Lando Norris makes ‘woeful’ admission straight after scoring F1 Sprint pole at the Miami Grand Prix

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McLaren driver Lando Norris scored pole position for the F1 Sprint at the 2026 Miami Grand Prix this Friday, despite him lacking “confidence” after a “woeful” run in SQ2.

Norris has ended the domination that Mercedes have enjoyed so far this term, having seen the Silver Arrows score every pole and victory prior to arriving in Florida for round four. The best that Mercedes would enjoy in Florida was P2, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli 0.222s adrift.

McLaren ace Norris scored pole for the Miami Sprint after producing a 1:27.869 lap early in SQ3, which Antonelli failed to beat. The Briton threw down the gauntlet and had to wait for his rivals to try and come for the crown, but the Italian could only then produce a 1:28.091.

Oscar Piastri also gave McLaren further good news after taking a raft of upgrades to Miami, as the Australian secured P3 on the grid for the F1 Sprint on Saturday. He posted a 1:28.108 to narrowly miss out on securing a front row lock-out for the papaya crew during qualifying.

Lando Norris claims pole position for the Miami Sprint! Who’s your star from Sprint qualifying? ⭐️

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Lando Norris admits he lacked ‘confidence’ before scoring Sprint pole at the Miami GP

Yet despite Norris claiming Sprint pole at the Miami GP, the Briton did not have the perfect session in Sprint Qualifying. Defending drivers’ champion Norris admits he felt his SQ2 had been “pretty woeful”, having only produced a 1:29.366 on the medium tyres to secure P7.

READ MORE: How to watch the 2026 Miami GP, including the Sprint, plus weather forecast

Norris said in his parc ferme interview after Sprint Qualifying: “It was pretty tough. I mean, my Q2 was pretty woeful. I was like one second off. So, it didn’t fill me with confidence into the final run. And I was debating whether we do one lap [or] two laps.

“Will [Joseph] pushed me, and said, ‘Lando, we’re doing one lap’, and it paid off. So, there has been good work from the whole team. We got everything in a good window straightaway. So, I’m very proud of them.

“But the lap was good. It was good apart from one corner, [Turn] 16 onto the back straight, [I] completely missed it. Yeah, didn’t want to get it today.

“So, difficult conditions also with the wind, the wind can play a big effect. So, I’m just happy. I’m happy to be back here. It’s been a been a little while. So, just a perfect way for me to start the weekend, too.”

Ferrari star Charles Leclerc had set the pace during SQ2 in Sprint Qualifying with a 1:28.333, edging McLaren’s Piastri to top the timesheet on the medium tyres by 0.173s. Norris’ effort left him 1.033s adrift of Leclerc in P7, while Antonelli ended SQ2 in P6 with a 0.876s deficit.

The middle stage of qualifying was the toughest session for Norris, having also set the pace during SQ1 on the medium tyres with a 1:28.723. Leclerc was also Norris’ main rival in SQ1, but the Monegasque would only secure P4 in SQ3 with a 0.370s deficit to the McLaren ace.