The 2026 Miami Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix 2026) was a Formula One motor race that was held on May 3, 2026, at the Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. It was the fourth round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship and the second of six Grands Prix in the season to utilise the sprint format.
Lando Norris (McLaren) converted pole position for the sprint event to a victory ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari). Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) then converted pole position for the Grand Prix to a win, Norris and Piastri completed the podium.
Background The event was held at the Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, Florida, for the fifth time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of May 1–3. The Grand Prix was the fourth round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship and the fifth running of the Miami Grand Prix. It was also the second of six Grands Prix in the season to utilize the sprint format and the third time overall that the Miami Grand Prix has featured it.
The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, which had been scheduled to immediately precede the Miami Grand Prix, did not take place on their original April dates due to the 2026 Iran war. The resulting break in the season was used to introduce changes to the technical regulations, predominately around the power unit.
McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing entered the weekend with notable upgrade packages.
Championship standings before the race Mercedes's Kimi Antonelli, who won the previous round in Japan, entered the round as the leader of the Drivers' Championship. With 72 points, Antonelli led his teammate George Russell by nine points, with third-placed Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) a further fourteen points behind. Mercedes entered the round as the leader of the Constructors' Championship with 135 points. They led Ferrari by 45 points, and third-placed McLaren by a further 45 points.
Entrants
The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race.
Tyre choices
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C3, C4, and C5 tyre compounds (the three softest in their range) for teams to use at the event.
Practice The sole free practice session was held on May 1, 2026, at 12:00 local time (UTC–4), and was topped by Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) ahead of Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Oscar Piastri (McLaren). The session was extended from 60 to 90 minutes after rule changes were implemented during the April break.
Sprint qualifying Sprint qualifying was held on May 1, 2026, at 16:30 local time (UTC–4), and determined the starting grid order for the sprint.
Sprint qualifying report Sprint qualifying consisted of three sessions, with the six slowest drivers eliminated after each of the first two segments. Medium tyres were mandatory in first two segments (SQ1 and SQ2), while the final segment (SQ3) was run on soft tyres.
In SQ1, most drivers left the pits shortly after the session began. The early part of the segment was led by Ferrari, before Lando Norris (McLaren) moved to the top of the times late in the session. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) caused a brief yellow-flag period after locking up and going off at Turn 17, but was able to return to the pits; he did not set a time. Norris finished the segment fastest ahead of Leclerc and Oscar Piastri (McLaren). The final laps in SQ1 left Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), Esteban Ocon (Haas), Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas (both Cadillac), and the Aston Martin pair of Fernando Alonso and Stroll in the elimination zone. Lawson and Ocon both failed to progress after troubled laps, while Alonso recorded a slow time after a compromised run and Stroll remained without a time after his earlier off-track moment. The elimination of Pérez and Bottas left both Cadillac cars out in the first part of qualifying on the team's first home Grand Prix weekend.
SQ2 began with the remaining cars queueing in the pit lane as drivers tried to find clear track. Leclerc set the pace with a lap of 1:28.333, ahead of Piastri and Hamilton. Norris, who had topped SQ1, was seventh in SQ2 after a wayward moment through the middle sector, while Antonelli also reported brake-locking issues during the segment. Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg (both Audi), Oliver Bearman (Haas), Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz Jr. (both Williams), and Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) were initially the six drivers eliminated in SQ2. Bortoleto missed the final SQ3 place by 0.021 seconds, while Sainz voiced frustration over Williams' lack of pace, saying over team radio that the car was "three steps behind" where it needed to be. After sprint qualifying, however, Albon's SQ1 lap time was deleted for exceeding track limits. Because that lap had been the time which allowed him to advance from SQ1, all of his SQ2 times were also deleted and he was classified 19th, behind the drivers originally eliminated in SQ1.
SQ3 lasted eight minutes and was effectively reduced to a single-lap shootout, with all ten cars remaining in their garages during the opening minutes before heading out together in hot conditions. Russell initially went quickest before Norris set a lap of 1:27.869, the only time below 1 minute 28 seconds. Leclerc, who had looked competitive in the first two segments, lost time after a mistake on his lap and finished fourth. Piastri moved into second before Antonelli, one of the last drivers to complete a timed lap, split the McLarens by taking second place, 0.222 seconds behind Norris. Piastri finished third, 0.239 seconds off pole, ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen. Norris' result gave McLaren its first pole position of the season and ended Mercedes' run of taking every pole position or sprint pole across the opening rounds of the season.
After the session, Norris credited McLaren's upgrade package for improving the car's grip and described the pole as a reward for the team's work. Russell said he was surprised by the size of the performance gains made by McLaren and Ferrari, while several reports noted that Mercedes had been unable to match the pace of the upgraded McLaren over one lap in the hot conditions.
Sprint qualifying classification DriverConstructorSprintgridSQ1SQ2SQ311 Lando NorrisMcLaren-Mercedes1:28.7231:29.3661:27.8691212 Kimi AntonelliMercedes1:29.3121:29.2091:28.0912381 Oscar PiastriMcLaren-Mercedes1:29.1691:28.5061:28.1083416 Charles LeclercFerrari1:28.7331:28.3331:28.239453 Max Verstappen1:29.8011:29.0931:28.4615663 George RussellMercedes1:29.6591:28.9031:28.4936744 Lewis HamiltonFerrari1:29.2551:28.8411:28.6187843Alpine-Mercedes1:30.3861:29.5271:29.320896 Isack HadjarRed Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford1:30.3521:29.7501:29.42291010 Pierre GaslyAlpine-Mercedes1:29.9841:29.9731:29.47410115 Gabriel BortoletoAudi1:30.5611:29.994N/A111227 Nico HülkenbergAudi1:30.2701:30.019N/A121387 Oliver BearmanHaas-Ferrari1:30.6141:30.116N/A131455 Carlos Sainz Jr.Atlassian Williams-Mercedes1:30.9871:30.224N/A141541 Arvid LindbladRacing Bulls-Red Bull Ford1:30.8721:30.573N/A1630 Liam LawsonRacing Bulls-Red Bull Ford1:31.043N/AN/A151731 Esteban OconHaas-Ferrari1:31.245N/AN/A161811 Sergio PérezCadillac-Ferrari1:31.255N/AN/A171923 Alexander AlbonAtlassian Williams-Mercedes1:31.322N/AN/A182077 Valtteri BottasCadillac-Ferrari1:31.826N/AN/A19107% time: 1:34.933—14 Fernando Alonso1:41.311N/AN/A20—18 Lance StrollNo timeN/AN/A21Source: Notes – Arvid Lindblad qualified 15th, but was required to start the sprint from the pit lane as his car was modified under parc fermé conditions. – Alexander Albon provisionally set a lap time in SQ1 quick enough to advance to SQ2, resulting in Liam Lawson being eliminated following SQ1. In SQ2 Albon set a lap time quick enough for 14th. Following the end of sprint qualifying, Albon's lap time from SQ1 was deleted, for track limits violations, leaving him 19th. As a result, his subsequent SQ2 time was also deleted, as Albon did not set a lap time quick enough to advance to that session. – Fernando Alonso failed to set a time within the 107% requirement. He was permitted to race in the sprint at the stewards' discretion. – Lance Stroll failed to set a time during sprint qualifying. He was permitted to race in the sprint at the stewards' discretion.
Sprint The sprint was held on May 2, 2026, at 12:00 local time (UTC–4), and was run for 19 laps.
Sprint report
The sprint took place after McLaren had ended Mercedes' unbeaten run of pole positions and sprint poles at the start of the 2026 season. Before the sprint, the starting grid was altered by post-sprint qualifying penalties: Alexander Albon dropped to 18th after his SQ1 time was deleted for a track-limits breach, while Arvid Lindblad was required to start from the pit lane after Racing Bulls breached parc fermé rules by not covering his car in time. Further disruption occurred before the start when Nico Hülkenberg was unable to take the start after his Audi stopped on the way to the grid with smoke and flames from the rear of the car. His place on the grid was left vacant. Lindblad, who had already been due to start from the pit lane, also failed to take the start after Racing Bulls detected a technical issue with his car. A minute's silence was held on the grid before the start in memory of former Formula One driver and Paralympic champion Alex Zanardi, who had died the previous day. Of the remaining 20 starters, most chose the medium compound tyres, while both Aston Martin drivers selected soft tyres and both Cadillac drivers started on hard tyres.