Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli claimed his first-ever Formula 1 sprint pole in Miami, edging out both McLarens in a dramatic finish. The 18-year-old laid down a blistering 1:26.482 late in SQ3, holding off Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris by just 0.045s and 0.100s respectively.
Max Verstappen could only manage fourth, ahead of George Russell, Charles Leclerc, and Lewis Hamilton. Alex Albon impressed in eighth for Williams, while rookie Isack Hadjar grabbed a standout ninth for Racing Bulls. Fernando Alonso rounded out the top 10 for Aston Martin.
In the SQ3 shootout, only Russell and Verstappen ventured out early. While Verstappen pushed for a second run, the track peaked late—Antonelli timed it perfectly, securing pole.
SQ2 saw big names like Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon, and Pierre Gasly fall short. Norris topped the session, ahead of Verstappen, Piastri, and Antonelli.
As usual in sprint qualifying, SQ1 was a mad dash. With 20 cars fighting for space, clear laps were hard to find. Antonelli led the first runs, while Hadjar recovered from an early mistake to sneak into SQ2 in eighth.
Others weren’t so lucky. Jack Doohan, Yuki Tsunoda, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Oliver Bearman were all caught in traffic and missed a second run. Liam Lawson barely scraped through in 15th after a wild moment in the chicane.
The Miami sprint race goes green Saturday at noon local time over 19 laps.
Sprint Qualifying Results:
Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 18 | 36:37.647 | 8 |
2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 18 | +0.672s | 7 |
3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 18 | +1.073s | 6 |
4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 18 | +3.127s | 5 |
5 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 18 | +3.412s | 4 |
6 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 18 | +5.153s | 3 |
7 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 18 | +5.635s | 2 |
8 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 18 | +5.973s | 1 |
9 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 18 | +6.153s | 0 |
10 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 18 | +7.502s | 0 |
11 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 18 | +7.522s | 0 |
12 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas Ferrari | 18 | +8.998s | 0 |
13 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 18 | +9.024s | 0 |
14 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari | 18 | +9.218s | 0 |
15 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 18 | +9.675s | 0 |
16 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine Renault | 18 | +9.909s | 0 |
17 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 18 | +12.059s | 0 |
NC | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 13 | DNF | 0 |
NC | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams Mercedes | 12 | DNF | 0 |
NC | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 0 | DNF | 0 |
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