Verstappen beats Norris to Miami pole

Max Vestappen claimed a stunning pole position for the 2025 Miami Grand Prix, as McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both faltered in Q3.

Piastri was three tenths clear of the first non-McLaren in Q2, but Verstappen plonked his Red Bull on provisional pole after the first runs in Q3, just 0.003 seconds ahead of Norris - as 0.017s covered the top three (with Piastri third).

Verstappen suffered a rear slide at Turn 1 on his final flying lap, but he still found nearly three tenths of a second across the rest of his lap to secure pole.

Both McLarens delivered poor first sectors on their final fliers, with Norris describing his own performance as terrible.

Norris ended up 0.065s down on Verstappen, while Piastri - who looked favourite for pole after Q2 - was relegated to fourth by another impressive showing from Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli.

Both McLaren drivers faced a post-session investigation for driving too slowly on their out-laps in Q1, but later on Saturday evening the stewards ruled no further action was necessary because they had only slowed to allow other drivers on flying laps to pass them.

George Russell was fifth in the second Mercedes, a tenth off sprint polesitter Antonelli and just one hundredth slower than Piastri.

Russell again appeared to lack confidence in his car in this session, complaining during Q2 that he had “no grip” and was at a loss to understand why.

Carlos Sainz completed the top six, a tenth up on team-mate Alex Albon, as both Williams drivers comfortably made Q3 and beat the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc went off the track at Turn 17 on his first Q3 lap and then ended up only eighth quickest after his final run, almost two tenths down on the Williams of his former Ferrari team-mate Sainz.

Esteban Ocon’s Haas beat the second Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda to ninth by just over a tenth of a second.

Tsunoda is not running the new Red Bull floor on Verstappen's car this weekend and he qualified seven tenths down on his team-mate.

Hamilton dumped out in Q2

Lewis Hamilton suffered another qualifying disappointment in the second Ferrari, failing to build on the momentum of a podium finish in the sprint race and making a costly error that dropped him out of the top 10 in Q2.

Hamilton locked his brakes and ran wide at the Turn 17 hairpin on his crucial final flying lap in Q2, a place where both he and Leclerc struggled to get their cars stopped throughout qualifying.

Hamilton's Q2 error meant he dropped out as Russell, Tsunoda and Ocon all found time on their final runs.

Hamilton ended up only 12th quickest, behind the Racing Bulls of Isack Hadjar. Just half a tenth improvement would have been enough for Hamilton to comfortably make it through to Q3.

Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto was 13th after also failing to go quicker on his final Q2 run, while Alpine rookie Jack Doohan did find time but only enough for 14th.

The other Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson was 15th, battling a battery problem his team admitted it was struggling to manage throughout qualifying.

Tiny margins for Hulkenberg

Both Saubers showed top 10 pace in the early part of Q1 on scrubbed tyres, but Nico Hulkenberg failed to join rookie team-mate Bortoleto in Q2 after failing to improve on his final timed lap.

That allowed Ocon’s Haas to sneak into Q2 by just 0.023s, as less than two tenths of a second covered Hamilton’s Ferrari in eighth and Hulkenberg’s Sauber in 16th in this segment.

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Both Aston Martins fell in Q1, with Fernando Alonso 0.131s down on Hulkenberg in 17th and Lance Stroll extending his F1 Q1 exits record to 76 with the 19th fastest time, behind the second Alpine of Pierre Gasly, who complained of traffic compromising his run plan.

Ollie Bearman’s miserable Miami GP continued as he qualified slowest of all in the second Haas, almost two tenths down on Stroll.

Qualifying result

1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2 Lando Norris (McLaren)
3 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
4 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
5 George Russell (Mercedes)
6 Carlos Sainz (Williams)
7 Alex Albon (Williams)
8 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
9 Esteban Ocon (Haas)
10 Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
11 Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
12 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
13 Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
14 Jack Doohan (Alpine)
15 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
16 Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
17 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
18 Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
19 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
20 Ollie Bearman (Haas)