McLaren enjoyed their best race of the Formula One season with Lando Norris dominating Oscar Piastri for a one-two in the Miami Grand Prix sprint. However, the Australian runner-up then struggled significantly when they mislaid their pace in qualifying.
Sprint Success and Qualifying Woes
Piastri was left trailing his world champion teammate by 3.766 seconds in the 19-lap sprint on Saturday, suggesting McLaren's upgrades might have transformed their season. But McLaren's enthusiasm was quickly dented when Piastri could only finish seventh and Norris fourth in qualifying for Sunday's main race.
Meanwhile, championship leader Kimi Antonelli reasserted Mercedes' mastery by making it three poles in a row. Max Verstappen also roared back to his best in the Red Bull by finishing second in qualifying ahead of third-placed Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. There was frustration for the world champion constructors McLaren with suggestions of power unit problems in qualifying.
Sprint Race Highlights
Piastri had earlier ended up repelling a late challenge from third-placed Leclerc in the sprint to gain seven badly needed points in the championship race. 'Yes, I'm mostly satisfied,' he shrugged, happy to have moved up from third on the grid as McLaren ended Mercedes' early winning run.
Norris also couldn't hide his delight at recovering that victorious 2025 feeling after he picked up eight points for the win, controlling the race with seemingly little trouble from pole as Mercedes were knocked off the podium for the first time in 2026.
Qualifying Struggles
Once qualifying came around with winds gusting, things changed dramatically. Piastri only just managed to make it into Q2 in 16th place. Told he had safely qualified, he noted dryly that 'safely is an ambitious word.' The Melbourne driver eventually had to settle for seventh in qualifying behind fifth-placed George Russell and sixth-placed Lewis Hamilton.
Sunday's race looks wide open, especially with the forecast being for storms and rain. Teenager Antonelli is on pole for a third grand prix win in a row – and Mercedes' fourth in four – after triumphs in China and Japan made the 19-year-old Italian the youngest driver ever to lead the championship.
Championship Implications
Antonelli's lead has now been reduced after a difficult sprint where he had a bad start from second on the grid, allowing Piastri to burst past him. He ended up fourth but was demoted to sixth after a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits. The youngster is on 75 points, teammate Russell 68, Leclerc 55, Hamilton 43, Norris 33, and Piastri 28.
Piastri, who had begun the season calamitously by failing to get to the start in the first two races, has enjoyed two second-place finishes in a row in Japan's main race and the Miami sprint.
