Lando Norris has admitted he received a “reality check” after McLaren qualified fourth for the Miami Grand Prix.
Norris dominated the weekend leading up to qualifying, converting his sprint pole position into victory, but McLaren’s clear pace advantage suddenly disappeared in Sunday’s race when Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli took pole position ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Antonelli was nearly four tenths faster than Norris, but Norris believes his McLaren rival performed better in qualifying compared to sprint qualifying.
“I think both cars obviously struggled a bit more than Friday and we need to understand why. At the same time, we don’t feel like we did a bad job. But on Friday the other guys did a bad job and today (in qualifying) they did the job they had to do,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“Mercedes is as fast as we are. If you look at the GPS of Ferrari and Red Bull, there are a lot of places where they are faster than us. So we just did a very good job yesterday and to win the sprint.”
“But qualifying was a bit of a reality check, but more than that it was where we needed to be and honestly where we needed to be.
“I think everyone was surprised by how fast we were on Friday, but I think it was more because we did a good job and the others didn’t. Today it was the other way around. But we didn’t do a bad job, we just struggled a little bit.”
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Lando Norris crosses the line to win the Miami Grand Prix Sprint, Oscar Piastri takes second place
Both McLaren drivers suffered minor power unit gremlin problems that hampered their performance, with Oscar Piastri just making it into Q2 in 16th place.
The Australian rider could only qualify for seventh place, confirming that his development problems continued into the final stages of qualifying.
“It was a bit difficult. It varied a lot depending on a lot of things: the wind, the road conditions, what the power unit wanted to do. Everything was a bit random so it wasn’t the session, especially the last lap of Q3,” he said.
“I thought I did a good job until Turns 4-6, but then something strange happened. That’s why the middle sector was so good. Even though I lost a lot of time with an unexpected super clip, I was able to gain more energy on the back straight, which is why it looked so good.”
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Lando Norris wins Miami Sprint, insists teams are closer than it looks ahead of Sunday’s race
Verstappen: Incredible comeback from Red Bull
Verstappen was aiming to “break out of the midfield” heading into Miami after three races without finishing in the top five for the first time since 2017.
However, Red Bull soon looked firmly planted in the corner and Verstappen gradually improved to the point where he was less than two-tenths away from taking pole from Antonelli.
“It’s an incredible turnaround for us. I never felt like I was really in control of the car until this weekend. I didn’t know what was going to happen,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“The team has brought some really nice performance upgrades to the car. It’s a much easier car for me to drive and as soon as I got in the car it really clicked. It felt great, much better.”
“For us, it’s a bit of a surprise to be in the front row, but we accept it. It’s a big boost for the whole team and we’re moving in the right direction.”
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Max Verstappen says his Red Bull feels “more united” after the team upgraded its car ahead of the Miami Grand Prix
Red Bull boo Laurent Mequise has ominously revealed that “everything is not resolved” with the team, so Red Bull could bring more to the table, with rain expected for Sunday’s race also likely to pose a threat to Verstappen.
“They were great. We left Japan knowing we had some pretty serious homework left in terms of understanding the serious limitations we had,” he said.
“Max and Isaac just didn’t have something to push, whether the competition was on us or not. There was incredible work done at Milton Keynes, 360 degrees on the chassis side, on the power unit side, to fundamentally figure out what was limiting us.”
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Red Bull unveils brand new rotating rear wing during practice for Miami Grand Prix
Hamilton: Car was the best in qualifying all weekend
As in sprint qualifying, Lewis Hamilton qualified sixth, but was within two-tenths of Ferrari teammate Leclerc, his closest raw pace this weekend.
Ferrari brought 11 upgrades to the car, including new suspension and floors, but it was the power unit issue that Hamilton was dissatisfied with.
“The car felt a lot better in qualifying so I don’t think we had any power issues. It was the best we’ve had this weekend,” he said.
“I changed cars and I was very happy with the car. I wish I could have started the weekend with this balance. We looked very solid in Q2, but when we got into Q3 we struggled to get the most out of the car.”
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Lewis Hamilton says his car improved in Miami qualifying and he feels optimistic heading into the race.
When asked if Ferrari’s upgrades have paid off, Hamilton added: “I don’t know if Ferrari will leave with more confidence. I think the team has done a great job of bringing in the upgrades. They’ve worked very hard and I’m very grateful for that.”
“Obviously I think other teams are doing different things in the development of their cars so we’ll have to look at that. But we know we’re pushing hard and we know there’s more to come. And like I said, I think there’s more we can pull from what we have now.”
“I still lost a little on the straights, but I think I improved a lot in this session. Before this weekend I knew I was 4-5 seconds worse on the straights, so I don’t know if it will be the same this weekend. But I feel like I made a step forward. It doesn’t show in the results, but I’m optimistic for the race.”
Sky Sports F1 Miami GP Schedule
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The Miami Grand Prix is a unique experience. Check out some of our favorite moments from the past few years.
Sunday, May 3rd
2:25pm: F2 Feature Race
4pm: Miami GP Build-up: Grand Prix Sunday
6pm: Miami Grand Prix*
8pm: Miami GP reaction: Checkered flag*
9pm: Ted’s Notes*
*Also held at Sky Sports Main Event
F1 will resume the 2026 season in Miami. Watch the Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 from 6pm on Sunday. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
