The second Sprint Race of the season had arrived at the 2026 F1 Miami GP, with Lando Norris starting from pole position alongside Kimi Antonelli after a tight qualifying session.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri lined up in P2, while Charles Leclerc started P4 after topping the FP1 timesheets earlier in the weekend. Notably, Max Verstappen began in P5, with the encouraging qualifying result marking his best starting position of the 2026 F1 season so far.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton started from P6 and P7, respectively, while all eyes were on surprise contender Franco Colapinto in P8 and Pierre Gasly in P10, with Isack Hadjar splitting the pair.
Unfortunately, while heading to the Sprint grid, Nico Hülkenberg stopped on track after the rear of his Audi caught on fire, resulting in another DNS for the German.
Meanwhile, the event held a moment of silence for Alex Zanardi before the drivers returned to preparations for the start of the 2026 F1 Miami GP Sprint Race. Most drivers started on medium tires, with the Aston Martins opting for softs and the Cadillac duo on hards.
Lights out!
Norris got the start he needed, while Antonelli fell back with a slow start, allowing Piastri and Leclerc through. Further back, Verstappen and Hamilton engaged in a wheel-to-wheel battle, resulting in slight contact. Isack Hajdar also endured a tough start, dropping from P9 to P11 after already facing difficulty in qualifying.
Arvid Lindblad marked the second retirement of the 19-lap race as he made his way back to the pits after the opening lap due to a technical issue.
Antonelli began regaining his confidence by Lap 3, closing down the gap to Leclerc in P3. At the front, Norris held a two-second lead alongside the fastest lap, with his teammate Piastri chasing behind in P2.
A championship battle on track
Drama struck on Lap 8 as Russell made his way past his championship-leading teammate Antonelli for P4. However, moments later, Antonelli regained the position at Turn 11. Right behind, Hamilton and Verstappen engaged in another close battle for P6, with Verstappen getting past before being told to give the position back as he overtook off-track.
Verstappen attempted another overtake into Turn 17 on Lap 10, making it stick after conserving crucial energy that left Hamilton in P7. Still chasing the podium, race control showed Antonelli a black-and-white flag for track limits.
As 6 laps remained, Norris led Piastri by 3 seconds, with Leclerc in P3, followed by Antonelli, Russell, Verstappen, Hamilton, Gasly, Colapinto, and Hadjar rounding off the top ten in the 2026 F1 Miami GP Sprint Race.
Norris continues to extend his Sprint lead
On Lap 14, Williams’ Alex Albon pitted for a new front wing. A moment of consequence for Piastri, who went wide, allowing Leclerc to reduce the gap to 0.6s. However, his opportunity didn’t last long as a lack of power saw Leclerc drop back down.
At the chequered flag, reigning World Champion Lando Norris claimed his first victory of the 2026 F1 season, with Piastri making it a McLaren 1-2. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc took the final podium position. Notably, Kimi Antonelli received a post-race five-second penalty for track limits, costing him two places. George Russell and Max Verstappen moved up to P4 and P5.
