Kimi Antonelli claimed pole position at the Miami Grand Prix, securing the top spot with his first run in final qualifying before a mistake on his final attempt left him anxiously watching to see if anyone could beat his time. Only Max Verstappen, who was third on his first runs, managed to go faster on a second attempt in the 33C heat. The 19-year-old Antonelli, who was demoted from fourth to sixth in the sprint by a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits, said it had been an amazing day to recover from a difficult start.

Verstappen admitted the Red Bull car had not been at its best in previous races and he had never felt comfortable with its layout. "The team has been pushing flat out to bring upgrades and make me feel more comfortable, and it really paid off," he said. "I feel more in control and I can push a bit more. To be on the front row is way better than I expected heading into the weekend." Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari all brought major upgrades to Miami, with McLaren's working well early before refinements from Red Bull and Mercedes left the sprint winners trailing.

Charles Leclerc finished a disappointed third, saying Ferrari's upgrade simply wasn't fast enough to compete at the very front. He headed Lewis Hamilton by 0.176 seconds. Isack Hadjar struggled with a lack of power all weekend, finishing ninth and 0.825 seconds behind his team-mate. Fernando Alonso made it 40 consecutive grand prix qualifying sessions beating Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll.