Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes went fastest in Saturday’s qualifying in Miami, locking in his third grand prix pole position in a row and his third overall.
The current championship leader posted a lap time of 1m 27.798s to pip a resurgent Max Verstappen to the pole by just over a tenth of a second.
Now the 19-year-old has joined an elite group, becoming one of only three drivers to secure their first three pole positions in their F1 career in consecutive grands prix - alongside legends Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari will start the race in third, looking to grab the team’s fourth podium finish in a row.
Defending champion Lando Norris, fresh off a sprint win, will line up right behind in P3 for McLaren.
Championship’s second-placed George Russell will race from fifth in the other Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton just behind in P6 for Ferrari followed by Oscar Piastri’s McLaren and Franco Colapinto of Alpine.
Isack Hadjar, who originally claimed ninth for Red Bull, has been disqualified from qualifying results due to a technical infringement, relegating him to the back of the grid.
This moves everyone behind up by one position, meaning Pierre Gasly now starts from ninth in his Alpine while Nico Hulkenberg occupies the tenth place, having bounced back from a DNS in the sprint to initially post the 11th fastest time.
Elsewhere, the Cadillac duo of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez will start the team’s first home grand prix from 19th and 20th place respectively, trailing behind Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll in the troubled Aston Martin.
The Miami Grand Prix has been brought forward by three hours due to weather concerns, now kicking off at 1 p.m. local time (EDT) on Sunday.
Starting Grid For The 2026 Miami Grand Prix
Here’s the starting order for Sunday’s race in Miami:
• Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes): 1:27.798
• Max Verstappen (Red Bull): +0.166
• Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): +0.345
• Lando Norris (McLaren): +0.385
• George Russell (Mercedes): +0.399
• Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari): +0.521
• Oscar Piastri (McLaren): +0.702
• Franco Colapinto (Alpine): +0.964
• Pierre Gasly (Alpine): +1.012
• Nico Hulkenberg (Audi): +1.641
• Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls): +1.701
• Oliver Bearman (Haas): +1.769
• Carlos Sainz (Williams): +1.770
• Esteban Ocon (Haas): +1.974
• Alex Albon (Williams): +2.148
• Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls): +2.335
• Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): +3.300
• Lance Stroll (Aston Martin): +3.366
• Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac): +3.831
• Sergio Perez (Cadillac): +4.169
• Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi): +5.939
• Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
