Kimi Antonelli needs all the juice of his battery to try and make a pass on the Ferrri of Charles Leclerc but the Monegasque driver is far from happy with the Italian's race craft. "Kimi is so bad on wheel to wheel," he says, adding Antonelli is moving under braking.

Pierre Gasly has lifted his Alpine from 10th up to the final points place in eighth.

Damon Hill
1996 world champion on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra in Miami

That was a pretty poor start from Kimi Antonelli, he was swamped there and the McLarens are off to a good start, the first two drivers there but of course there's some argy bargy going on with Lewis [Hamilton] and Max [Verstappen] as well.

Image source, Gett

Lando Norris leads from McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri as Kimi Antonelli makes a sluggish start to the sprint race!

The Italian Mercedes driver has dropped to fourth behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, with George Russell gaining a place to sit fifth, Lewis Hamilton in sixth and Max Verstappen losing ground and now in seventh.

The track temperature a toasty 53C at the Miami International Autodrome, as the cars file into the grid for the start of this 19-lap sprint race. Lando Norris is on pole, with Kimi Antonelli alongside him.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Miami

Alex Zanardi was a sporting icon in motorsport and disability sport, he was an example of the unquenchable human spirit. He lost his legs in an IndyCar accident in 2001, having been a two-time world champion there. Came back and won the Paralympics, several gold medals. He inspired millions around the world.

The medium tyres have been selected by the majority of the grid for the shorter dash, with the two Aston Martin drivers opting for a set of softs and the Cadillac boys going for the hard compound.

BBC Sounds

Jennie Gow, Harry Benjamin and F1 correspondent Andrew Benson are joined by 1996 world champion Damon Hill for the rest of the Miami weekend.

To tune in to the sprint race, click the 'listen live' tab at the top of this page, head over to BBC Sounds and listen on Sports Extra 3 or ask your smart speaker to "play Sports Extra 3".

Commentary will also be available on Sports Extra once the football has finished.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Miami

Image source, Getty Images

The weather for the race on Sunday has been a concern all weekend, with thunderstorms predicted. Heavy rain is always a problem for F1 cars, and advice from the US National Weather Service is for sporting events not to take place if a thunderstorm is in the vicinity.

Officials will meet after qualifying on Saturday evening to assess the latest forecast and discuss options as to what to do. There is the possibility that the race timings could be moved, but the current forecast is for the best weather window to be at the scheduled race time of 16:00 local (21:00 BST). And they don’t want to make any premature decisions.

All options are open - including taking no action at all. And the timetable can still be altered once race day has dawned, if the weather forecast changes.

It's unfamiliar territory for Mercedes in 2026, as neither of their drivers is starting on pole position. However, with only small prizes on offer for the 19-lap sprint event, second-placed Ferrari or McLaren in third won't be able to make any huge dents in the Silver Arrows' 45-point advantage just yet.

Image source, Getty Images

The first eight finishers take home points from the sprint race (eight for P1 down to one point for eighth), so with a nine-point buffer to Mercedes team-mate George Russell at the top of the drivers' championship, teenager Kimi Antonelli will still be ahead on Sunday whatever happens today.

Image source, Getty Images

Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad got his car through to SQ2 in qualifying yesterday but now the Brit has to start from the pit lane after the team broke Parc Ferme rules. That means Liam Lawson, Esteban Ocon, Sergio Perez, Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll all move up a place.

And more news to bring you: Nico Hulkenberg will not take part in today's sprint race. The German driver came to a stop on track with smoke coming from the rear of the Audi, and now the team will be against the clock to get him ready for qualifying later on.

Image source, Getty Images

There were mixed emotions over at Red Bull, who are sixth in the constructors' standings and also carrying updates for the Miami Grand Prix.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen was the happier of the two drivers, even if he was still half a second back on the pole-winning driver in P5. "It feels more together," said the Dutchman. "There are still things we're working on but it's been a really positive step for us."

For Isack Hadjar, he was perplexed at the gap between himself and his team-mate. "I got through [to] SQ3, which is start but to be a second off, I don't why," said the Frenchman. "I've never been more than a tenth off so far this year when it mattered."

Hadjar is starting in ninth place and split to the two Alpine drivers in the top 10 shootout.

Franco Colapinto outqualified Pierre Gasly for the first time this season and the Argentine driver believes the French team's pace is looking strong, compared to the other midfield cars.

Image source, Getty Images

Ferrari have brought a significant upgrade package to round four in the US and the Italian team made a positive start to the weekend when Charles Leclerc topped first practice ahead of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri.

Things began to drop, however, when the soft compound came into play for the sprint pole shootout. "On our side, we have struggled with tyres," said Leclerc. "The medium were working very well. On the soft, it was not a nice feeling, so on that we have got to look at it."

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was 0.379 seconds off the pace of his team-mate in SQ3 and was left scratching his head as to why he qualified in seventh for the sprint. "I had hoped we would be better but the car didn't feel particularly great," he said. "I thought we would be stronger than we were."

Image source, Getty Images

Mercedes have taken pole position and the race victory at every grand prix (and sprint) so far this season but a return to action in Miami brought with it some struggles for the drivers' and constructors' championship leaders.

While 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli did book a seat on the front row in P2, the Italian conceded it was a "pretty messy session" on his part, adding he couldn't quite get a lap in until the switch to the soft tyres in SQ3. "The car became more alive. I felt more comfortable," said Antonelli.

The Silver Arrows are light on upgrades compared to McLaren and Ferrari but it was the familiar issue of the car not liking the warmer temperatures that caused problems.

"Miami is not a track I particularly love, especially in these hotter conditions, but it's only sprint qualifying," said George Russell, who starts sixth on the grid.

"Just overheating the tyres a lot in that twisty section in the middle. Struggling to get the right balance with the car."

Image source, Getty Images

The gains made by McLaren in sprint qualifying caught their rivals off guard, with Mercedes' George Russell saying he was surprised by the team's "big jump". in form. Charles Leclerc, who topped the sole practice session on Friday in the heavily upgraded Ferrari, also felt McLaren "did a very big step forward" by taking sprint pole.

For world champion Lando Norris, he wanted to point out the hard work the team at the factory had put in during the break. "Perfect result for us," said the Briton. "We have a lot of new upgrades, nice to feel some grip again and nice reward for the guys and girls."

Norris, who was winner of a chaotic wet-dry Miami sprint last year, is fifth in the drivers' championship after three rounds of racing and 47 points adrift of leader Kimi Antonelli.

Image source, Getty Images

With the news Alex Zanardi has passed away aged 59, it is likely Formula 1 will hold a minute’s silence for the Italian before today's sprint event.

You can read BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson's obituary, 'The remarkable life of Zanardi, a 21st century hero who inspired millions', here.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Formula 1 driver and Paralympic champion Alex Zanardi has died at the age of 59.

The Italian had both his legs amputated after an accident in a race in the US-based Champ Car championship at Germany's Lausitzring in 2001.

He raced for Jordan, Minardi and Lotus in F1 in the early 1990s before switching to the Cart championship in the United States, winning the series in 1997 and 1998, before returning to F1 for the 1999 season with Williams.

Following his injury he took up handcycling and won two golds in the Paralympics in London in 2012 before doing the same in Rio de Janeiro four years later.

"It is with deep sorrow that the family announces the passing of Alessandro Zanardi, which occurred suddenly yesterday evening, 1 May," Zanardi's family announced.

"Alex passed away peacefully, surrounded by the love of his family and friends."

Bologna-born Zanardi returned to motorsport after his crash, winning four times for BMW in the World Touring Car Championship from 2005-09.

In addition to his handcycling success at the Paralympics, he became a 12-time world champion and won the men's Para-cycling race at the New York marathon in 2011.

Lorraine McKenna
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Hello, folks. It's set to be a hot one in Miami for today's sprint race and main qualifying. We need to enjoy while we can, as tomorrow the weather takes a turn for the worst, with thundery showers forecast for the 57-lap grand prix.

McLaren have returned to the top of the pile thanks to an upgrade package that will span this weekend's race in the United States and the Canadian Grand Prix in three weeks' time (yep, there's another sizable gap after this event).

Lando Norris is the first non-Mercedes driver to take pole position this year, beating out teenage title leader Kimi Antonelli and team-mate Oscar Piastri for the 19-lap sprint, which gets under way at 17:00 BST.

Image source, Getty Images

First item on the agenda is a little grid reshuffle.

Alex Albon, who made it through to SQ2 at the expense of Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson and qualified P14, has now been dropped down to P19 after the stewards judged the Williams driver had exceeded track limits at Turn 6 in the first part of sprint qualifying.