Max Verstappen will start the sprint on pole. Max Verstappen will start the sprint on pole. 
Formula One world champion Max Verstappen was surprised to claim pole position for Saturday's sprint race at the Miami Grand Prix. (More Motorsport News)
Verstappen was 0.108 seconds faster than Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in Friday's qualifying session.
That is despite the Dutchman believing his drive had not gone well at all.
"To be honest, it felt really terrible," said Verstappen, who holds a 25-point lead at the top of the F1 drivers' championship.
"Maybe that last session was just incredibly difficult to get the tyres to work. I didn't really improve a lot on the soft but somehow we were first.
How they'll line up for the #F1Sprint in Miami tomorrow! #F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/4xqXFhbCKF
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 4, 2024"Practice felt really nice, it felt like the car was in a really good window but in qualifying it didn’t feel like that anymore. I was really not happy.
"In Q3 I saw I was only going 0.2secs faster and I was sliding around, no grip and they told me it was P1 and I thought it must be a joke but we'll take it."
Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez qualified third for the sprintmillionairesslot, which will take place ahead of the main qualifying session for Sunday's race.