Miami Grand Prix: Kimi Antonelli snatches pole in thrilling qualifying battle

Miami Grand Prix qualifying was a story of twists and turns, as Kimi Antonelli emerged victorious to make it three pole positions in a row.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull were back on daunting form, and Ferrari were in the mix, but Verstappen could not quite do enough to deny Antonelli pole in Miami, where four different manufacturers will be represented on the front two rows.

Kimi Antonelli on pole as Miami GP qualifying delivers

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Lando Norris took a comfortable Sprint win from McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, but now it was time for one-lap performance to take back over.

The opening Q1 segment would find, and eliminate, the slowest six drivers.

Gabriel Bortoleto faced being one of those eliminated. The Audi driver was disqualified from the Sprint results due to an engine intake air pressure breach, and his R26 was up on the stands as Q1 began.

Verstappen – upset over “four seconds” lost as he attempted to return a Sprint position to Lewis Hamilton – put down a strong Q1 marker from the get-go. Only Antonelli and Norris were within a tenth of the Dutchman’s 1:29.099.

Used softs were the order of the day for the frontrunners.

Bortoleto hit the track with five minutes of Q1 remaining.

The Cadillacs, Aston Martins and Arvid Lindblad were down there with Bortoleto in the elimination zone.

Piastri was struggling to crack the top 10.

Antonelli, meanwhile, switched to new softs, and went four and a half tenths clear out front.

Bortoleto, Perez, Bottas, Stroll, Alonso and Lindblad were out. Piastri, on used softs only, survived in P16.

Bortoleto suffered a rear brake fire as he attempted to limp back to the pits.

Verstappen had new tyres bolted onto his RB22 for the start of Q2. Not that he was feeling the benefits.

“These tyres are terrible. They have no grip.”

Hamilton established an early lead with a 1:28.477. This was a pivotal qualifying session for Hamilton who, after the Sprint, complained of a recurring software issue which cost him three tenths.

Antonelli matched Hamilton’s time identically, while a huge slide for Norris ended his lap.

When Norris did get a lap in, it was P9 only, keeping the pressure on.

McLaren’s Zak Brown had spoken of some power issues impacting Piastri during Q1. One wondered whether Norris was experiencing the same issues.

Norris questioned an absence of deployment out of Turn 16. McLaren suggested that it was just the wind.

Brown later confirmed a boost issue.

Antonelli found another six hundredths on his final lap to clear Hamilton out front. That was until Verstappen pumped in a 1:28.116, the four-time world champion and his RB22 looking a far happier and dangerous combination in Miami.

Albon, Ocon, Sainz, Bearman, Lawson and Hulkenberg were out.

On to Q3 and a truly unpredictable battle for pole position. Verstappen, Mercedes and Ferrari were all in the conversation, while McLaren could not be ruled out with a clean run, and based on evidence from the race weekend so far.

Piastri’s 1:28.6 was the time to chase.

It proved a weak benchmark, as a series of provisional pole laps arrived.

Antonelli proved the early class of the Q3 field. A 1:27.798 had him on provisional pole by more than three tenths from Leclerc.

The championship leader let out a “that was close” as he and Russell emerged from the garage for those critical final laps, Russell squeezing around the outside and ahead of the impressive sister Mercedes.

The Ferraris and McLarens could not trouble Antonelli, but Verstappen was on a charge.

Alas, the resurgent Red Bull racer fell 0.166s short, as Antonelli made it three poles in a row.

Q3 results

1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:27.798
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.166
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.345
4 Lando Norris McLaren +0.385
5 George Russell Mercedes +0.399
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.521
7 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.702
8 Franco Colapinto Alpine +0.964
9 Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing +0.991
10 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.012

Q2 results

1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:28.116
2 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.173
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.199
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.216
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.361
6 George Russell Mercedes +0.361
7 Lando Norris McLaren +0.804
8 Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing +0.825
9 Franco Colapinto Alpine +0.859
10 Pierre Gasly Alpine +0.954
—-
11 Nico Hulkenberg Audi +1.323
12 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +1.383
13 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team +1.451
14 Carlos Sainz Williams +1.452
15 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team +1.656
16 Alexander Albon Williams +1.830

Q1 results

1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:28.653
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.285
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.446
4 Lando Norris McLaren +0.530
5 Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing +0.671
6 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team +0.687
7 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.830
8 George Russell Mercedes +0.839
9 Carlos Sainz Williams +0.887
10 Franco Colapinto Alpine +0.931
11 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +0.942
12 Nico Hulkenberg Audi +0.992
13 Alexander Albon Williams +1.067
14 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team +1.185
15 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.261
16 Oscar Piastri McLaren +1.267
—-
17 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls +1.480
18 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +2.445
19 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +2.511
20 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac +2.976
21 Sergio Perez Cadillac +3.314
22 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +5.084

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