Lando Norris wins pole for the Miami Grand Prix sprint race

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Reigning Formula 1 champion Lando Norris won the pole for Saturday's sprint race at the Miami Grand Prix, beating current F1 points leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes.

Norris' McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri was third, only 0.017 seconds behind Antonelli, ahead of the second sprint race of the season.

Friday was the first time drivers were able to test changes made by FIA, the sports governing body — during a five-week hiatus. The organization implemented changes to the regulations after drivers heavily criticized how the electrical battery power has changed the cars and competition.

“It was great,” Norris said. “Perfect result for us, nice way to reward the team. We've got a lot of new upgrades on the car, so nice to feel some grip again. ... I've always loved Miami.”

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari finished fourth, ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas qualified 19th and 20th, respectively, in Cadillac's debut on North American soil.

Max Verstappen has “nothing new” to say regarding his future racing plans and whether the four-time world champion is seriously considering quitting Formula 1.

The Dutchman first suggested he could walk away after the Japanese Grand Prix in March. He’s been vocal about his dissatisfaction with new regulations and called changes made to the cars ahead of this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix “a tickle” of a fix.

He said in Miami he has not considered his future because he’s been “busy with other things,” which included racing at the Nordschleife in Germany to prepare for a 24-hour race later in May.

“I still have time and I’m taking my time,” he said. “The rest, I mean, also for myself, I don’t know at the moment. What I said in Japan is still the same, but I also still have a lot of time.”

Miami is the first race in five weeks because two Middle East events were called off due to the war in Iran. During that time, Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase said he is leaving for McLaren by 2028 at the latest. The duo has been together since 2016.

Verstappen had previously claimed he would not want to work with another race engineer, but has backtracked on that now.

“Otherwise I don’t get to drive, I will have to work with someone else,” added Verstappen. “But I think times change and the offer that he got, I would be an idiot to try and keep him. It’s not only about me all the time, it’s also about his career and moving forward. So for me, it was a no-brainer to be honest. But the future, that’s what we’re looking at now with a different race engineer. I’m sure we’ll find a solution for that as well.”

Colton Herta is not the only American in the junior F2 series racing at Miami this weekend – also in the field is Sebastian Montoya, who was born and raised in this city before moving to Europe to pursue his racing career.

The 21-year-old is the son of former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya. He races under the Colombian flag, but has American citizenship by birthright.

He is thrilled to be racing in his former hometown.

“It’s really emotional because I grew up here. I think the first time I drove a go-kart was 15 minutes away,” Montoya said. “So to see how far it’s actually come is amazing and obviously I dreamed of hopefully one day racing here in F1. I didn’t expect to be here in F2, but it’s a really pleasant surprise.”

Antonelli posed on top of the shoulders of Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Jordan Phillips. Dolphins running back Ollie Gordon clutched a football as he danced near a small obstacle course. Inter Miami veteran Luis Suarez took turns kicking soccer balls with Charles Leclerc.

There were all kinds of crossovers at the Miami Grand Prix — where entertainment, culture and sports collide each year in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Players from the Dolphins, who play their regular season at Hard Rock Stadium, on the Miami International Autodrome's campus drove mini F1 race cars around a small course, while drivers like Antonelli tried a series of football obstacles.

“I feel great,” Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers said in his mini car, “Couldn't be more prepared for this scenario.”

The Miami Grand Prix announced Friday that it is adding a 115,000 square foot extension to its Paddock Club building at the Miami International Autodrome, set to be ready in time for the 2027 race.

The new structure, which will extend to Turn 1, will be able to hold more than 9,000 attendees and includes 300,000 square feet of space, making it one of the largest paddock clubs in Formula 1.

“The expansion of our Paddock Club is another example of innovation and investment in our event and growing Formula 1 in the United States,” said Tom Garfinkel, managing partner of the Miami Grand Prix. "We wanted to not only make the Paddock Club bigger to meet demand, but differentiate the experience into something new and unique.”

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Inter Miami forward Luis Suarez, left, and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, of Monaco, kick a soccer ball ahead of the Miami Formula One Grand Prix auto race, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy drives a miniature vehicle during an event with the Miami Dolphins ahead of the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, of Italy, is lifted in the air by Miami Dolphins NFL football players ahead of the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the first practice session ahead of the Miami Formula One Grand Prix, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain celebrates his pole position after qualifying session for the sprint race ahead of the Miami Formula One Grand Prix, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

MIAMI (AP) — A former Miami congressman and longtime friend of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was convicted Friday in connection with a secret $50 million lobbying campaign on behalf of Venezuela during the first Trump administration.

Jurors found Republican David Rivera and an associate, Esther Nuhfer, guilty on all counts, including failing to register as a foreign agent with the Justice Department and conspiracy to commit money laundering as part of their work for former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's government.

Much as he did throughout the trial, Rivera looked stone-faced as the jury delivered its verdict.

Rivera, 60, had been out on bond, but Judge Melissa Damian ordered him taken into custody, finding that he posed a flight risk because he has access to sizable funds, faces a potentially long prison sentence, and faces additional federal charges in Washington, D.C., in a related foreign lobbying case.

The seven-week trial offered a rare glimpse into Miami's role as a crossroads for foreign influence campaigns aimed at shaping U.S. policy toward Latin America, one highlighting the city's reputation as a magnet for corruption and anti-communist crusaders among its sizable exile population.

It included testimony from Rubio, Texas Congressman Pete Sessions and a top Washington lobbyist — all of whom testified that they were shocked to learn belatedly of Rivera’s consulting contract with a U.S.-based affiliate of Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA.

“These convictions expose a simple truth: the defendants sold access and influence to a hostile foreign regime for money,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones. “In South Florida, where so many families fled communist oppression, that kind of betrayal carries real weight.”

Attorneys for Rivera said they plan to appeal.

In an indictment unsealed in 2022, prosecutors alleged that Rivera was tapped by then Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez — now Venezuela’s acting president — to work Republican connections from Rivera's time in Congress to get the first Trump administration to abandon its hard-line stance and ease crippling sanctions on Venezuela.

As part of the charm offensive, prosecutors alleged, Rivera and Nuhfer, a political consultant, manipulated influential friends, including Rubio and Sessions, like “pawns on a chess board." The goal: to try and normalize relations with the new Trump administration at a time when the Maduro government was buffeted by serious accusations of human rights violations.

“As long as the money kept coming in, they didn’t care from where,” prosecutor Roger Cruz said of the defendants during closing arguments.

But the two held onto the “massive secret” and didn't disclose their lobbying work as required, for fear it would have ended Rivera's political career as an anti-communist stalwart, Cruz said.

To hide his work, prosecutors allege, Rivera also set up an encrypted chat group called MIA — for Miami — with his main conduit to the Maduro government: Venezuelan media tycoon Raúl Gorrín, who was subsequently charged in the U.S. with bribing top Venezuelan officials.

Members of the group used playful code words to discuss their activities: Maduro was the “bus driver,” Sessions “Sombrero,” Rodríguez “The Lady in Red,” and millions of dollars “melons,” according to copies of text messages presented to the jury.

“It was all about La Luz,” Cruz said, referring to the Spanish word for light, which Rivera and others repeatedly used to discuss payments from Caracas.

Attorneys for Rivera and Nuhfer said the two acted in good faith and believed they were under no requirement to disclose their work. The three-month, $50 million contract with Rivera's one-man consulting firm, they say, was focused exclusively on luring oil giant ExxonMobil back to Venezuela — commercial work that is generally exempt from the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Wholly distinct from that consulting work, they say, were Rivera's meetings with Rubio and Sessions, which occurred after the consulting contract had expired and was focused on ushering in leadership in Venezuela that would be less hostile to the U.S.

“He was working every possible angle to get Nicolás Maduro out,” defense attorney Ed Shohat said during closing arguments. “There was not a word in the chats about normalizing relations.”

Nuhfer's attorney, David Oscar Markus, likened the government's case to the 17th century Salem witch trials, presuming ill intent that was belied by the flimsiest of evidence.

“My client does not have a dark heart,” he said.

Prosecutors said Rivera used the contract with New York-based PDV USA as cover for illegal lobbying.

Once exposed, the partners tried to hide the work — backdating documents and coming up with sham agreements like one to justify a wire transfer of $3.75 million to a South Florida company that maintained Gorrín’s luxury yacht.

The political activity included setting up meetings for Rodríguez in New York, Caracas, Washington and Dallas. As part of the effort, the two roped in Sessions, who later tried to broker a meeting for Rodríguez with the CEO of ExxonMobil that had succeeded Trump’s then-secretary of state, Rex Tillerson. After a secret meeting in Caracas with Maduro, Sessions also agreed to deliver a letter from the Venezuelan president to Trump.

The outreach quickly unraveled, however. Within six months of taking office, Trump sanctioned Maduro and labeled him a “dictator,” launching a “maximum pressure” campaign to unseat the president.

However, nearly a decade later, Rodríguez has emerged as the second Trump administration's trusted partner after the U.S. military's ousting of Maduro.

Before being elected to Congress in 2010, Rivera was a high-ranking Florida legislator. During that time, he shared a Tallahassee home with Rubio, who eventually became the Florida House speaker.

Rivera has previously faced controversy, including allegations that he secretly funded a Democratic spoiler candidate in a 2012 congressional race. Last year, federal prosecutors dropped the case after an appeals court threw out a sizable fine imposed by a lower court. Rivera was also investigated — but never charged — for alleged campaign finance violations and a $1 million contract with a gambling company while serving in the Florida Legislature.

FILE - In this courtroom sketch Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies during the trial of former Florida congressman David Rivera in District Court Judge Melissa Damians courtroom, March 24, 2026, in Miami. (Lothar Speer via AP, File)

FILE - Former U.S. Rep. David Rivera speaks with media outside a federal court in Miami, Dec. 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Joshua Goodman, File)