Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli topped qualifying to claim pole position for the 2026 Miami Grand Prix.
Antonelli’s pole lap came on his first Q3 flier and saw him become only the third driver after Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher to claim his first three poles in succession.
The Italian will be joined on the front row by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who found huge improvement in time compared to sprint qualifying yesterday (1 May), whilst Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will line up third ahead of sprint winner, Lando Norris.
Q1
Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas was first on track and set 1m 32.698 as the initial benchmark time but several drivers usurped his effort, as Verstappen set 1m 29.099 as the representative benchmark time.
Once almost everyone set a lap time, Arvid Lindblad, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Sergio Perez and Bottas occupied the bottom six alongside Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto, with the Brazilian stuck in his garage as Audi sorted out an air pressure issue which saw him disqualified from the sprint.
As the checkered flag fell, none of the bottom six escaped as Lindblad qualified 17th ahead of Alonso and Stroll, whilst Bottas outqualified Perez at Cadillac as Bortoleto propped up the timesheet.
Antonelli topped the segment with 1m 28.653 set just two minutes before the conclusion.
Q2
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar was first out on track and laid 1m 28.941 as the benchmark time, but his teammate – Verstappen went 0.010 seconds quicker.
Lewis Hamilton however produced 1m 28.477 to go quicker just one minute later from Leclerc by 0.065s, with the Ferrari pair subsequently split by Mercedes’ George Russell as several drivers switched to new soft tyres after they ran used soft tyres in Q1.
Antonelli however again set the pace with 1m 28.352 on his first flier of the segment, whilst the elimination zone comprised of; Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Bearman, Alex Albion, Carlos Sainz and Norris – after the Brit aborted his first flier.
Norris however ventured out in the gap and improved to ninth which dropped Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson into the bottom six.
At the checkered flag, Hulkenberg qualified 11th ahead of Lawson, Bearman, Sainz, Ocon and Albon.
Verstappen topped Q2 with 1m 28.116 set in the final minute of the segment.
Q3
Oscar Piastri laid 1m 28.687 as the initial benchmark but Norris lowered the bar to 1m 28.183 just moments later, only for Verstappen to usurp him by 0.002s but Leclerc went 0.038s quicker than the Dutchman.
Antonelli however saved a 1m 27.798 to head the order from Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, Russell, Hamilton, Piastri, Franco Colapinto, Hadjar and Pierre Gasly.
As the checkered flag fell, nobody could beat Antonelli’s lap time as Verstappen fell 0.166s shy in second ahead of Leclerc, Norris, Russell, Hamilton, Piastri, Colapinto, Hadjar and Gasly.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1m 27.798 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | + 0.166 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.345 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 0.385 |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | + 0.399 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | + 0.521 |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | + 0.702 |
| 8 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | + 0.964 |
| 9 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | + 0.991 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | + 1.012 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 1m 29.439 |
| 12 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | + 0.060 |
| 13 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | + 0.128 |
| 14 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | + 0.129 |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | + 0.333 |
| 16 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 0.507 |
| 17 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1m 30.133 |
| 18 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | + 0.965 |
| 19 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 1.031 |
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | + 1,496 |
| 21 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | + 1.834 |
| 22 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | + 3.604 |
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