Andrea Kimi Antonelli achieves his first career pole position in Formula 1 by taking the top spot for the sprint race at Miami. The Mercedes driver took a surprising P1 after beating the favourites McLaren. The Papaya pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris had to settle for second and third.
Antonelli had looked quick throughout Friday afternoon’s sprint qualifying session and his late run to pole was enough to withstand a final run attempt by McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, who qualified 0.045 seconds and 0.100 seconds behind respectively.
A thrilling conclusion to SQ3 saw the name at the top of the timesheets change more than once, with Max Verstappen initially beating George Russell’s benchmark – only for Antonelli to come through with an effort a time of one minute, 26.482 seconds.
Oscar Piastri fell short by just 0.045 seconds, while McLaren teammate Lando Norris had to settle for third ahead of Verstappen’s Red Bull in fourth. Russell, meanwhile, will start from fifth, the Mercedes driver having set his SQ3 lap early in the segment.
The Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will start from P6 and P7 respectively, followed by the Williams of Alex Albon in P8, Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bulls in P9 and Fernando Alonso for Aston Martin in P10.
Nico Hulkenberg will start P11 for Sauber ahead of Esteban Ocon’s Haas and Pierre Gasly. His Alpine teammate Jack Doohan was eliminated in SQ2 following a pitlane incident which proved to be awkward moment for the Enstone-based outfit.
The Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson is P14 while Carlos Sainz suffered a massive brake lockup and was unable to set a lap time in the Williams so will by in P15. Lance Stroll is P16 ahead of the unlucky Jack Doohan and Yuki Tsunoda. The latter making mistakes in the sprint qualifying for Red Bull.
Gabriel Bortoleto and Oliver Bearman are on the final row of the sprint race for Sauber and Haas respectively.
So congratulations to Kimi Antonelli in becoming the youngest polesitter ever – in any race format – in Formula 1. Going to be interesting if the Mercedes can achieve his first victory in the sprint race next.
Miami Grand Prix, sprint qualifying results:
1 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:26.482
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:26.527
3 Lando Norris McLaren 1:26.582
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:26.737
5 George Russell Mercedes 1:26.791
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:26.808
7 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:27.030
8 Alexander Albon Williams 1:27.193
9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls 1:27.543
10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:27.790
11 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 1:27.850
12 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:28.070
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:28.167
14 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:28.375
15 Carlos Sainz Williams No time
16 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:29.028
17 Jack Doohan Alpine 1:29.171
18 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull 1:29.246
19 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber 1:29.312
20 Oliver Bearman Haas 1:29.825
Kimi Antonelli has clinched his debut pole position after delivering a stunning lap during Sprint Qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix, the Italian holding off the challenge from both McLarens to become the youngest polesitter ever – in any race format – in F1.
A thrilling conclusion to SQ3 saw the name at the top of the timesheets change more than once, with Max Verstappen initially beating George Russell’s benchmark – only for Antonelli to surge through with an effort of 1m 26.482s at the wheel of the Mercedes.
Oscar Piastri fell short by just 0.045s in second, while fellow McLaren driver Lando Norris had to settle for third ahead of Verstappen’s Red Bull in fourth. Russell, meanwhile, will start from fifth, the Mercedes man having set his SQ3 lap early in the segment.
The Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will start from P6 and P7 respectively, followed by the Williams of Alex Albon in P8, Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar in P9 and Fernando Alonso for Aston Martin in P10.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/antonelli-storms-to-remarkable-maiden-pole-ahead-of-piastri-and-norris.7sN5NNALUW37ECrVahLl1C
Toto Wolff insists Mercedes is reaping the rewards for taking the “risk” of promoting Andrea Kimi Antonelli into a Formula 1 race seat after the 18-year-old took pole position for the Miami sprint race.
Antonelli has never raced in Miami before but quickly settled into the circuit and was at the head of the field for Saturday’s sprint race, becoming the youngest driver to take any format of pole position in F1 history.
Replacing seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton with a teenage rookie for the 2025 season raised plenty of eyebrows, especially when Antonelli crashed out at Monza last year in his first free practice outing for Mercedes.
Now though, having already scored 38 points, Antonelli has taken the next step by securing pole ahead of the McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
“There were a lot of voices, even within the sport, suggesting he should have a preparation year at Williams or somewhere similar,” Mercedes team principal Wolff told ServusTV.
“But for us it was clear: we wanted to give him that year of preparation within our own team, so that he’d be ready for next year when the new regulations come in and he already knows all the circuits.
“We were willing to take that risk even if it meant mistakes. And now we’re being rewarded for our courage. We always said there would be mistakes. But he’s kept developing steadily and hasn’t made those errors, though they will come at some point. But the mileage he’s put in is now paying off, and that’s what’s allowing him to perform at this level.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mercedes-antonelli-f1-gamble-is-now-paying-off-wolff/10719075/
Oscar Piastri blamed a last-corner lock-up for his inability to beat Andrea Kimi Antonelli to the Miami Grand Prix sprint pole, having lost a scant 0.045s to the Formula 1 rookie.
Antonelli had set a 1m26.482s benchmark among the final runs of the session, leapfrogging Max Verstappen’s second attempt at a timed lap on the soft tyres in SQ3.
But the Italian youngster had an agonising wait before he could celebrate his first start from pole position in F1, as both Piastri and Lando Norris were due to set their own grid-deciding laps in the dying embers of the session.
Neither McLaren could make it, however; Piastri was just a shade off Antonelli’s time and had to be content with second, while Norris was another half-tenth behind his team-mate in third.
Piastri felt that his own effort “wasn’t the best lap ever” and noted his lock-up in the final braking zone at Turn 17, but nonetheless was moderately satisfied with a front-row start for Saturday’s short race.
“I had a lock-up into the last corner, which I think was probably where pole went away,” Piastri said. “P2 is still a good result, we can still fight from there in the sprint tomorrow.
“All in all, pretty happy. I think we’ve got a bit more pace to unlock, hopefully. I’m feeling positive still and I’ll be trying to make up a spot tomorrow in the sprint before we get stuck into where the big points are.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/piastri-blames-f1-miami-gp-sprint-pole-miss-on-last-corner-lock-up/10719082/
Kimi Antonelli was left “over the moon” after scoring his maiden F1 pole position in Sprint Qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix, with the Italian admitting that he did not expect to achieve the feat despite feeling confident about his pace.
After a promising performance throughout SQ1 and SQ2, everything came together for the Mercedes driver in SQ3 as he surged through to displace Red Bull’s Max Verstappen from the top of the timesheets on a lap of 1m 26.482s, a time that ultimately proved unbeatable as the McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris slotted into second and third respectively.
Having labelled his lap as “mighty” after stepping out of the car, Antonelli went on to elaborate further as he later said of his result: “I’m feeling over the moon. I did not expect it, but I was feeling good in the car.
“I was able to improve lap by lap and find that consistency, and that lap came all together. I’m super, super happy with that, and now we will enjoy this moment a little bit more, but as well I want to focus on tomorrow because I really want to try and repeat myself.”
A touching scene unfolded when Antonelli sought out his father, Marco, in the Mercedes garage to share an embrace as they celebrated the special moment together, with the teenager going on to pay tribute to the support of his family on his journey to F1.
“It definitely was really nice, and also to find him in the garage after Qualifying,” Antonelli added. “I’m super happy to share this moment with him. He’s so important to me as well and he’s like a rock, I know I can always rely on him.
“Really happy to share this moment with him. I would like to share it with my mum and my sister as well, but hopefully next time.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/i-did-not-expect-it-antonelli-over-the-moon-with-debut-pole-in-miami-sprint.3moGez097owZOVdfSSFNyR