Flawless in Florida: Norris Converts Qualifying charge to Sprint Victory
The Miami Sprint Race was full of glory and woe. World Champion Lando Norris occupied the number 1 grid spot to start this 19-lap shoot-out to the finish. Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg’s race ended before it even started as flames started shooting out of his exhaust during his reconnaissance laps to the grid.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli tumbled down the order as he fumbled his start, while both McLaren’s glided into Turn 1 comfortably in first and second, respectively. Conditions make it tricky for the drivers today, with track temperatures of 53 Degrees and higher. Norris gapped his teammate by 1.3 seconds, so the drivers really needed to put their tyre management skills to the test. Arvid Lindblad was ordered to start from the pits after Parc Ferme was broken, retired back into his garage instead of battling for points after a technical error on his car. Antonelli was on a mission to make up the places he lost as he tried to pick off Leclerc, but the Prancing Horse was having none of it and maintained P3, with George Russell looking to join the fight.
Max Verstappen faced issues of his own during the Sprint as he reported that he “Can’t really brake, the rear axle is jumping up and down.” Antonelli picked off his teammate on Lap 8 to take P4, and Verstappen managed to overtake Hamilton a lap later. Verstappen was ordered to give the place back as he overtook off-track, but later overtook him again during Lap 10. The bargeboard of Esteban Ocon’s Haas flew into the track on Lap 11, resulting in fellow Haas pilot Ollie Bearman collecting it behind him and turning the carbon fibre into dust. Pierre Gasly looked on top form today as he stayed P8, with a 4-second gap to his Argentinian teammate.
Norris comfortably maintained the lead, his Australian teammate behind him, but Leclerc was quickly closing the gap to the Aussie, putting him under pressure during the closing stages of this race. Isack Hadjar and Franco Colapinto were engaging in their own little battle in the midfield, with the Frenchman overtaking the Argentinian, but Franco was having none of that and strived to steal that place back.
Lando Norris started the final lap with a 3-second gap to his teammate and was well on the way to his first win of the 2026 season. McLaren really has brought themselves back into the game with their new upgrades, with a McLaren 1-2, meaning Norris also gained a crucial 8 points to try and claw his way back to the top step of the championship.
Antonelli finished in P4 in front of his teammate, but he was awarded a 5-second penalty for multiple track limit violations, dropping him down to 6th, stripping him of a crucial 2 points for his championship lead.
It looks to be a strong race tomorrow, but with looming thunderstorms forecasted, it could be brought forward from it’s orginal 4 pm EST starting time. Keep an eye on this on our socials as we will update you as soon as information is released.
Join us again tonight for Qualifying as we set the order for tomorrow’s 57-lap dash to the finish line.
