Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli has taken pole position for the Sprint event at the Miami Grand Prix, pipping championship leader Oscar Piastri.

The Italian put in a peerless performance to finish with the fastest time in Sprint Qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix, but his job was made slightly easier by Mercedes and Red Bull sending out their top prospects a little too early in SQ3.

Kimi Antonelli takes pole position in Miami Sprint qualifying

The Italian put in a storming 1:26.482 at the very end of SQ3 to finish with the fastest time, impressing as the Italian is a complete rookie at the circuit in his first year of Formula 1.

His time was 0.045 clear of championship leader Oscar Piastri for McLaren, with Lando Norris slotting into third in the second McLaren.

The session was somewhat defined by Mercedes and Red Bull compromising their final efforts as George Russell and Max Verstappen headed out on track to put in their quick laps on the soft tyres almost five minutes before their rivals.

Verstappen embarked on a cooldown cycle after his first flying lap, a 1:27.070, would have had him in the bottom half of the top 10 but he managed to improve on his second flying lap despite his now past-their-best tyres.

Russell went quicker than Verstappen’s first effort, with a time of 1:26.791, but withdrew to the pits after his one and only attempt and was shuffled down to fifth by the chequered flag.

Breaking news. Developing report…

1. 1. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:26.482
2. 2. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.045
3. 3. Lando Norris McLaren +0.100
4. 4. Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.255
5. 5. George Russell Mercedes +0.309
6. 6. Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.326
7. 7. Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.548
8. 8. Alex Albon Williams +0.711
9. 9. Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +1.061
10. 10. Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +1.308

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