Miami Grand Prix Qualifying: Kimi Antonelli bounces back into pole, Max Verstappen second, McLaren flop
F1 NewsSaturday, 02 May 2026 at 23:10
Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli bounced back in style in Miami after a woeful Sprint Race and took pole of Sunday's race fending off a resurgent Max Verstappen as McLaren struggled.
The 2026 Formula 1 Championship leader put the disappointment of his Sprint behind him as Mercedes seem to have nailed the setup of their W17 before qualifying and Antonelli duly delivered taking his third career pole position.
Antonelli made a mistake in his second Q3 lap and had to abort it but his first time was good enough to transform provisional pole to pole.
George Russell was nowhere compared to his teammate and was fifth fastest, and four tenths slower than his teammate.
The surprise came from Verstappen who showed great improvement from Friday and the Sprint. The Dutchman looked good from the start of qualifying, even going fastest in Q2, but was only able to go second fastest in Q3.
Nevertheless, it was a great session for the four-time F1 Champion who will be hoping for a bad start from Antonelli with whom he will share the front row on the starting grid of the Miami Grand Prix.
Ferrari, once again, could not capitalize on their strong potential as Charles Leclerc was only third fastest and 0.345s off the pace.
Lewis Hamilton wasn't any better in the second Ferrari, still struggling to match his teammate's pace and was only sixth fastest.
How things can change with a few hours, as McLaren, who dominated the Sprint earlier on Saturday seemed to have lost their mojo with Lando Norris only good for fourth, 0.385s off pole.
Oscar Piastri, who was almost eliminated in Q2 was down in seventh at the end of qualifying and seven tenths off the pace.
It was a decent day for Alpine with Franco Colapinto eighth fastest and Pierre Gasly tenth as Isack Hadjar split them to go ninth fastest.
What the top three said
Speaking to former F1 driver Martin Brundle after taking pole, Antonelli said: "It's been an amazing day to be on pole again.
"It was a difficult start with the Sprint when it didn't go our way but super happy with the recovery.
"I got a bit excited with the last lap in Q3 but the first lap was good enough and I'm really happy with that."
"Hopefully a magic one happens tomorrow," the Mercedes youngster said when asked it he can have a decent race start. "It would be nice to not lose any positions but we will do our best.
"This weekend has been more difficult for us but we are keeping it together and maximizing the performance, so I'm happy with that," he concluded.
Kimi! 🤙
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 2, 2026
Back with a vengeance 😮💨#F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/eY4jNmPcEN
Verstappen gave an insight on his early struggles with his RB22 and how things became better.
He explained: "For me, it’s been two things. For sure, the car has not been great in the previous races, but also from my side I never felt comfortable with the layout of the car.
"Over the last few weeks the team has been pushing flat out to try to bring upgrades to the car and making me feel more comfortable with a lot of things in the car.
"And it really pays off, I feel more in control of the car again, and then I can push a bit more. Then the upgrades are working. To be on the front row is way better than I expected heading into this weekend," he added.
As for his expectation from the race on Sunday, the Red Bull ace said: "Let’s first start with a good start. I’ve not had a lot of them this year.
"We’ll try to have a look at that, see what the weather will do tomorrow. But I’m already very happy with where we are. From here, there’s like light at the end of the tunnel and we can push on and try to close the gap further.
"Race pace looked alright in the Sprint once I was in clean air. Tomorrow is a completely different day," Verstappen concluded.
As for Leclerc, he pointed out the effect of the wind on his qualifying, he said: "It was on the limit. We were just not fast enough today and this weekend.
"We brought a significant package, which helped us, but there's still here and there where we need to improve a little bit.
"It was a very tricky qualifying. The wind was changing slightly from run to run, so the car was behaving differently, especially in Turns 11 and 12. There were massive differences between laps, so that was tricky to manage to put a lap together.
"P3 is a good starting position and I'm looking forward to tomorrow," he maintained.
He concluded saying: "It looks wet! How much and when is still to be defined but I think it will be a wet race."
Q1: Piastri scrapes into Q2
Qualifying in Miami started in clear conditions with high track temperature, 53 degrees Celsius to be precise while air temperature was 34 degrees.
Drivers lined up in the pitlane waiting for the green light with Bottas leading the queue in his Cadillac.
Unlike Sprint Qualifying, the teams had a free choice of tyres so the Soft compound made an early debut in Q1.
Off into the blue! 😨
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 2, 2026
A rather wide moment for Alex Albon at Turn 11 👇#F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/BaymXKBXZe
Three minutes into the session and only Piastri, Gabriel Bortoleto, Antonelli, and Russell remained in the pits. The Australian was out of his car at the start with work being done on it.
Oliver Bearman, Sergio Perez, and Valtteri Bottas posted the first three lap times of the session and in that order.
Then the Red Bull started, Hadjar going to the top with Verstappen then going faster with Leclerc going second fastest as Hamilton slotted in third.
The came Norris with his first lap which was good for second fastest, 0.084s behind Verstappen.
Then Piastri went only sixth fastest as Antonelli went second fastest. 0.059s behind Verstappen while Russell's first effort was good for eighth.
Verstappen ⬆️ P1
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 2, 2026
The Red Bull driver sets the early pace in Q1, with Norris P2 and Leclerc P3 right now 💨#F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/UiTcM9QKMA
With less than nine minutes remaining from Q1, the second round of laps started with Russell and Piastri under pressure while Verstappen remained in the garage.
In the end, Antonelli went fastest with a lap time of 1:28.653, 0.285s clear of Leclerc who was second while Verstappen was third after only one attempt.
The remaining drivers who made it to Q2: Norris - Hadjar - Bearman - Hamilton - Russell - Sainz - Colapinto - Liam Lawson - Nico Hulkenberg - Alex Albon - Esteban Ocon - Gasly - Piastri.
Out of qualifying were: Arvid Lindblad who was 17th fastest missing out by 0.213s as Fernando Alonso was 18th in the Aston Martin.
Lance Stroll was 19th fastest in the second green car with the Cadillacs of Bottas and Perez in 20th and 21st respectively.
Bortoleto was dead last in the Audi and ended his session with his brakes on fire. That concluded a bad day for the Brazilian who was disqualified from the Sprint earlier due to an engine intake air pressure violation.
Gabi Bortoleto's rear-left corner is ablaze! 😱
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 2, 2026
He stops by the side of the track and gets out of the car 👇#F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/TwldLa2HHQ
Q2: Verstappen looking good but not the McLarens
The second part of qualifying was delayed due to Bortoleto's brakes catching fire and the marshals having to deal with his stricken Audi.
The Red Bull cars were the first to emerge out of the pits with Hulkenberg following them out on track.
Verstappen started his lap first and set the benchmark, a 1:28.931, and was complaining about the grip of his brand new set of Softs. Hadjar went second fastest.
Then came Leclerc and went to the top only for Hamilton to get ahead while Norris almost lost his car on his opening lap and aborted it.
Piastri went third fastest and Antonelli followed and went to the top with Russell taking third on his first attempt.
Antonelli laying down the Q2 benchmark! 👀
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 2, 2026
The Mercedes driver tops the timesheets from Hamilton and Russell after the first runs ⏱️#F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/TcUfZGgKsm
The top ten after the first runs: Antonelli - Hamilton - Russell - Leclerc - Piastri - Verstappen - Hadjar - Colapinto - Gasly - Lawson.
Norris returned to the pits for a new set of boots and then went out to post a lap time after giving up on his first attempt. He then managed ninth dropping Lawson into the elimination zone.
With less than five minutes remaining, the second runs began with Russell warned about serious gusts of wind in Turn 11.
In the end of Q2, Verstappen led the way with a lap time of 1:28.116 ahead of Antonelli in second as Leclerc was third.
The rest of the top ten: Piastri - Hamilton - Russell - Norris - Hadjar - Colapinto - Gasly.
Out of qualifying: Hulkenberg - Lawson - Bearman - Sainz - Ocon - Albon.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown revealed that Norris, who asked his team why he didn't have boost at Turn 16, did actually have an issue.
Q3: Verstappen came close but...
With Q3 green-lighted McLaren immediately sent Norris and Piastri out and were followed by the Red Bulls.
Piastri started his lap first and posted the top time, a 1:28.687 and then came Norris who went even faster as Verstappen followed and went to the top.
The came Leclerc on his first lap and took the top spot while Hamilton only managed P4 as Antonelli came flying into provisional pole as Russell was only fifth.
Order after the first laps: Antonelli - Leclerc - Verstappen - Norris - Russell - Hamilton - Piastri - Colapinto - Hadjar - Gasly.
It's close at the top as Antonelli puts himself onto provisional pole! 🤯
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 2, 2026
1. Antonelli - 1:27.798
2. Leclerc - 1:28.143
3. Verstappen - 1:28.181
4. Norris - 1:28.183#F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/OP5E3BxJb9
With less than four minutes remaining, the team sent their drivers out for the final runs on Saturday in Miami. Verstappen and Hadjar stayed behind and opted to go last.
Russell started first while Antonelli followed. The Briton could not improve and was only fifth as Antonelli also made a mistake and aborted the lap.
Norris followed but was only fourth with Piastri also failing to improve. Leclerc could not challenge Antonelli while Hamilton was only sixth.
The came Verstappen and while he looked good on that final run, he fell short of pole by 0.166s.
Final order: Antonelli - Verstappen - Leclerc - Norris - Verstappen - Hamilton -Piastri - Colapinto - Hadjar - Gasly.
Miami Grand Prix Qualifying Provisional Classification
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