Max Verstappen delivered an incredible performance to clinch pole position in qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix, the reigning world champion going fastest from Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli despite a slight error on his final run.

After Verstappen claimed provisional pole during the early runs of Q3 by just 0.003s from Norris, the Dutchman’s prospects during his closing effort looked to be at risk after a wobble in the first corner – but the Red Bull man still went fastest on a 1m 26.204s, six-hundredths clear of Norris who apologised to his McLaren team for taking too much kerb on his flying lap.

Carlos Sainz led Williams’ charge in P6 from team mate Alex Albon in P7, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc bounced back from his pre-sprint crash to take P8.

Haas’ Esteban Ocon claimed P9 in his first Q3 appearance for the American squad, with Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda rounding out the top 10.

The big shock from Q2 was the exit of Lewis Hamilton, with the Ferrari driver ending the session in P12 after being unable to improve on his lap.

This put the seven-time world champion behind Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar in P11.

Also eliminated in the second segment were Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto in 13th – despite this marking his strongest F1 qualifying performance yet – along with Alpine’s Jack Doohan in 14th and the Racing Bulls car of Liam Lawson in 15th.

Nico Hulkenberg just missed the cut for Q2, the German exiting in P16 for Kick Sauber, while Fernando Alonso’s difficult day following his crash earlier on in the sprint continued as the Aston Martin driver ended qualifying in P17.

Pierre Gasly was outqualified by Alpine team mate Doohan for the first time after ending Q1 in 18th place, ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Haas’ Ollie Bearman on the back row in 19th and 20th.