F1 Miami GP: Kimi Antonelli claims his first sprint pole at just 18 years old

Mercedes Formula 1 rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli claimed his maiden sprint pole at the Miami Grand Prix, defeating both McLarens.

Antonelli had looked rapid throughout Friday afternoon’s sprint qualifying session and his late run of 1m26.482s was enough to withstand a last-ditch run by McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, who qualified 0.045s and 0.100s behind respectively.

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen was fourth-fastest, followed by Antonelli’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell and the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

Alex Albon was eighth for Williams, while there was a co-starring role for Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar in ninth and some encouragement for Aston Martin with Fernando Alonso rounding out the top 10.

In the deciding top 10 shootout Russell and Verstappen were the only drivers to run early, having the track to themselves at the start with Russell leading the Red Bull driver by almost three tenths. The remaining eight drivers joined at the end when the Miami Autodrome was at its quickest, with Verstappen embarking on a second tour. Verstappen did go quicker, but not as fast as Antonelli who pumped his fists as he celebrated his maiden sprint pole at the age of 18.

Traffic chaos proves costly for three drivers

In SQ2 Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Liam Lawson and Carlos Sainz were eliminated, with Norris topping the second qualifying phase ahead of Verstappen, Piastri and Antonelli.

As is often the case for sprint qualifying there was a scramble at end of pitlane for the start of the 12-minute SQ1 session, with 20 cars vying for track position.

Antonelli – again – led the way after the first run, and due to rapid track evolution, all cars embarked on a second tour – although Verstappen didn’t follow through – making it tough to find a pocket of clear air.

Jack Doohan, Yuki Tsunoda, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Oliver Bearman found themselves in the drop zone after run one, as well as Hadjar, who made a mistake on his first attempt.

Hadjar climbed to eighth to secure safe passage to SQ2, but in traffic Doohan, Tsunoda and Bearman all ran out of time for a second attempt much to their frustration. That meant Lawson just about managed to scrape through in 15th despite surviving a wild snap through the chicane.

The Miami Grand Prix sprint takes place on Saturday at noon local time for 19 laps across the Miami Autodrome.

Stay up to speed with the latest F1 Miami Grand Prix news, expert analysis, photos and videos. Join us for Sunday’s watch along on Race Center Live by signing up here.

F1 Miami Grand Prix – Sprint qualifying results

1

 – 

3

1  –  2
Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Time	Tyres	km/h
1	A. AntonelliMercedes	12		Mercedes	Mercedes	1’26.482		225.286
2	O. PiastriMcLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	+0.045 1’26.527		225.169
3	L. NorrisMcLaren	4		McLaren	Mercedes	+0.100 1’26.582		225.025
4	M. VerstappenRed Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	+0.255 1’26.737		224.623
5	G. RussellMercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	+0.309 1’26.791		224.484
6	C. LeclercFerrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.326 1’26.808		224.440
7	L. HamiltonFerrari	44		Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.548 1’27.030		223.867
8	A. AlbonWilliams	23		Williams	Mercedes	+0.711 1’27.193		223.449
9	I. HadjarRacing Bulls	6		RB	Honda	+1.061 1’27.543		222.555
10	F. AlonsoAston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Mercedes	+1.308 1’27.790		221.929
11	N. HulkenbergSauber	27		Sauber	Ferrari	+1.368 1’27.850		221.778
12	E. OconHaas F1 Team	31		Haas	Ferrari	+1.588 1’28.070		221.224
13	P. GaslyAlpine	10		Alpine	Renault	+1.685 1’28.167		220.980
14	L. LawsonRacing Bulls	30		RB	Honda	+1.893 1’28.375		220.460
15	C. SainzWilliams	55		Williams	Mercedes
16	L. StrollAston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Mercedes	+2.546 1’29.028		218.843
17	J. DoohanAlpine	7		Alpine	Renault	+2.689 1’29.171		218.492
18	Y. TsunodaRed Bull Racing	22		Red Bull	Red Bull	+2.764 1’29.246		218.308
19	G. BortoletoSauber	5		Sauber	Ferrari	+2.830 1’29.312		218.147
20	O. BearmanHaas F1 Team	87		Haas	Ferrari	+3.343 1’29.825		216.901
View full results

Photos from Miami GP – Practice and Sprint Qualifying