George Russell admits he is surprised by Mercedes’ successive pole positions to start the season with Lando Norris topping the Miami Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying for McLaren.
Mercedes dominated the start of the season, winning each of the first three races of the year. But the five-week gap since the Japanese Grand Prix has allowed the competitors to bring in upgrades that appear to have a major impact on the first day of track action in Florida.
Norris took the lead ahead of Russell’s team-mate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli, with the Brit falling behind in sixth behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull each brought significant upgrade packages to Miami, while Mercedes only brought a few new parts as it waited to bring its main package to the Canadian Grand Prix in late May.
“It’s amazing how big a leap McLaren and Ferrari have made. It’s really impressive,” Russell said. “We knew they had probably closed the gap, but they were faster than us all day.
“It’s a struggle for me. Miami isn’t my favorite track, especially in the hot weather, but it’s only a sprint qualifying, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
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Ted Kravitz takes an in-depth look at all the upgrades from McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari ahead of the Miami GP weekend.
Antonelli, who leads Russell to the top of the driver standings after back-to-back wins in China and Japan, appeared to have the advantage over his team-mate all day and backed this up with a superb lap at the end of sprint qualifying to split the McLarens.
Antonelli said: “It was a very messy session. I had a lot of trouble with the car. In the middle sections I couldn’t get a good lap, and then in the soft sections the car suddenly came to life.
“I think we still have a little bit left to play. It was a decent result despite everything and with the team we did a great job of recovering. Obviously we’ll dig deep tonight to see what we can do better to make it faster.”
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George Russell admits he was surprised by the progress of McLaren and Ferrari in qualifying for the Miami Sprint GP.
Norris: McLaren’s progress is a ‘pleasant’ surprise
Norris was quick all Friday and looks to have a big chance to close a 47-point championship deficit to Antonelli.
The reigning world champion said he “felt confident” in the car but was “surprised” to be two-tenths off the rest of the field.
“I feel very good. I’m very happy for the team. There’s always a lot of anticipation. We’ve put a lot of effort into bringing these upgrades, but it’s always difficult to predict or know what to expect for a new weekend,” he said.
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Watch Lando Norris claim pole position in the Miami GP Sprint.
“But after lap one, literally turn one, things got better. I felt a little more similar to last year, just with confidence in the car, and I felt like I took advantage of that all day today.
“So it’s a good start to the weekend. To be honest, I think it’s better than we expected. Of course we expected it to be better, but we didn’t know how it would turn out in terms of volume. So it was a bit of a surprise, but it was definitely enjoyable.”
Norris’ strong showing was backed up by Piastri’s third-place finish, a result that was more reminiscent of the dominant form McLaren displayed for most of last season.
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Lando Norris admits his McLaren car has become ‘better’ as he qualified on pole for the Miami GP sprint.
HAMILTON: I hoped we would be better.
McLaren’s upgrades have brought it to the forefront, but Ferrari’s updates haven’t had the same impact, despite the Scuderia bringing the freshest parts to Miami with 11 new elements listed by the FIA, including revised floors and suspension.
Lewis Hamilton was almost eight-tenths behind seventh-place pole-sitter Norris and was disheartened by his lack of pace.
“We had no idea what to expect. We hoped we would get better, but the car didn’t feel that good,” said the seven-time world champion.
“I thought we were going to be stronger than we were today. We’ve got to work through the night to figure out why we’re not as fast. I was hopeful coming here. Positively, I was hopeful that we would be a lot higher… but it wasn’t meant to be.”
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Lewis Hamilton admitted his Ferrari did not perform as well as he had hoped after finishing seventh in the Miami GP sprint.
Leclerc is actually fastest and was expected to compete for the Sprint pole as it is the second part of Sprint Qualifying.
However, he was unable to convert his pace from medium to soft when it mattered most, but Ferrari will be hoping for a faster race pace.
“Upgrades are fine, everyone just brings them. We kind of expected a situation where the Mercedes is the car that could win, but the McLaren has made a big step forward,” he continued.
“I felt like they didn’t really optimize the first race, so it was always there, but they didn’t put it all together.
“For our part, we struggled today, especially with the tires. The mediums worked very well, but the softs didn’t feel right, so we’ll have to look at it.”
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The Miami Grand Prix is a unique experience. Take a look at some of our favorite moments from the past few years!
Verstappen: Red Bull has almost halved its deficit.
Amid dissatisfaction with F1’s new regulations for 2026, Verstappen’s frustration with his car’s performance during the opening three rounds has led the Red Bull driver to say he is considering his future in the sport after the end of the season.
The Dutchman’s fans will have been delighted to see a much more competitive performance from Verstappen in Miami. He finished fifth ahead of Russell and Hamilton.
The four-time world champion has not qualified higher than eighth in the first three rounds and is already ninth in the drivers’ standings, 60 points behind Antonelli.
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Red Bull debuted its new rotating rear wing during practice at the Miami GP.
Verstappen said: “It gives me more of a feel. Of course there are still things we’re working on, but this has been a more positive step for us. The last few races we’ve been more than a second behind. I’d say it’s almost halved.
“We are still very weak in the first department, which is mainly high speed (corners), so we know we have to work on that, but the rest looked more together and I think we cleared the midfield.
“I feel a little more normal and together. I’m not where I want to be yet, but I’m a little more reliable and I’ve been able to get a little more lap time.”
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Max Verstappen says Red Bull feels ‘closer together’ after the team upgraded its car ahead of the Miami GP.
Sky Sports F1 Miami GP Schedule
Saturday May 2nd
2:55 PM: F2 Sprint
4pm: Miami GP sprint build-up
5 p.m.: Miami GP Sprint
6:30 PM: Ted’s sprint notes
8pm: Preparing for Miami GP Qualifying*
9pm: Miami GP Qualifying*
11 PM: Ted’s Qualifying Note*
Sunday, May 3
5:25 PM: F2 Feature Race
7pm: Build-up to the Miami GP: Grand Prix Sunday*
9 p.m.: Miami Grand Prix*
11pm: Miami GP reaction: checkered flag*
12:00 AM: Ted’s Note*
*Applies to Sky Sports main event as well
Formula 1 is in Miami for a sprint weekend as the 2026 season resumes. Catch the Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 on Sunday at 9pm. Stream Sky Sports NOW – No Commitment, Cancel Anytime
