Norris leads McLaren’s resurgence and will start first in the Miami sprint

MIAMI. – Briton Lando Norris confirmed McLaren’s awakening by taking pole position for the sprint race of the Miami Grand Prix, the fourth round of the Formula 1 World Championship. The current world champion set the best time in the sprint qualifying, stopping the clock at 1:27.069, beating Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), current championship leader, by 222 thousandths of a second. Australian Oscar Piastri will start from third position, completing a solid day for the British team. The second row will be made up of Piastri and the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), while the Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) will start fifth. The sprint, agreed to 19 laps, will award points to the top eight finishers, on a grid that will also feature the Argentinian Franco Colapinto in eighth position, alongside the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Further back, Spaniards Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso will start from 15th and the back of the grid, respectively, on a complicated day for Aston Martin. Mexican Sergio Pérez will start from 19th position. The championship arrives in Miami after a forced break due to the cancellation of races in the Middle East, a period in which the FIA introduced adjustments to the technical regulations to balance the use of electrical energy and improve track safety. With this result, McLaren shows signs of recovery after an irregular start to the season and is emerging as a contender in a key weekend in the United States.