Antonelli storms to remarkable maiden pole ahead of Piastri and Norris during Sprint Qualifying in Miami

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.

Despite initially looking to have made it into the top 10 shootout, Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg just missed out in P11, with the Haas of Esteban Ocon, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson also eliminated in SQ2.

Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, ended up in 15th place, the Williams driver having locked up during his final effort which ultimately brought his Sprint Qualifying to a close.

There was disappointment for Yuki Tsunoda in SQ1, the Red Bull driver failing to make the line in time to set a final lap to end the session in P18. Similar issues affected Alpine’s Jack Doohan and Haas’ Ollie Bearman, who also exited in P17 and P20 respectively.

Joining them in making an early departure from Sprint Qualifying were Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in 16th and the Kick Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in 19th place.

AS IT HAPPENED

SQ1 – Russell fastest as Tsunoda misses out

After championship leader Piastri topped the timesheets during the sole practice session of the weekend earlier on Friday, attentions turned to setting the grid for the second Sprint of the campaign as Sprint Qualifying began at 1630 local time.

With the medium compound mandatory for SQ1, all of the drivers were sporting the yellow-marked tyre as the 12-minute segment got underway. As several cars queued to exit the pit lane, Doohan claimed that Lawson had been released unsafely into his path amid a busy start to the session.

Tsunoda, meanwhile, reported that he wished to change his helmet after struggling with the wind out on track. Red Bull team mate Verstappen seemed to be having no such troubles, the new dad initially going fastest before being displaced by Norris and then Antonelli, the Mercedes driver setting a benchmark of 1m 27.858s.

At the other end of the timesheets, the five drivers at risk after everybody had put a lap on the board were Doohan, Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Bearman and Hadjar, the latter having had his time deleted.

There were some hair-raising moments for some, with Leclerc and Bortoleto both having kissed the walls of the Miami International Autodrome during their efforts. Would everyone keep it clean as the pack all headed back out for their final runs?

Tsunoda’s fate was soon decided, the Japanese driver having failed to reach the line in time to start his lap. While his former team mate Hadjar hauled himself up into the top 10, Bearman also did not make it to the line to begin his second effort.

Another rookie, Doohan, did not escape the elimination zone, leading to the Australian voicing his frustrations to the team over the radio about when he was sent out amid traffic in the pit lane.

While Russell went fastest up ahead – leading Antonelli in a Mercedes 1-2 – those exiting in SQ1 were Stroll, Doohan, Tsunoda, Bortoleto and Bearman.

Knocked out: Stroll, Doohan, Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Bearman

SQ2 – Norris quickest, late drama for Sainz

After a brief pause, 10 minutes went on the clock for SQ2, a segment in which the medium tyre is again mandatory. Antonelli once again looked strong as the session got going, the Italian beating Verstappen to P1 by just 0.002s.

This position was soon taken by Piastri, the McLaren man setting the pace on a 1m 27.354s to go nearly two-tenths clear of team mate Norris. Others, meanwhile, opted to stay in the pits for the opening minutes, instead choosing to make just one run in the latter stages.

Amongst those to leave it late was Gasly, who made contact with the wall through Turn 16 but still slotted into eighth. An improvement from Ocon pushed the Alpine driver down into the danger zone, while Alonso and Hulkenberg also got themselves out of the bottom five.

However, Hamilton and Albon both subsequently moved themselves up into the top 10, pushing Hulkenberg, Ocon, Gasly and Lawson into being eliminated.

Also exiting in P15 was Sainz, the Williams driver having suffered a lock-up on his lap that forced him into the runoff area at Turn 11. At the other end of the spectrum, the Spaniard’s former team mate, Norris, had gone quickest.

Knocked out: Hulkenberg, Ocon, Gasly, Lawson, Sainz

SQ3 – Antonelli surges to debut pole

It all came down to the eight-minute SQ3 segment to decide the top 10 for Saturday’s Sprint, with all of the drivers running the mandated soft tyre for the final segment.

Russell and Verstappen were the first to hit the track for an early run, the Mercedes man going two tenths faster than the Red Bull on a 1m 26.791s. The rest of the field, meanwhile, emerged for their own efforts with just a few minutes remaining.

While Russell looked to be done after returning to the pits, Verstappen remained out on track – albeit on older tyres than the majority of his competitors, with all but Alonso running fresh rubber.

Hamilton initially slotted in behind Russell, while Verstappen stormed through to beat Russell. A thrilling sequence then ensued as Antonelli went quickest of all on a 1m 26.482s – and despite the efforts of Piastri and Norris, this secured the Italian his first pole position at a track he has never driven before.

With the McLarens taking P2 and P3 behind the rookie, Verstappen was pushed down to fourth ahead of Russell in fifth. Leclerc and Hamilton claimed sixth and seventh for Ferrari respectively, while Albon, Hadjar and Alonso completed the top 10.

Key quote

"It was a very intense Qualifying," said Antonelli. "I felt really good since this morning and I felt confident going into Qualifying. The last lap was mighty and I put basically everything together and it was nice it came very nicely. I’m really happy to get the first pole."

What's next

With the grid decided, the drivers will take up their positions for the Sprint at 1200 local time on Saturday. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can catch the action.