The finer margins again decided on another exciting and unpredictable F1 qualifying session at the Miami Grand Prix.
The biggest winners and losers in qualifying in Miami are:
Winner – Max Verstappen
Lando Norris summed it up to the best of his best in another furious effort to secure his third pole position for the 2025 season, saying Max Verstappen “did the Max Rap.”
Verstappen beat the McLaren Driver, who won the sprint race on Saturday, and this weekend was just 0.065 seconds on Red Bull, which has an upgraded floor design.
Although the perfect response to the suggestion that becoming a father might slow the Dutch for the first time, he again produced a great performance.
Max Verstappen
Loser – Lewis Hamilton
After enjoying a strong run in the sprint, Lewis Hamilton endured the latest qualifying disappointment for Ferrari as Ferrari didn’t make it into the top 10.
Hamilton is much closer to Charles Leclerc than in recent weeks, just 0.058s drifting, and he still puts four places behind his Ferrari teammates and will be qualifying in the second stage with enough time for P12.
It was a tough day in the office for both the seven-time world champion and the Ferrari.
Winner – Williams
Carlos Signs
Williams enjoyed a great qualifying as he scored impressive sixth and seventh on the grid with Carlos Sein and Alex Albon respectively.
The Williams duo outrecalls both Ferraris, earning a double point finish and taking an excellent position to increase the P5 hold in the Constructors Championship position.
Loser – Oscar Piastri
Oscar Piastri is most disappointed at the end of Saturday.
It’s a shame that he missed the sprint victory (and lost a point to his teammate Norris), the championship leader suffered in P4 for the worst qualifying results of 2025. It says something about how remarkably consistently Piastri has surpassed a lap this season, but he must have been frustrated that he was picked up by Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes in the third quarter.
Piastri was left to revive the “poor execution” and felt he should be in the fight for Verstappen and Paul.
Winner – Kimi Antoneri
Antonelli’s impressive weekend, fresh from securing a record-breaking pole in sprint qualifiers, continued in Miami as he took third place on the grid.
The Italian teenager was just 0.067 seconds away from Verstappen as he finished just 0.002 for Norris in second place, splitting the McLaren driver, surpassing Mercedes teammate George Russell for the first time in the regular Grand Prix qualifiers.
Some Antonelli
Loser – Aston Martin
Aston Martin suffered a disappointing double quarter removal with Fernando Alonso, taking a walk for another two-half of Lance to 19th in 17th place.
The team’s competitive issues continued as both Alonso and the walk struggled with pace after a lap and failed to make progress beyond the first part of qualifying. Given Aston Martin’s low position, the points look very difficult to achieve.
Winner – Esteban Ocon
While his teammates struggled, Esteban Ocon enjoyed a much more fruitful afternoon to secure his first top-10 qualifying effort for Haas. On the excellent rap in the third quarter, Ocon appeared in the ninth, piping Yuki Tsunoda’s second Red Bull in the process.
Loser – Liam Lawson
Liam Lawson
One of the biggest losers on Saturday was Liam Lawson.
After being disappointed that he was stripped of his first F1 points in 2025 due to his role in Alonso’s race-end crash in the Sprint, the Kiwi will be eliminated in the late quarter and will rank in 15th after being plagued by battery issues in the Bulls cars in the race.
Winner – Jack Doohn
For Jacques Doohan, who first abolished Takayama’s teammate Pierre Guthrie and reached the second quarter over the weekend, a much needed outcome has once again become the talk of the Formula One paddock.
If the Australian can translate his qualifying display into a solid performance on Sunday, it will help ease the pressure on him.
Loser – Ollie Bearman
It was refreshing after losing the points he thought he scored in the sprint following a post-race penalty, and Ollie Baerman was the lateest in his third qualifying round in six races this season.
Young Brits should resort to recent race day heroes to ensure they could potentially score points from Miami.