17:09
Somewhere in the first two laps he's gotten by Verstappen again.
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
17:09
Hamilton has the fastest lap in sixth and he is getting closer to the Mercedes duo.
17:08
Lap 3/19
Two laps down, Norris' leads by 1.2s over Piastri, with Leclerc still third.
Lindblad did not get out for this sprint in the end.
17:08
Leclerc is not happy with Antonelli: "Kimi is so bad at wheel-to-wheel"
17:07
Antonelli had a look at Leclerc into Turn 4 but couldn't find a way through.
He's tried again into Turn 11, but fails again.
17:06
Lap 2/19
Onto the second lap, Norris leads Piastri by almost a second, while Leclerc holds third from Antonelli and Russell.
Verstappen is sixth from Hamilton, Gasly, Colapinto and Bortoleto.
17:05
Norris leads Piastri into Turn from Leclerc. Antonelli is down to fourth.
Verstappen and Hamilton make contact but both survive!
17:05
F1 Miami sprint: Start - Lap 1/19
The F1 Miami Grand Prix sprint is GO!
17:02
F1 Miami sprint - Tyre choice
So, everyone is on the medium tyres, aside from Perez and Bottas (Hard) and Stroll and Alonso (Soft).
17:01
In all races so far this season, we've seen the Ferraris have rapid starts. Much shorter run to Turn 1 here in Miami, so that may be a bit harder for Ferrari.
17:00
F1 Miami sprint - warm-up lap
The warm-up lap is underway.
16:56
Five minutes to go!
16:52
Our man on the ground, Adam Cooper, reports that we may see another non-starter in the form of Lindblad. Let's keep an eye on that.
16:51
Ferrari shares its tribute to Zanardi.
16:46
The grid is now observing a minute's silence for the late Alex Zanardi.
16:45
15 minutes until lights out.
16:44
Some pictures of Hulkenberg's issue.
16:43
Allan McNish on Hulkenberg's issue: "We had something in the garage, which we thought was sorted out, and obviously we've had a problem on the way to the grid...we need to get it back before we can really see [if the car can go out in qualifying].
16:40
DNS - Nico Hulkenberg
Audi's Nico Hulkenberg has had a massive blow-up on his way to the grid. He's stopped on track now.
He was due to go from 12th on the grid. Audi now faces a race against time to get that car ready for qualifying later.
A literal baptism of fire for new Audi boss Allan McNish!
16:38
It's going to be a punishing sprint for the drivers and the cars. Air temp is up at 32C right now.
16:35
F1 Miami: Sprint grid
| 2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix - Sprint grid | |||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team |
| 1 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren Mastercard F1 Team |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren Mastercard F1 Team |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari HP |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | NED | Oracle Red Bull Racing |
| 6 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Scuderia Ferrari HP |
| 8 | Franco Colapinto | ARG | BWT Alpine F1 Team |
| 9 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Oracle Red Bull Racing |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team |
| 11 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BRA | Audi Revolut F1 Team |
| 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Audi Revolut F1 Team |
| 13 | Oliver Bearman | GBR | TGR Haas F1 Team |
| 14 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Atlassian Williams F1 Team |
| 15 | Arvid Lindblad** | GBR | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team |
| 16 | Liam Lawson | NZL | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team |
| 17 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | TGR Haas F1 Team |
| 18 | Sergio Perez | MEX | Cadillac F1 Team |
| 19 | Alex Albon * | THA | Atlassian Williams F1 Team |
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Cadillac F1 Team |
| 21 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team |
| 22 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team |
*Grid penalty
**Pitlane start
16:34
Penalty - Alex Albon
Alex Albon was given a grid penalty following a track limits violation in sprint qualifying. However, it wasn't a straightforward investigation.
Read more ⬇️
Albon was penalised after the session
16:32
This sprint will be 19 laps.
16:31
Pitlane is open for the sighting lap to the grid.
16:30
F1 Miami sprint - 30-minute warning
Just 30 minutes until the second sprint of the season begins.