It was Norris’ first pole since Las Vegas last year, three races from the end of his championship season, and a suggestion – at the very least – that Mercedes may not have things all their own way this year, after all.
Antonelli salvaged a good result for Mercedes after a difficult session.
The Mercedes car has often struggled in the heat, and the 32C temperatures did not seem to do it any favours.
But after not looking competitive for most of the session, Antonelli ensured he was the very last car to set a time in the final session, when the track would be at its grippiest, and it paid off.
“It was a pretty messy session,” the Italian said. “I struggled a lot with the car and on the medium (tyres) I couldn’t get a lap in, and then on the soft, all of a sudden, the car became more alive. I felt more comfortable.
“We definitely felt we were expecting this weekend to be quite a bit tougher, also because those teams brought major upgrades which they closed the gap massively, or even went in front of us. McLaren have the same engine as us and they improve a lot the car, but I think we can be in the fight.”
Russell took the opposite route, running first, and he ended up 0.4secs back from his team-mate, not an ideal result given he already has to make up nine points on Antonelli in the championship.
“Pretty surprising how big a jump McLaren and Ferrari have made,” Russell said. “That’s pretty damn impressive. All day they’ve been quicker than us. From my side, I’ve been struggling all day.
“Miami is not a track I particularly love, especially in these hotter conditions, but it’s only sprint qualifying. Just overheating the tyres a lot in that twisty section in the middle. Struggling to get the right balance with the car.”
The Ferrari was very fast through practice and the first two qualifying sessions on the medium tyre, but struggled on the soft in the final session.
“The upgrades are fine,” Leclerc said. “It’s just everybody brought upgrades. McLaren did a very big step forward but I felt like they didn’t optimise their first races so they were always there but didn’t put everything together.
“On our side, we have struggled with tyres. The medium were working very well. On the soft, it was not a nice feeling, so on that we have got to look at it. We know on the race pace we are stronger but in terms of qualifying there is still work to be done.”
