Miami Grand Prix: Pole for Antonelli

      Sunny. Dry. Air +34°C, track +52...50°C

      The stage in Miami in 2026 turned out to be extremely unusual. It all started on Wednesday when there were suddenly talks about a possible cancellation of the race – the forecast promised thunderstorms throughout the day on Sunday, and according to American laws, racing is not allowed in the presence of lightning.

      Then on Friday, the qualifying results for the sprint were completely different from what everyone expected. The balance of power changed after a forced five-week break, which was confirmed by the Saturday sprint, where the Mercedes drivers, who had dominated the first three Grands Prix, did not even make it to the top three.

      In the main qualifying session, the balance of power changed slightly again – teams took into account the results shown the day before and made adjustments.

      Pirelli brought the "soft" trio of compounds – C3, C4, and C5 as Hard, Medium, and Soft.

      In the first session, Hülkenberg – his car was restored after the fire in the sprint – went out on Medium, while the others immediately put on Soft.

      In the first attempt, Verstappen topped the protocol with 1:29.099. Gasly and Colapinto returned to the pits without completing a lap. Albon locked up his tires and went off the track without consequences for the car.

      In the sprint, Bortoleto was disqualified for exceeding the air pressure at the engine intake; the mechanics worked on his car for a long time, and at the very end of the session, Gabriel went out.

      Verstappen refused the second attempt, while Antonelli climbed to the top spot, driving almost half a second faster – 1:28.653, while Leclerc took second place with 1:28.936.

      Lindblad, Alonso, Stroll, Pérez, Bottas, and Bortoleto were eliminated from further competition.

      After the session ended, the rear brakes on Bortoleto's car caught fire – the second fire for Audi on Saturday. Yellow flags appeared, Gabriel stopped in the third sector, and marshals surrounded the car with fire extinguishers.

      The second session was delayed for a few minutes for the evacuation of Bortoleto's car. Everyone went out on Soft.

      In the first attempt, the best time was shown by Antonelli – 1:28.352. Norris spoiled his lap by going off the track.

      In the second attempt, Verstappen topped the protocol with 1:28.116. Hülkenberg, Lawson, Berman, Sainz, Ocon, and Albon did not make it to the final.

      Leclerc hit the curb with the bottom of his car in the eighth corner and asked the mechanics to check the car.

      In the final, everyone made their first attempt on a fresh set of Soft. Antonelli topped the protocol with 1:27.798.

      In the second attempt, only Verstappen improved, moving up to second place.

      Kimi Antonelli won the qualifying in Miami, securing his third consecutive pole. Max Verstappen qualified second and will start from the front row for the first time this season. The second row will be shared by Leclerc and Norris, and the third by Russell and Hamilton.

      Qualifying results

      Driver

       Team

       1st session

       2nd session

       3rd session

      

      M

       Time

       Laps

       M

       Time

       Laps

       M

       Time

       Laps

      

      1. K.Antonelli

       Mercedes

       1

       1:28.653

       6

       2

       1:28.289

       6

       1

       1:27.798

       5

      

      2. M.Verstappen

       Red Bull

       3

       1:29.099

       3

       1

       1:28.116

       6

       2

       1:27.964

       6

      

      3. C.Leclerc

       Ferrari

       2

       1:28.938

       9

       3

       1:28.315

       6

       3

       1:28.143

       6

      

      4. L.Norris

       McLaren

       4

       1:29.183

       6

       7

       1:28.920

       8

       4

       1:28.183

       6

      

      5. G.Russell

       Mercedes

       8

       1:29.492

       6

       6

       1:28.477

       6

       5

       1:28.197

       6

      

      6. L.Hamilton

       Ferrari

       7

       1:29.483

       9

       5

       1:28.477

       6

       6

       1:28.319

       6

      

      7. O.Piastri

       McLaren

       16

       1:29.920

       8

       4

       1:28.332

       6

       7

       1:28.500

       6

      

      8. F.Colapinto

       Alpine

       10

       1:29.584

       8

       9

       1:28.975

       6

       8

       1:28.762

       5

      

      9. A.Hadjar

       Red Bull

       5

       1:29.324

       9

       8

       1:28.941

       6

       9

       1:28.789

       6

      

      10. P.Gasly

       Alpine

       15

       1:29.914

       8

       10

       1:29.070

       6

       10

       1:28.810

       6

      

      11. N.Hülkenberg

       Audi

       12

       1:29.645

       8

       11

       1:29.439

       6

      

      12. L.Lawson

       Racing Bulls

       11

       1:29.595

       8

       12

       1:29.499

       6

      

      13. O.Berman

       Haas

       6

       1:29.340

       6

       13

       1:29.567

       6

      

      14. C.Sainz

       Williams

       9

       1:29.540

       9

       14

       1:29.568

       6

      

      15. E.Ocon

       Haas

       14

       1:29.838

       9

       15

       1:29.772

       6

      

      16. A.Albon

       Williams

       13

       1:29.720

       9

       16

       1:29.946

       6

      

      17. A.Lindblad

       Racing Bulls

       17

       1:30.133

       9

      

      18. F.Alonso

       Aston Martin

       18

       1:31.098

       8

      

      19. L.Stroll

       Aston Martin

       19

       1:31.164

       9

      

      20. V.Bottas

       Cadillac

       20

       1:31.629

       9

      

      21. S.Pérez

       Cadillac

       21

       1:31.967

       9

      

      22. G.Bortoleto

       Audi

       22

       1:33.737

       3