Lando Norris secured pole position for the Miami Sprint, a first for McLaren this year. He overcame a challenging SQ2 session to lead the grid, beating championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
Lando Norris has secured pole position for the Miami Sprint, marking a significant milestone for McLaren as they outpaced Mercedes in a qualifying session for the first time in 2026. Norris's performance came after a self-described 'woeful' SQ2, yet he rallied to claim the top spot with a remarkable time of 1:27.869, edging out current championship leader Kimi Antonelli by over two-tenths of a second.
With McLaren introducing a suite of upgrades to its MCL40 this season, Norris's pole position is a testament to the team's hard work. "It was a great, perfect result for us," Norris commented, expressing his satisfaction with the upgrades. "It's a nice way to reward the team. We've got a lot of new upgrades on the car, so it's nice to feel some grip again and reward everyone who's put in so much effort."
Norris is no stranger to success at the Miami International Autodrome. He claimed his first F1 win here in 2024, and teammate Oscar Piastri took victory last year. "We've known that this track has always been good to us," Norris noted. "Our estimations have proved correct, and the team deserves that, they've put a lot of work into all these things. Since the first lap today, I've felt comfortable, I've got a bit of rear grip, and I felt good."
While the track temperatures soared past 50C, Norris managed the conditions well, despite admitting to a bit of struggle in SQ2. "My Q2 was pretty woeful," he confessed. "I was debating whether we do one lap or two for the final run. Will [Joseph] pushed me and said we're doing one lap, and it paid off. The lap was good, apart from Turn 16 onto the back straight. I completely missed it. But I'm happy to be back here, it's been a little while. It’s the perfect way to start the weekend."
Piastri, who qualified third, echoed Norris's optimism about McLaren's pace. "I think the potential is there," he said. "We didn't luck into the result today. We'll have to wait and see, I'm expecting Mercedes to still be very strong, but they've not looked quite as dominant this weekend so far."
With Norris leading the way, McLaren is off to a promising start in Miami, setting the stage for an exciting weekend as they look to capitalize on their upgrades and maintain their momentum against the competition.