Miami’s still McLaren’s for now — Lando Norris wins the Formula 1 Sprint pole
Formula 1 changed the formula this season. Then, introduced several rules changes during an unexpected month break that changed the formula again. Friday’s F1 Sprint qualifying showed, however, something hasn’t changed: Miami remains McLaren’s town.
McLaren Racing took over Coconut Grove Wednesday with a parade of classic race cars. But they’ve owned Miami Gardens’ Miami International Autodrome since Lando Norris’ 2024 Miami Grand Prix win, kept it with 1-2 finishes in both the F1 Sprint race (Norris-Oscar Piastri) and Miami Grand Prix (Piastri-Norris) in 2025. And, Friday, Norris took the pole for Saturday’s noon 19-lap F1 Sprint race, ending for at least one afternoon, Mercedes early season dominance.
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“I’ve always loved Miami, honestly, both on and off the track,” Norris said in his post-qualifying interview with Apple TV’s James Hinchcliffe. “It’s a good result for us. Of course, it’s the beginning of the weekend. There’s a long way to go. But, it’s nice to kick it off by doing this.”
Norris’ best lap of 1:27.869 beat championship leader and 2025 Sprint polesitter, Mercedes Kimi Antonelli, by 0.222 of a second and Piastri by 0.239 of a second. Ferrari’s Charles LeClerc, who had the fastest time in morning practice, put up a 1:28.239 lap. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1:28.461) will start in the third row next to Mercedes’ George Russell (1:28.493). Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton (1:28.613) will start seventh or last among Formula 1’s acknowledged top tier.
Mercedes seemed to be this year’s team when Russell and Antonelli began the season swapping two 1-2 finishes, then Antonelli won in Japan. Two-time defending constructors champion McLaren found itself well up the track other than Piastri’s second in Japan.
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Big picture safety concerns caused by the Iraq War prompted F1 to dump races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, creating a month gap between the Japan Grand Prix and Miami. On-track safety concerns, communicated vociferously by the drivers, about how the cars responded to rules changes prompted Formula 1 to make more rules changes.
Though this gave teams an unusually long in-season time to alter their cars, Friday’s practice and Sprint qualifying were the first time drivers learned how their semi-new cars would respond. And, for McLaren, how their upgrades compared to everyone else’s upgrades, especially Mercedes.
“It’s tough to know,” Norris said. “Every track is different, right? We’ve known that this track has always been good to us. We knew what we were bringing was going to be a good step. It’s nice that our estimations proved correct.”
Formula 2 qualifying
Even with the inverted format being used for Saturday’s 10 a.m. Sprint race — the top 10 qualifiers reversed — the first Formula 2 qualifying session in the United States didn’t go well for the series’ two U.S.-born drivers.
HiTech’s Colton Herta, whose 1:40.32 topped the morning practice speed chart, had two laps disallowed for course violations and could manage only a 1:40.473. Herta start 14th Saturday race and for Sunday’s F2 feature race.
Miami-born 21-year-old Sebastian Montoya, driving for Prema Racing, will start 20th of 22 drivers in the Sprint race and the feature race after a best lap of 1:40.678. Montoya’s surname, Miami roots and auto racing give hints as to his lineage. Father Juan Pablo Montoya and Mario Andretti are the only two men to win the Indianapolis 500, races in Formula 1 and NASCAR.
Fastest qualifier Alpine Academy ART Grand Prix’s Kush Maini will start 10th Saturday, but on the pole Sunday after putting up a lap of 1:39.888, beating Rafael Camara by 33 thousandths of a second. The F2 Sprint race is 120 km/74.5 miles or 45 minutes, whichever comes first. The Sunday feature race is 170 km/105.6 miles or 60 minutes.
Saturday’s Formula 1 and Formula 2 schedule
The Sprint races will start the day, Formula 2 at 10 a.m., followed by Formula 1 at noon. Qualifying for the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix will be at 4 p.m.
