.
21:00
More problems for Audi
Bortoleto's day gets worse. He's not going anywhere in qualifying today.
20:58
It's scorching for qualifying. Track temp is up to 53C.
We saw a lot of slides and mistakes at hard braking zones yesterday in sprint qualifying.