Red Bull driver Max Verstappen is bracing for a difficult Miami Grand Prix despite defeating his McLaren Formula 1 rival Lando Norris to pole position.

Verstappen took his third pole of the season at the Miami International Autodrome on Saturday, defeating Norris by 0.065s and Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli by 0.067s in a thrilling qualifying session – with the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri in fourth.

Previously, Verstappen expertly used his track position at Suzuka to convert a pole into a hard-fought win, while in Saudi Arabia he was penalised for leaving the track at Turns 1-2 to keep Piastri behind, which likely ended up costing him another pole to flag win.

Miami’s 57-lap race is expected to be another one-stop contest which limits strategic options, but with a powerful DRS zone on the back straight, overtaking is not impossible either.

However, Verstappen felt Saturday’s wet-to-dry sprint race showed McLaren’s superior tyre management will still be an important factor, with both Piastri and Norris driving away from the world champion on the intermediates as the track dried up, reminiscent of a similar situation in the Melbourne season-opener. 

“I think that overall they are better in the race,” Verstappen told Dutch media including Motorsport.com. “You saw that on intermediates in the rain as well. As soon as those tyres start to overheat, they have a huge advantage. So, then we are all doing something wrong with the tyres, apart from McLaren.

“What I saw today in the rain was not so great, McLaren was stronger there as well. I think overall they are just a bit better now, so then it’s always going to be a difficult race. But at least we are in front on the grid and hopefully we can make it difficult for them.”

Verstappen also indicated running a higher mileage Honda engine will not help him defend his lead on the straights, admitting it “does quite make a difference this weekend”.

Yet at least Red Bull’s revised floor, which only Verstappen trialled this weekend, appears to have provided the net downforce increase the team had been expecting. But, he felt the true benefit won’t become clear until later in the season due to Miami’s awkward corner profiles.

“On this track it’s always very difficult to really judge something, because everything feels very weird here – both in terms of grip and also the corners are all very weird as well. I think we’ll know more when we go to Imola,” the four-time world champion explained, with Imola being the next stop on the calendar.

“We changed some small things going into qualifying and the car was turning a bit better. That’s positive, but obviously this is still not what we want or where we want to be. But it was actually better than expected.

“Before coming here to Miami, we thought this would be a tricky one with the slow-speed corners and kerbstones that you have to attack. That’s normally not our strongest point.”

Photos from Miami GP – Sprint & Qualifying