Antonelli Claims Third Consecutive Pole in Tight Miami GP Qualifying
Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for the Miami Grand Prix with a strong lap, narrowly edging out a resurgent Max Verstappen of Red Bull, who took second place.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton placed third and sixth for Ferrari, while Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished fourth and seventh for McLaren. Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate George Russell qualified fifth, trailing the Italian by four-tenths of a second.
Antonelli, leading the world championship by seven points over Russell, achieved his third consecutive pole, reaffirming Mercedes’ pace at the front of the grid. This was notable given the apparent threat to their dominance over the Miami weekend, particularly when Norris and Piastri had earlier demonstrated strong performance at the Hard Rock Stadium.
With Ferrari and McLaren introducing significant upgrades for Miami, it seemed they had closed the gap on Mercedes, who opted not to implement major developments until the upcoming Canadian round.
Russell described the progress made by rival teams as “daunting,” and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff acknowledged after the sprint race that the team had made limited gains in Miami, emphasizing that a fierce development battle lies ahead.
“We know that we are a little out of sync with our upgrades compared to other teams. We were hoping we were going to be able to hold on to our advantage, and in terms of pure lap times, we were close to the pace at the front in the Sprint,”
“This season is going to be a pure development race and whoever brings a few tenths before their competitors will gain an advantage.”
Despite the challenges, Antonelli maintained an advantage when it counted on the single lap, delivering a controlled and precise performance that gave him the edge over Verstappen. Verstappen, in turn, appeared to enjoy the handling and performance of his car for the first time this season, as Red Bull’s upgrades had clearly improved their competitiveness.
McLaren and Ferrari remained close to Antonelli’s pace but were still approximately three-tenths of a second behind. Russell will likely be concerned about his inability to close the gap to his younger teammate, who has won two of the last three races.
The final laps of Q3 saw a close contest among the leaders. Piastri and Norris set early benchmark times, with Norris posting a 1:28.183 lap. Verstappen and Leclerc quickly surpassed these times. However, Antonelli produced a remarkable final sector, putting three-tenths of a second on Leclerc with a lap time of 1:27.798, while Russell could only manage fifth.
During the final hot laps, Antonelli did not improve his time, nor did most of his rivals, except Verstappen, who pushed hard to claim second place, finishing just over a tenth and a half behind Antonelli. The Italian secured pole position, while Verstappen enjoyed his best qualifying performance of the season, earning a front-row start.
Race Timing and Weather Concerns
The scheduled start time for Sunday’s race remains uncertain due to weather forecasts predicting a high likelihood of thunderstorms in the afternoon. The race is set to begin at 4 pm local time, but the US National Weather Service advises that sporting events should be suspended if thunder and lightning occur within six to ten miles of the venue.
The FIA is convening with Formula 1’s key stakeholders on Saturday afternoon, following qualifying, to discuss contingency plans, which may include advancing the race start time by several hours. Current forecasts warn of “widespread rain showers and embedded thunderstorms” expected on Sunday afternoon.
