F1 2026: Miami Grand Prix Qualifying Recap

Kimi Antonelli makes it a hattrick of consecutive poles after another strong show in Miami

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli picked up his third consecutive pole position of the season as the Italian driver put in a flying Q3 lap to take pole position in Miami. While Antonelli made it three poles in succession, after starting on pole in China and Japan, where he ended up winning the race as well, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finally had a strong Saturday with the quadruple world champion starting on the front row with Antonelli. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished P3 with Antonelli’s McLaren teammate Lando Norris could only manage a second row start at P4.

Here is a quick recap of the Miami Grand Prix 2026 qualifying session.

Q1 – Verstappen impresses as Piastri, Russell struggles through

Ollie Bearman’s 1:30.203s was the quickest time early on as the Haas, Aston Martins and Cadillacs were the first of the cars to get out on track to kick off qualifying in Miami. Max Verstappen was the first of the front runners to put a time and he went P1 instantly with a 1:29.099s, being 0.084s quicker than Lando Norris with the two Ferraris behind him. Neither Ferrari, McLarens or Mercedeses could catch Verstappen with Russell having a poor first lap that saw him almost a second off Verstappen.

Along with Russell, Piastri was another surprise name who was struggling with Piastri’s first lap seeing him manage P12 at best. As the chequered flag fell, Antonelli went quicker while Sergio Pérez, Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas and Arvid Lindblad missed out along with Gabriel Bortoleto, who had his left rear brake going up in flames during his final lap, making things worse for the Audi driver after he was disqualified from the Sprint earlier in the day, for technical non-conformity.

Drivers eliminated in Q1:

Arvid Lindblad

Fernando Alonso

Lance Stroll

Valtteri Bottas

Sergio Pérez

Gabriel Bortoleto

Q2 – Verstappen fastest while Williams and Haas suffer double elimination

Verstappen again set the time to beat in Q2 with his 1:28.931s before Lewis Hamilton went fastest with a 1:28.477s, going 0.065s quicker than his teammate, Charles Leclerc as Ferrari held an early 1-2. After struggling in Q1 due to a technical issue, Oscar Piastri finally put in a strong time, going almost half a second slower than Hamilton. Hamilton’s Ferrari was dislodged from the top by Kimi Antonelli as the young Italian put in a 1:28.352s, a good hundredth quicker than Hamilton and Russell, who put in the same time as Hamilton. While the Mercedeses and Ferraris were dropping the quickest time one after the other, Lando Norris had a rough opening lap, as he aborted his opening lap which left him the only driver without a time after the opening laps. Norris went ninth fastest after putting in his first lap, being 0.688s slower than Antonelli.

While Antonelli couldn’t go quicker, it was Verstappen going fastest with a 1:28.116s with the clock ticking down and as the chequered flag fell, the remaining Audi of Nico Hülkenberg, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, the two Haases of Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon along with both Williams’ of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz missing out on the top 10 shoot-out.

Drivers eliminated in Q2:

Nico Hülkenberg

Liam Lawson

Ollie Bearman

Carlos Sainz

Esteban Ocon

Alex Albon

Q3 – Antonelli stuns with incredible first lap as Verstappen comes inches close

The final qualifying session in Miami kicked off with Max Verstappen fighting the McLarens before Charles Leclerc’s 1:28.143s saw him put up the fastest time early on. Antonelli broke into the 1:27s with a 1:27.798s as there was barely anything to differentiate the top four.

As the cars got going for their final lap it was Antonelli’s time to beat but none of the front runners were going quicker in the opening sector. Piastri’s final lap saw him manage P7 at best while Norris could manage P4 as Leclerc, Verstappen and Russell all failed to get close to Antonelli’s time that saw the young Italian pick up yet another pole. Verstappen pipped Leclerc with a desperate attempt, but was 0.166s slower than the Mercedes.

Starting grid for the Miami Grand Prix 2026 (before penalties applied)

1. Kimi Antonelli

2. Max Verstappen

3. Charles Leclerc

4. Lando Norris

5. George Russell

6. Lewis Hamilton

7. Oscar Piastri

8. Franco Colapinto

9. Isack Hadjar

10. Pierre Gasly

11. Nico Hülkenberg