Miami, May 2 (IANS) Formula One world champion Lando Norris produced a stunning lap to secure pole position for the Miami Grand Prix sprint race, edging out Mercedes’ championship leader Kimi Antonelli and denying McLaren a front-row lockout.

Norris raced twice in Miami last season so he knew how to navigate the Hard Rock Stadium circuit and was able to put together an impressive lap time of 1:27.869.

Delighted with the result, Norris credited the team’s recent upgrades for the turnaround in performance. “A perfect result for us. A nice way to reward the team,” he said. “We have a lot of new upgrades on the car. It’s nice to feel some grip again and to reward the guys and the girls that have put a lot of work into this.”

He secured pole position for the Saturday’s 100km sprint by edging out competitor Antonelli by 0.222 seconds. Following Antonelli was Piastri and Leclerc who both qualified third and fourth respectively. The fourth round of the season will be held at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

The Briton, who won last year’s sprint in Miami and finished second in the main race, expressed his fondness for the venue while keeping expectations grounded. “I’ve always loved Miami on and off the track. It’s the beginning of the weekend, so still a long way to go but nice to tick things off by doing this,” he added.

Norris spoke positively about the Hard Rock Stadium but remained realistic about his chances for victory in the sprint and the main race as McLaren drivers have performed well while Mercedes drivers have dominated early in the season winning all three of the first races. Norris has become the first driver to knock Mercedes off of pole position this season due to the new developments that McLaren has added to their car.

Max Verstappen, the four-time world champion from Red Bull Racing, was able to qualify fifth while Russell, the driver currently in second position in the championship, finished sixth, thereby reducing his deficit to Antonelli who finished second this weekend. Hamilton and Colapinto rounded out the top eight in qualifying.

Russell admitted surprise at the pace shown by McLaren and Ferrari. “Pretty surprising how big a jump McLaren and Ferrari made. That’s pretty damn impressive,” he said.

Reflecting on his own struggles, he added, “From my side, I’ve been struggling. Miami is not a track I love, especially in those hotter conditions but it’s only Sprint Qualifying, so let’s see what tomorrow brings.”

Isack Hadjar and Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10, while Aston Martin endured another disappointing session with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll at the back of the grid, even behind newcomers Cadillac.

–IANS

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