Miami Qualifying

Qualifying in Miami delivered exactly what the weekend has been building toward — a tightly compressed grid and minimal margins at the front.

Kimi Antonelli secured pole with a 1:27.798, continuing Mercedes’ strong one-lap form and confirming his ability to deliver under pressure. The lap was clean, controlled, and enough to hold off a late challenge.

Max Verstappen followed closely with a 1:27.964, less than two tenths behind, extracting strong pace from the Red Bull when it mattered most.

Charles Leclerc completed the top three with a 1:28.143, keeping Ferrari firmly within reach of the front row.

McLaren remained competitive but slightly off the final pace, with Lando Norris fourth (1:28.183) and George Russell fifth (1:28.197) placing both teams within a narrow window of the lead.

Further back, Lewis Hamilton secured sixth (1:28.319), while Oscar Piastri finished seventh (1:28.500) after a session that suggested more potential than the final result showed.

The midfield remained tightly packed. Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly, and Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten, with small margins continuing to define positions throughout Q2 and Q3.

Outside the top ten, the session saw little room for recovery. Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon, and Alex Albon were all eliminated in Q2, while Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll struggled further down the order.

One of the more notable outcomes came with Isack Hadjar, who set competitive times but was ultimately disqualified, removing him from the final classification.

The session reinforced a pattern that has defined the season so far — no clear dominance, and a front group separated by fractions rather than gaps.

In Miami, pole position was not decisive.

It was precise.