Lando Norris claimed sprint pole at the Miami Grand Prix, defeating championship leader Kimi Antonelli in an upgraded McLaren. The result marked the first defeat for Mercedes, who had dominated the early 2026 season. Norris set a blistering 1m27.869s lap, narrowly beating Antonelli by just 0.222s and knocking Piastri off the front row.

The sprint qualifying came after a month-long break where most teams introduced significant upgrades. While Mercedes kept its powder dry, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull all rolled out major updates. The session featured new rules refinements aimed at allowing drivers to push flat out rather than managing energy, though the stop-start Miami circuit provided limited evaluation of the FIA's intervention.

Norris topped SQ1 by just 0.010s over Leclerc, with Mercedes drivers Antonelli and Russell qualifying fifth and sixth - suggesting Mercedes might face short-term consequences for their upgrade strategy. Aston Martin continued to struggle with Honda power units, with neither Alonso nor Stroll setting proper laps. Verstappen showed progress in fifth, setting up an intriguing sprint race on Saturday at noon local Miami time.