F1 Miami GP: Antonelli holds off Verstappen for third straight pole

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	Tyres	km/h
1	A. 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
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