Chloe Chambers secures pole position after rain shower in Miami

Chloe Chambers claimed a dramatic pole position in a rain-affected F1 Academy qualifying session in Miami, mastering her single dry lap to lead a Campos Racing front row ahead of Alisha Palmowski, as sudden showers froze the order early in the session. Emma Felbermayr secured her second reverse grid pole for Race 1.

Photo credits: F1 Academy Ltd

It was a strange F1 Academy qualifying session in Miami, as rain disrupted the action and effectively decided the pole-sitter after just one lap. Drivers had only a single dry run before a sudden downpour made it impossible for anyone to improve.

Home hero Chloe Chambers secured pole position at the end of the dramatic 30-minute session, edging out her Campos Racing teammate Alisha Palmowski by just 0.018 seconds. Chambers maximized her single lap on slicks while most others were still bringing their tyres up to temperature.

In the opening minutes, it was Chambers who set the benchmark with a 2:00.458—just before the rain started to fall. That early lap would prove decisive, as conditions quickly deteriorated.

Palmowski slotted into second, with Doriane Pin in third, followed by Ella Lloyd and Lia Block rounding out the top five.Traffic became an issue as drivers scrambled to find clear space to put in a lap before the rain intensified.

There were several spins—Lia Block went around—and multiple drivers missed their braking points. But already, it was becoming difficult to improve.

Championship leader Maya Weug could only manage P10 as conditions worsened. Everyone returned to the pits, with teams preparing wet-weather tyres, but the rain was coming down heavily and the track was too wet for meaningful improvements.

Drivers went back out on wets to gain experience, but lap times remained static. Chambers sealed her second pole position of the season—and second in a row following Jeddah.

Palmowski was second fastest, with Doriane Pin holding on to third place. Ella Lloyd will start alongside her on the second row. Lia Block and Aurelia Nobels also showed good speed early in the session to secure the third row.

Crucially for Race 1’s reverse-grid format, Rafaela Ferreira and Emma Felbermayr qualified seventh and eighth, with the Austrian Sauber driver claiming reverse-grid pole for the second consecutive time.

Tina Hausmann narrowly missed reverse-grid pole by just 0.084 seconds and will start ninth in both races, ahead of championship leader Maya Weug, who faces a major recovery drive on a circuit where overtaking between the walls won’t be easy.

Courtney Crone was eleventh fastest, ahead of Alba Larsen and Nina Gademan—the latter being the fastest driver on wet-weather tyres, gaining valuable experience in tricky conditions but with work to do on race day.

After running in the top ten throughout the weekend, Chloe Chong was unlucky to end up only 14th, ahead of wild card Ava Dobson, the fastest of the Hitech GP entries. Nicole Havrda, Joanne Ciconte, and Aiva Anagnostiadis followed.

Race 1 is scheduled to get underway at 15:10 local time.