Miami - Sprint Qualifying

The fans had to wait over a month for Formula One to return to their screens. Once it did, it was to the backdrop of sunny Miami in the first American Grand Prix of the season. After a few long weeks away from the track, did Mercedes keep their status at the very front of the grid, or did the other teams manage to catch up to their performance? 

The first session of the sprint qualifying was disrupted rather early when Lance Stroll found himself stationary on the side of the track. While he did manage to start the car and make it to the pits, once there, he took off his helmet and finished the day much earlier than he would have liked. His incident disrupted the lap times of some of the drivers, leaving Ferrari's Charles Leclerc without much competition at the top of the leaderboard. He was later overtaken by the two McLarens, and although he did take one position back from Oscar Piastri, he could not find a lap time faster than that of Lando Norris. Somewhat surprising were the positions of the two Mercedes drivers who closed out the top six and were almost a second behind the leader. Liam Lawson, Esteban Ocon, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, Fernando Alonso, and Lance Stroll did not make it to the following session. 

The Ferraris and Piastri remained close to the top during SQ2. Norris fell down the order after a mistake during his flying lap, but remained safely within the top ten. On the other side of the grid, Gabriel Bortoleto, Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Bearman, Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, and Arvid Lindblad made up the bottom five. 

All drivers decided to opt for a one-shot approach for the shortest session of the afternoon. It took a while for a car to appear on the track, and, in the end, it was George Russell's Mercedes that set SQ3 into motion. The time he managed to set was quickly beaten by Norris and Piastri, with the McLaren taking the provisional P1. Piastri and the young Kimi Antonelli were the only two drivers who could threaten his pole, but neither managed to beat his time. The reigning champion returned to the front of the field, with the Italian by his side and his teammate in P3. 

Order of the grid:

1. Lando Norris

2. Kimi Antonelli

3. Oscar Piastri

4. Charles Leclerc

5. Max Verstappen

6. George Russell

7. Lewis Hamilton

8. Franco Colapinto 

9. Isack Hadjar

10. Pierre Gasly

11. Gabriel Bortoleto

12. Nico Hulkenberg

13. Oliver Bearman

14. Alex Albon

15. Carlos Sainz

16. Arvid Lindblad

17. Liam Lawson

18. Esteban Ocon

19. Sergio Perez

20. Valtteri Bottas

21. Fernando Alonso

22. Lance Stroll