Max Verstappen secured his third pole position of the 2025 Formula 1 season so far at the Miami Grand Prix, after denying title rival Lando Norris of McLaren P1 on the grid.
The four-time reigning drivers’ champion also now has the most pole positions by any driver to start the campaign. Verstappen has scored pole in Japan, Saudi Arabia and now Miami to eclipse the two P1 starts for Oscar Piastri (China and Bahrain) plus one for Norris (Australia).
It is even the first time in the 2025 F1 season thus far that Piastri has not qualified in the top three places. The McLaren ace fell to fourth in the final order as Mercedes gem Andrea Kimi Antonelli edged the F1 drivers’ championship leader after also scoring pole for the F1 Sprint.
Just 0.065 seconds separated Verstappen and Norris in the fight for pole at the Miami GP on Saturday in the Dutchman’s favour. The Red Bull racer posted a 1:26.204 with his final run in Q3, which his McLaren rival did to better. Antonelli and Piastri got within 0.067s and 0.171s.
Damon Hill watched Red Bull driver Max Verstappen ‘squirming’ in qualifying en route to Miami GP pole
Verstappen also scored pole for the Miami GP despite Damon Hill watching the Red Bull ace ‘squirming’ through sector one on his last lap in Q3. The 1996 F1 champion felt the 27-year-old’s RB21 ‘did not want to know’ when Verstappen threw it into Turn 1 to start his attempt.
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Hill had also predicted Verstappen would only qualify third for the Miami GP, with Norris his favourite for pole ahead of McLaren teammate Piastri. But he found more time after sealing provisional pole with a 1:26.492, despite getting more out of his car than it wanted to offer.
Hill told BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra (03/05, 22:13): “He tried to turn in for Turn 1 and it didn’t want to know! We were watching him squirming through the first sector. And there you go, the fastest first sector even despite all of that!”
Max Verstappen’s first sector in Q3 was crucial to denying Lando Norris pole and proving Damon Hill wrong
While Verstappen stunned McLaren duo Norris and Piastri to score pole for the Miami GP, it was not a happy Saturday in the end for Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton. While the rookie who took his Mercedes seat scored P3 on the grid, Hamilton only qualified P12 for the Miami GP.
The first sector was also vital to Verstappen denying Norris and Piastri pole, even though Hill felt the Dutchman was pushing his Red Bull car to its limits. Verstappen was 0.022s up on his provisional time in Q3 through sector one after setting a new overall session best at 28.256s.
Verstappen even found yet further time with a new personal best in sector two to go 0.188s up plus a new personal best for sector three to beat his own provisional pole time by 0.288s with a 1:26.204. Norris and Piastri failed to improve their provisional Q3 times in sector one.
Norris’ sector one split time was 0.165s down on Verstappen’s effort with a 28.433s. But the 25-year-old slashed his deficit to 0.009s with an overall best for sector two, only to lose time despite setting a new personal best in sector three to finish the lap 0.065s off the pole time.
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