F1 Miami GP live commentary and updates - sprint qualifying

And that's all from us today! Thank you for joining us, and we'll be back tomorrow for the sprint race AND grand prix qualifying.

See you later! 

Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing

Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images

Sprint qualifying report

Formula 1

F1 Miami GP: Norris beats Antonelli to sprint race pole with upgraded McLaren

Mercedes suffers its first qualifying defeat of 2026 as rivals bring upgrades to Formula 1's Miami Grand Prix

Antonelli's sprint pole time from last year was a 1m26.482s, so Norris is less than 1.4s off. Not too bad, given these cars don't have the same levels of grip as 2025.

Norris: "Yeah, it was great, perfect result for us and a nice way to reward the team. We've got some new upgrades so it's nice to feel some grip again! We've known that this track has always been good to us, but we knew that what we were bringing would do a good step - and it has, our estimations have been correct."

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images

Albon will be investigated for a potential SQ1 track limits offence - Racing Bulls had Lawson prepped in the car during SQ2 in case Albon was bumped out. So, it's a bit late.

Norris takes sprint pole in Miami

1) Norris
2) Antonelli
3) Piastri
4) Leclerc
5) Verstappen
6) Russell
7) Hamilton
8) Colapinto
9) Hadjar
10) Gasly

Eh, maybe not. Russell, Hamilton, and Norris leave the pits a bit before the rest; Leclerc follows suit. 

...and here's a bit of action. Bet everyone goes out at the same time.

Our SQ3 contenders

We have Leclerc, Piastri, Hamilton, Russell, Verstappen, Antonelli, Norris, Colapinto, Hadjar, and Gasly in the final 10.

So, both Ferraris, both McLarens, both Mercedes, both Red Bulls, and both Alpines.

Franco Colapinto, Alpine

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

Eliminated in SQ2

11. Bortoleto
12. Hulkenberg
13. Bearman
14. Albon
15. Sainz
16. Lindblad

Piastri splits the two Ferraris, posting a time 0.036s off shy. Norris, meanwhile, lost a big chunk of time in the middle sector as he clunked over the chicane.

Neither Bearman nor Lindblad have times. Bortoleto, Hulkenberg, Sainz, and Albon are currently in the drop zone.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway thus far is that Mercedes doesn't look anywhere near as comfortable as it had pre-break; Antonelli and Russell were 'only' fifth and sixth in SQ1.

McLaren and Ferrari have uncovered performance with their updates, that much is patently clear - can the Silver Arrows hit back?

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images

Eliminated in SQ1

17. Lawson
18. Ocon
19. Perez
20. Bottas
21. Alonso
22. Stroll

Colapinto vaults up to eighth - the Alpines are going well so far.

Leclerc goes up to second, with Hamilton now fourth. 

Stroll will play no further part in this, he's out of the session.

Bottas, Alonso, Colapinto, Lindblad, Lawson, and Stroll are currently in the drop zone with two minutes to go.

Lawson has a lock-up at Turn 1 - and here's a replay of Stroll, who has a colossal lock-up before stopping for a bit on the run-off.

Neither driver has a time on the board.

Mercedes tripping over themselves a bit - Antonelli directed into the pitlane as Russell was already there.

All 22 cars are now on track.

And, on cue, everyone chooses to leave the pits at exactly the same time. Bottas was first onto the road, followed by Ocon, Bearman, and Stroll. 

10 minutes to go!

Here we go: just a few minutes until sprint qualifying gets under way. So, medium tyres for SQ1 and SQ2, and then the softs for SQ3. 

Shorter durations compared to 'normal' quali too, so expect a flurry of action.

Miami Updates

10 of the 11 teams registered aerodynamic upgrades for this race - Aston Martin did not, but everything they've been doing has focused on smoothing out the issues with the powertrain.

McLaren seemed to benefit from its wealth of updates, as have Red Bull. Cadillac also brought quite a few bits, as it bids to close in on the rest of the field.

Ferrari topped FP...well, just the one FP for this weekend - and had quite a few new bits on the SF-26 too. Is it enough to keep Mercedes in check?

Ferrari car tech detail

Photo by: Stuart Codling

HEY, MACARENA!

Miami Grand Prix - practice recap

Charles Leclerc pipped Max Verstappen to top the sole practice session of the Miami Grand Prix weekend, while power unit issues struck Formula 1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

Ferrari’s Leclerc set a 1m29.310s late on, putting him almost three tenths above the Red Bull driver with Oscar Piastri for McLaren making it three different teams inside the top three.

It was a more frustrating session for the otherwise dominant Mercedes outfit, which has won all three grands prix this year, as it achieved a best finish of fifth with Antonelli’s session ending early.

Formula 1

F1 Miami GP: Leclerc pips Verstappen to top practice, as reliability issues hit Antonelli

Charles Leclerc made a great start with his heavily revised Ferrari by topping the sole practice session of the Miami Grand Prix weekend

F1 Miami Grand Prix - Sprint qualifying coming soon...

...and hello once again, we're back! Sprint qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix will begin in just 40 minutes to decide tomorrow's sprint race grid.

Who's going to set the timing screens alight? Let's see!

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images