Photo: Mercedes
Kimi Antonelli storms to pole position in Miami
Formula 1 F1 2026 F1 season F1 Miami Reports Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
Kimi Antonelli took pole position for the Miami Grand Prix finishing ahead of Max Verstappen in second place by just over a tenth of a second, while Charles Leclerc secured third.
F1 & MotoGP news to your inbox every day.
Q1
Qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix began with immediate action, as all drivers went out on soft tyres to set early laps. Track conditions improved quickly, so lap times kept evolving throughout the session, and the order changed several times as more drivers completed proper push laps.
Max Verstappen set a strong early benchmark with a 1:29.099, which immediately put him at the top. At that stage, only Kimi Antonelli and a few others were within a tenth, showing how tight the field already was.
As the session developed, teams switched between used and new soft tyres. Antonelli made a key step forward on a fresh set, going several tenths quicker than the rest and moving clearly to the front of the timesheets. Behind them, the fight to escape the bottom six became very close, with small gaps deciding positions right up to the end.
There were also issues in the midfield. Gabriel Bortoleto struggled heavily after already being disqualified from the Sprint due to an engine intake air pressure issue, and his session ended early when he suffered a rear brake fire while trying to return to the pits. Others also had difficulties with track limits and traffic on their final runs.
Eliminated in Q1: Gabriel Bortoleto, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso, Arvid Lindblad.
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
Q2 was very tight, with drivers separated by only small margins and the track continuing to improve slightly as more rubber went down. Early in the session, Lewis Hamilton set a strong 1:28.477, which briefly put him at the top.
Antonelli matched that pace exactly on one of his laps, showing how close Mercedes were in the middle part of qualifying. George Russell was also competitive but a few tenths behind his team-mate.
Lando Norris had a more difficult session. He suffered a big slide through the high-speed section and ran wide, losing a strong lap. He also reported issues with energy deployment, with McLaren later suggesting a boost-related problem and wind affecting performance. Because of this, he spent much of the session outside the top positions and only improved on his final run to safely reach Q3.
Verstappen, meanwhile, struggled early with tyre grip but improved significantly on his final attempt. He produced a 1:28.116 to go quickest, showing a clear step forward compared to earlier runs. In the closing minutes, the order remained very tight, with several drivers fighting for the final places in Q3.
Eliminated in Q2: Nico Hulkenberg, Liam Lawson, Oliver Bearman, Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon.
Q3
Q3 was a close fight for pole position, with several drivers briefly holding P1 as lap times improved throughout the session. Early runs saw Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen all near the top, showing how small the differences were.
The key lap came from Kimi Antonelli, who set a 1:27.798. That time immediately put him in provisional pole and created a gap of a few tenths to the rest of the field. His lap was consistent across all three sectors and became the benchmark for the session.
On the final runs, others tried to respond. Verstappen improved and moved up to second place, but still fell 0.166s short. Leclerc, Norris, Russell and Hamilton all improved as well, but none of them could get close enough to challenge Antonelli’s time.
Antonelli also had a small moment on his final attempt, locking up and aborting the lap, but it did not affect the result and he ook pole position for the Miami Grand Prix with a 1:27.798, finishing ahead of Max Verstappen in second place, who was just 0.166 seconds behind. Charles Leclerc secured third, only a few tenths off pole, while Lando Norris followed closely in fourth after another competitive lap.
George Russell finished fifth, just behind his team-mate, with Lewis Hamiltontaking sixth place after a solid effort. Oscar Piastri came home seventh, ahead of Franco Colapinto in eighth, while Isack Hadjar finished ninth. The top ten was completed by Pierre Gasly in tenth place.
WHAT. A. LAP! 👊
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 2, 2026
IT'S KIMI ANTONELLI ON POLE! 👏💨#F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/fmaeRbcC7f
