Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Miami

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Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli bounced back from a difficult sprint race to take pole position for the Miami Grand Prix.

It was the Italian's third pole in four grands prix this season and his team-mate and title rival George Russell was down in fifth place, 0.399 seconds adrift.

Max Verstappen took second, 0.166secs from Antonelli, after a remarkable turnaround in form for his Red Bull team following upgrades to their car.

McLaren's Lando Norris, who dominated the sprint earlier on Saturday, was fourth, behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, whose team-mate Lewis Hamilton was sixth, ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

The race is due to take place at 21:00 BST on Sunday but heavy rain and thunderstorms are forecast during the day. F1 officials are meeting later on Saturday to assess the latest forecast and discuss whether to change the schedule.

Antonelli secured his pole with his first run in final qualifying, and a mistake on his final run meant he faced an anxious wait to see if anyone could improve his time.

But only Verstappen, who was third fastest on the first runs, managed to go faster on a second attempt in the 33C Miami heat.

• Read the full report

The FIA and F1 will be making their decisions for tomorrow's race.

But for now, join us from 20:00 BST on Sunday for the Miami Grand Prix. Lights out at 21:00 BST.

Be sure to keep up to date on the BBC Sport website and app for any race changes because of the weather conditions.

We will be here tomorrow, come rain or shine, for the race coverage.

Until then, take care!

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Mercedes' George Russell, who will start fifth, spoke to Sky Sports. Here's what he said: "I just struggle on low grip circuits, here, Zandvoort, Brazil. It was the same last year, it's something I do want to work on but I'd say that there are three tracks that are outliers for me. Miami is definitely one of them."

"I'm not really thinking about damage limitation, I'm going out there to maximise results. We saw with race starts, everything can change in that first couple of 100 metres. I'm just not really in a great groove at the moment. It's still really early days, this is a really weak track for me. I'm just waiting to get to some tracks where I excel."

"I'm quite a smooth precise driver, that's always been my style. On these tracks, you've just got to be happy with your car sliding. I like being on the edge but you're going around, oversteering, understeering. It's the same for everyone, the temperature is high."

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Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, who will start sixth on the grid, speaking to Sky Sports: "Car was much better in qualifying, so I don't think we had any issues, so that was the best it has been this weekend.

"We changed the car and I was much, much happier. I wish I had started the weekend with that balance. Q2 was looking really solid and then I got to Q3, I struggled to extrat the most from it.

"I think the team did a great job to bring the upgrades, so incredibly grateful. The other teams are doing different things with their car, so we need to look into that.

"But we are pushing hard and there is more to come. Like I said, I think there is more to extrat from what we currently have.

"Still losing a bit on the straights but I think we improved a lot in this session. Feel like we took a step forward and optimistic for tomorrow."

The youngest championship leader and a four-time world champion on the front row.

The first turn in the race tomorrow is set to be an exciting one, add in wet weather conditions and it can be anyone's race.

I wonder what Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli are taking about?

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The FIA is set to have a meeting about tomorrow's race after qualifying.

F1 correspondent Andrew Benson said that there is the possibility that the race timings could be moved.

We will bring you updates on this on the BBC Sport website and app.

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Lando Norris, who qualified fourth, spoke to Sky Sports about today's struggles in qualifying: "It was a little bit windier, the temperature was different, but it's the same for everyone. Both cars clearly struggled a bit more than yesterday. We need to understand why.

"We didn't do a bad job, other people did a pretty bad job yesterday and today did the job that they should've done. Mercedes are quicker than us, I think we did a very, very good job yesterday, today was a reality check. I think we were all surprised at how quick we were yesterday, today was the other way around. It's not like we did a bad job.

"We have had some good starts, Ferrari has the best starts in general. I'd like it to be dry, it's more straightforward. It's going to be a challenge for everyone. There's loads of opportunities and chances to go forward, the Mercedes should probably just clear off but hopefully we can have a race with the guys around us."

Our F1 correspondent Andrew Benson is again doing a weekly Q&A in 2026.

Send in your questions here and we'll put the best to Andrew after the Miami Grand Prix.

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has stopped by Sky Sports to have a chat about polesitter Kimi Antonelli.

"The first lap was really special, as he was three or more tenths ahead of the next car," says Wolff. "But then we were having confidence and over-pushing it. But that's how he is.

"It's really an improvement because in the past, he would've ended up in the wall, but now it's just a missed lap. Now he's just showing his speed, which is really nice to see.

"As you know, trusting in Kimi, you can look like a fool or you can look well. I think our junior programme we are doing is quite diligent, and you look at his junior trajectory, from mini karts to F2, you see the pace, you see the speed. Then it just needs the development, which we gave him last year, to make mistakes.

"There is more to come, but I think he has good speed character traits."

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Since Miami's debut in F1, there have been three different winners.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen was at the top of the podium in 2022 and 2023.

McLaren's Lando Norris took his first F1 race victory in 2024 and team-mate Oscar Piastri took victory in 2025.

Kimi Antonelli is on pole position for this year's race. He will want to add his name to the list of winners at the Miami International Autodrome.

Mercedes continue to lead the teams' standings, with a total of 143 points.

Ferrari are quite further behind with 98 points. Third place McLaren are on 61 points.

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Jar: You might not like the new rules, but you can’t deny that this version of F1 is super fun. Thoroughly enjoyable qualifying session!

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Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who will start third on the grid: "It was on the limit. At the end of the day we were just not fast enough. Today and this weekend we brought a significant package which helped us but we still need to improve a little bit.

"It was a tricky qualifying; the wind was changing from run to run. The car was behaving differently, expecially between Turns 11 and 12, there was massive differences between laps. P3 is a good starting position and I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

On the potential for rain on Sunday. "Ooooh... it looks wet! How much, and when, is still to be defined but I think it will be a wet race."

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Max Verstappen after finishing in second: "For me, it's been two things. The car hasn't been great but I never felt comfortable with the layout of the car. The team has been pushing flat out with the car to make me feel more comfortable. I feel more in control, then I can push more, the upgrades are working. To be on the front row is way better than I expected this weekend."

"First start was a good start, not had a lot of those this year. I'll try to look at that for sure, I'm very happy with that."

"From here, there's light at the end of the tunnel, we can try to close the gap further. We looked alright in the sprint, it looked alright when in the clean air. Of course tomorrow is a completely different day."

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Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who secures his third consecutive pole position of the season: "It's been an amazing day, to be on pole again.

"It was a difficult start to the day with the sprint, that didn't go our way, but super-happy with the recovery and it was a good qualifying. I got a little bit too excited on that last lap but the first lap was good enough and I'm happy with that.

"I was very stressed because I was just waiting for everyone to finish their laps. But at the end it was good enough and really happy with that."

On the race start on Sunday: "Hopefully the magic one will happen tomorrow. Would be nice not to lose any positions. We'll do our best.

"This weekend has been a little bit more diffcult for us but we're keeping all this together and maximising the performance, so I'm hapy with that.

It is set to be a wet race tomorrow with thundery showers on the forecast.

Anything can happen in the race.

But, for now, here's what our top three have to say...

Mercedes' 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli has taken pole positions in three consecutive races.

The current championship leader took pole in China and Japan. Where did he finish in those races? First.

He will be hoping to do it all over again in the race tomorrow and extend his lead at the top.

Or will a non-Mercedes driver take the win tomorrow?

11. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)

12. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

13. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

14. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

15. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

16. Alex Albon (Williams)

17. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)

18. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

19. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

20. Sergio Perez (Cadillac)

21. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)

22. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)

Damon Hill
1996 world champion on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra in Miami

I wonder if the wind direction is right behind them going into Turn One because Oscar Piastri also looked like he was having a little bit of correction, even though he hadn't locked up.

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 1:27.798

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.166

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.345

4. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.385

5. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.399

6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.521

7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.702

8. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +0.964

9. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +0.991

10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1.012