New dad Max Verstappen powers to Miami pole

MIAMI: New dad Max Verstappen showed he was just as fast as a father after storming to pole position at the Miami Formula One Grand Prix ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris on Saturday.

Days after the Red Bull driver and partner Kelly Piquet welcomed daughter Lily, his first child, the four-times champion set a blistering lap of one minute 26.204 seconds around the Hard Rock Stadium.

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“He’s walking a step higher,” said Verstappen’s team boss Christian Horner.

“But we see time and time again, when he crosses that line into the garage and puts his helmet on, everything disappears. His ability to focus and deliver is insane. It’s really truly impressive.”

Norris, winner in Miami last year after Verstappen also secured pole for that race, was 0.065 slower and possibly taking comfort in the knowledge that no driver has won from pole at the track since the race debuted in 2022.

Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli qualified third fastest with McLaren’s championship leader Oscar Piastri completing the second row.

Norris had earlier won the sprint race, trimming Australian Piastri’s advantage to nine points, and now has a great chance to make further inroads.

“Congrats to Max, especially being a dad now. I was hoping it would slow him down,” joked the Briton.

“Max did a Max lap once again and I can’t fault him. I’m happy and excited for tomorrow.”

George Russell qualified fifth for Mercedes with Williams’ Carlos Sainz sixth and teammate Alex Albon seventh to make up for the disappointment of being demoted from the points in the sprint.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will start eighth, after missing the sprint race due to a crash on the way from the pitlane to starting grid, and Esteban Ocon qualified ninth for Haas with Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda 10th.

Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton, third in the sprint, came swiftly back down to earth when he qualified only 12th for Ferrari.

Further back, Jack Doohan made it to the second phase and outqualified Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly for the first time with 14th place.

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Haas rookie Ollie Bearman qualified last on another depressing session for Aston Martin, who had Fernando Alonso 17th and Lance Stroll 19th.