MIAMI – Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli captured his third consecutive pole position Saturday during qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen earning the second starting spot for Sunday’s race.
The 19-year-old Italian, who currently leads the Formula One championship standings, posted a qualifying time of one minute 27.798 seconds on a sweltering afternoon in Miami. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc claimed the third position, while defending world champion Lando Norris of McLaren will start fourth after winning Saturday’s earlier sprint race.
Antonelli’s pole position serves as a strong bounce-back performance after dropping to sixth place in the sprint – marking Mercedes’ first race loss of any format this season. The teenager is pursuing his third consecutive grand prix victory following recent wins in China and Japan, which helped make him the youngest driver ever to lead the championship.
“It’s been an amazing day to be on pole again,” Antonelli commented after qualifying. “It was a difficult start with the Sprint where it didn’t go our way but super happy with the recovery. It was a good quali, got a little bit excited in that last lap in Q3 but the first lap was good enough.”
Verstappen managed to close the gap to just 0.166 seconds by the session’s end, though Antonelli’s initial time remained unbeaten despite the Mercedes driver running wide at turn one during his final attempt.
Mercedes teammate George Russell, who trails Antonelli by seven points in the championship battle, qualified fifth. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, now driving for Ferrari, will start sixth.
Last year’s Miami winner Oscar Piastri of McLaren secured seventh position on the grid at a track where passing opportunities should be plentiful under the current regulations.
Franco Colapinto delivered an impressive eighth-place qualifying performance for Alpine, with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounding out the top ten starting positions.
The qualifying session experienced a brief delay during the second phase when Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi suffered brake failure and caught fire, forcing the Brazilian driver to stop on the back straight. Bortoleto finished last in the timing sheets.
Sunday’s race faces potential weather disruptions, with forecasters predicting possible rain and thunderstorms throughout the weekend.
