Qualifying report

F1 Miami GP: Kimi Antonelli sees off Max Verstappen for emphatic third straight pole

Kimi Antonelli beats Max Verstappen to lead the field in Sunday's Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix

Formula 1 world championship leader Kimi Antonelli has claimed a third successive pole at the Miami Grand Prix, holding off Max Verstappen at the Miami International Autodrome.

Antonelli's first effort in Q3 was enough to keep his rivals at arm's length, with Verstappen's final effort yielding him second ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

The session got underway at 4pm local Miami time in sweltering conditions, with ambient temperatures of 34C and track temperatures well into the 50s. Verstappen led the early running in Q1 ahead of Antonelli, Norris and the two Ferraris, before Antonelli took command with a 1m28.653s lap.

At the bottom of the order, the usual suspects Aston Martin and Cadillac soon proved out of touch with the rest of F1's midfield. There was also trouble for Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto, who after a delayed start ran into fiery power unit issues, leaving him stranded on the side of the road. It was the second issue in as many sessions after team-mate Nico Hulkenberg didn't make the start of Saturday's sprint race.

With six elimination spots in Q1, that meant just one other runner would be dumped out, with Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad occupying 17th after the first salvo of runs. Lindblad would stay there, which ended up giving McLaren's Oscar Piastri a reprieve. Donning used tyres for his final run, Piastri suffered from a poor first sector that meant he was unable to improve, leaving him on the bubble in 16th.

Antonelli initially led Hamilton in Q2, with Norris now the McLaren driver finding himself in a spot of trouble. Norris aborted his first run after going off the track at Turn 6 but found enough time to take seventh, half a second up on the P10 cutoff.

As Verstappen claimed the lead with a 1m28.116s, both Alpines advanced to Q3 at the top of F1's midfield, with Franco Colapinto again ahead of Pierre Gasly as he was in sprint qualifying. It was the Argentine's first Q3 appearance since Azerbaijan 2024 and his first for Alpine.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images

Nico Hulkenberg was eliminated in 11th by a significant four-tenth margin, followed out the door by Racing Bulls man Liam Lawson. The four cars from Haas and Williams were also eliminated.

In the deciding top-10 shootout Antonelli drew first blood by firing in a 1m27.798s early doors, the first lap that improved on Norris' sprint pole from Friday. Courtesy of a scorching first sector, that effort was three tenths up on Leclerc and Verstappen. They were followed by Norris and Russell, with just half a tenth separating positions two to five.

Antonelli was one of several drivers who failed to improve on the second attempt, but his first effort was easily good enough to claim his third successive grand prix pole. Verstappen came closest on his final flyer to leapfrog Leclerc into second, underlining Red Bull's progress in Miami after a troubled start to 2026.

Behind Leclerc, sprint race winner Norris beat Russell to the second row in fourth and fifth respectively, with Hamilton sixth. Piastri was a subdued seventh in the second McLaren, while Colapinto grabbed his best-ever qualifying result in eight. Hadjar and Gasly rounded out the top 10.

The start of the Miami Grand Prix is planned for 4pm local time on Sunday, although the threat of incoming thunderstorms could still scupper plans to start the race at the original time.

F1 Miami GP - Qualifying results

GRID

All Stats

Cla	Driver	#	Chassis	Engine	Time	km/h
1	A. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes	12	Mercedes	Mercedes	1'27.798	221.909
2	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	3	Red Bull	Red Bull	+0.166 1'27.964	221.490
3	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16	Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.345 1'28.143	221.040
4	L. Norris McLaren	1	McLaren	Mercedes	+0.385 1'28.183	220.940
5	G. Russell Mercedes	63	Mercedes	Mercedes	+0.399 1'28.197	220.905
6	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44	Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.521 1'28.319	220.600
7	O. Piastri McLaren	81	McLaren	Mercedes	+0.702 1'28.500	220.149
8	F. Colapinto Alpine	43	Alpine	Mercedes	+0.964 1'28.762	219.499
9	I. Hadjar Red Bull Racing	6	Red Bull	Red Bull	+0.991 1'28.789	219.432
10	P. Gasly Alpine	10	Alpine	Mercedes	+1.012 1'28.810	219.380
11	N. Hulkenberg Audi	27	Audi	Audi	+1.641 1'29.439	217.837
12	L. Lawson Racing Bulls	30	RB	Red Bull	+1.701 1'29.499	217.691
13	O. Bearman Haas F1 Team	87	Haas	Ferrari	+1.769 1'29.567	217.526
14	C. Sainz Williams	55	Williams	Mercedes	+1.770 1'29.568	217.524
15	E. Ocon Haas F1 Team	31	Haas	Ferrari	+1.974 1'29.772	217.029
16	A. Albon Williams	23	Williams	Mercedes	+2.148 1'29.946	216.609
17	A. Lindblad Racing Bulls	41	RB	Red Bull	+2.335 1'30.133	216.160
18	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14	Aston Martin	Honda	+3.300 1'31.098	213.870
19	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18	Aston Martin	Honda	+3.366 1'31.164	213.715
20	V. Bottas Cadillac F1 team	77	Cadillac	Ferrari	+3.831 1'31.629	212.631
21	S. Perez Cadillac F1 team	11	Cadillac	Ferrari	+4.169 1'31.967	211.849
22	G. Bortoleto Audi	5	Audi	Audi	+5.939 1'33.737	207.849
View full results