Max Verstappen was happy with the improvements made to his car as he qualified on pole for the Miami Grand Prix, and now he wants to capitalise in the main event.

The 27-year-old beat Lando Norris by 0.065 seconds in qualifying for his third pole of the 2025 season.

That was despite Norris winning the sprint race earlier in the day.

"It’s been a great qualifying. We improved the car a tiny amount as well, which helped me to basically rotate it a bit better," Verstappen said.

"Honestly, Q1, Q2, Q3, just improving every run really, trying to find a bit more of the limit. I had a tiny moment on my final lap into Turn 1, so I lost a bit of time there. But around here it’s just very complicated with the tyres over a lap.

"But in the end it worked out well, so I’m very happy to be on pole. I mean you can back out of it, but it’s qualifying so you have to try and correct it, and just floor it out of the corner.

"Let’s see. Race pace, I don’t know. We have to wait and see for the weather. It’s the best starting position, that’s always positive. And then in the race it’s a whole different story, but we’ll try to maximise everything we can."

Mercedes, meanwhile, will have Kimi Antonelli starting third after a chaotic sprint race in which he had started on pole.

An early clash with Oscar Piastri put paid to his chances there, while a pit lane mishap further knocked Antonelli down the order.

But his best qualifying lap was just 0.002 seconds shy of Norris in second, marking a significant improvement.

Looking ahead to the race, Antonelli was optimistic about his chances.

"I am more clear on what I can do on Lap 1 but it's a different starting position," he said.

"It will be important to play it smart, aggressive as well, a good amount. And we will see what happens at the front and I will take every opportunity."

All the chaos. All the drama. #F1Sprint was a movie  pic.twitter.com/cGsJDW7sIC

— F1 Miami Grand Prix (@f1miami) May 4, 2025