Lando Norris claimed the sprint qualifying pole in Miami as McLaren took the fight to Mercedes.
The reigning champion will start Saturday’s 19-lap dash from the front of the grid after beating Mercedes’ championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 0.222 seconds, with Oscar Piastri lining up third in the second McLaren ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in fourth.
Mercedes had dominated the first three grands prix of the season, winning every race and comfortably clinching a 1-2 in every full and sprint qualifying session.
But, after a five-week break since Antonelli won the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29 — due to the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races — Mercedes found its grip broken on the streets around Hard Rock Stadium.
Leclerc looked to have the edge throughout qualifying, but Norris pulled it out of the bag on the final run on soft tires, and Antonelli’s impressive lap was not enough to topple him.
Mercedes’ George Russell struggled for pace and will line up sixth, behind Max Verstappen in fifth.
Teams up and down the grid brought extensive upgrades to the Sunshine State, none more so than Ferrari and McLaren, which hoped to close the gap to Mercedes — which has made only minor tweaks to its package.
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Norris trails Antonelli by 47 points in the early championship standings.
Four-time champion Verstappen, who had not qualified higher than eighth this season and sits ninth in the standings, looked happier with his upgraded Red Bull car.
Lewis Hamilton could manage only seventh for Ferrari.
There are weather concerns around Sunday’s race, with forecast heavy rain and thunderstorms that might impact the running.
The FIA is considering various options, in line with state law around the presence of lightning in the vicinity of sporting events, which might include changes to the start time of the 57-lap race.
