Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, 2026 Miami F1
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
17:28
Lap 16/19

Four laps to go. Leclerc is right behind Piastri now!

17:27
Lap 15/19

The gap between Piastri and Leclerc has settled as we start lap 15.

17:26

Albon has rejoined in last after a nose change. 

17:26

A replay of the earlier Verstappen/Hamilton battle.

Loading this video will expose you to potential cookies and tracking by the provider
17:25
Lap 14/19

Norris leads by three seconds now over Piastri, who is coming under greater threat from Leclerc. 

Williams, meanwhile, is pitting Albon. 

17:25

Leclerc continues to pull Piastri back to him. Gap is under a second at the end of this lap.

17:24

Further down the field, there's a great dice between the Williams duo for 14th. Sainz leads that for now. 

17:23
Lap 13/19

Leclerc is coming back to Piastri again in the battle for second as they start lap 13. About 1.3s the gap.

17:23

Antonelli has now been given a black and white flag for track limits. 

17:22
Lap 12/19

Standings after 11 laps

  1. Norris
  2. Piastri
  3. Leclerc
  4. Antonelli
  5. Russell
  6. Verstappen
  7. Hamilton
  8. Gasly
  9. Colapinto
  10. Hadjar
  11. Bortoleto
  12. Bearman
  13. Ocon
  14. Sainz
  15. Albon
  16. Lawson
  17. Perez
  18. Stroll
  19. ALonso
  20. Bottas
17:21

There was a bit of debris on track that Berman hit, but that looks to have cleared that off the line. 

17:20
Lap 11/19

Ten laps completed. Norris leads Piastri, while Leclerc's holding third and fading away a bit. 

 

17:19
Lap 10/19

Leclerc is coming back towards Piastri a little. 

Verstappen eases past Hamilton at Turn 17 for sixth. 

Norris leads by 2.6s.

17:18
Lap 9/19

Antonelli has gotten by Russell again, while Hamilton has been allowed back through to sixth by Verstappen. 

Norris still leads Piastri comfortably. 

17:17

Verstappen is coming back at Hamilton and runs him off track into Turn 11!

Verstappen also went off. 

17:16
Lap 8/19

Russell fends off a response from Antonelli into Turn 1. Norris still leads, now 2.3s clear of Piastri.

17:16

Indeed, Russell has overtaken Antonelli for fourth into Turn 17.

17:15

Antonelli has a bit of a slide into Turn 15. Is he already struggling with grip?

17:14

Verstappen was complaining on the radio about braking in his Red Bull. He's about a second behind Hamilton in seventh now. 

17:14
Lap 7/19

Standings at the end of lap six:

  1. Norris
  2. Piastri
  3. Leclerc
  4. Antonelli
  5. Russell
  6. Hamilton
  7. Verstappen
  8. Gasly
  9. Colapinto
  10. Hadjar
  11. Bortoleto
  12. Bearman
  13. Ocon
  14. Sainz
  15. Albon
  16. Perez
  17. Lawson
  18. Bottas
  19. Stroll
  20. Alonso
17:13

Antonelli is dropping away from Leclerc a little, while Hamilton is continuing to close Russell for fifth. 

17:12
Lap 6/19

No change at the front onto lap six. Norris now 1.8s clear of Piastri. 

17:12

Replay of the start.

Loading this video will expose you to potential cookies and tracking by the provider
17:11
Lap 5/19

Norris' lead is up to 1.6s at the start of lap five. 

 

17:10
Lap 4/19

Norris continues to lead onto lap four, but Piastri is slightly closer. 

Leclerc is not factoring into this victory battle right now. 

 

Subscribe to our F1 Newsletter

Get the latest F1 news, exclusives, interviews and promotions from the paddock direct to your inbox