McLaren indicated "there was probably more in it" after failing to secure pole position in Miami

McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have indicated that "there was probably more in it," after Mercedes' Italian sensation Andrea Kimi Antonelli beat both of them in a nail-biting sprint qualifying session at the Miami Grand Prix.

Having shown promising pace in the sole practice session, Andrea Kimi Antonelli continued to impress in qualifying. The 18-year-old looked quick on the mediums in SQ1 and SQ2 before he he went on to beat McLaren's Oscar Piastri, the championship leader, by 0.045 seconds.

Lando Norris appeared to be the quicker McLaren driver in qualifying, but he ended up third, a place behind his team mate Piastri. Reigning champion Max Verstappen elected to complete two laps in the final stage of the sprint qualifying, and he was right as his second lap was the quicker one, but it was still only enough for P4 on the grid.

Having topped the sole practice session by quite some margin, Piastri ended up second quickest in the Miami sprint qualifying, leaving him to rue a lock-up into the last corner.

“I'm reasonably happy with that result. It certainly wasn’t the best lap ever. I had a lock-up going into the last corner which I think was probably where P1 got away, but congratulations to Kimi [Antonelli] on his first Pole in F1.

"P2 is still a good result, and I think we’ve got a bit more pace to unlock. I'm feeling positive and hopeful of making up a spot tomorrow," noted the Melbourne-born driver.

Friday did not start well for his team-mate Norris, after McLaren managed to leave a couple of foreign objects in his cockpit in practice, earning themselves a warning from the FIA.

Having secured third place in the sprint, Norris said: “A decent result in a close Sprint Qualifying. We were just pipped by the Mercedes, so congrats to Kimi [Antonelli] on his first Pole.

"I think there was probably a little bit more in it but otherwise I’m happy with P3 and looking forward to going racing tomorrow," noted the British driver.

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella highlighted the close competition in the current season which means that drivers are really pushed to the limits to put together perfect laps.

“First of all, congratulations to Andrea Kimi Antonelli on his first Pole position in Formula 1. It’s pretty impressive for a driver of his age to be able to achieve this result, clearly proving great talent.

“In terms of our Sprint Qualifying session, we were quick in every mini session on both the Medium and Soft. The field is tight as we have seen all season. There are no margins, so unless you really put together perfect laps, Pole position should not be given as a granted result.

"We are happy with today’s result, it’s good starting positions for the Sprint tomorrow and proves once again that we are competitive. The team can now continue to work hard and look forward to the remainder of the weekend," said the Italian.