Miami GP: Kimi Antonelli puts rivals in the shade as strategy blunders define Sprint quali

Thomas Maher 02 May 2025 10:31 PM

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, 2025 Miami Grand Prix.

Kimi Antonelli will start from pole position for the Sprint race at the 2025 Miami Grand Prix.

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli has taken pole position for the Sprint event at the Miami Grand Prix, pipping championship leader Oscar Piastri.

The Italian put in a peerless performance to finish with the fastest time in Sprint Qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix, but his job was made slightly easier by Mercedes and Red Bull sending out their top prospects a little too early in SQ3.

Kimi Antonelli takes pole position in Miami Sprint qualifying

The Italian put in a storming 1:26.482 at the very end of SQ3 to finish with the fastest time, impressing as the Italian is a complete rookie at the circuit in his first year of Formula 1.

His time was 0.045 clear of championship leader Oscar Piastri for McLaren, with Lando Norris slotting into third in the second McLaren, ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell

The session was somewhat defined by Mercedes and Red Bull compromising their final efforts as Russell and Verstappen headed out on track to put in their quick laps on the soft tyres almost five minutes before their rivals.

Verstappen embarked on a cooldown cycle after his first flying lap, a 1:27.070, which would have had him in the bottom half of the top 10 but he managed to improve on his second flying lap despite his now past-their-best tyres.

Russell went quicker than Verstappen’s first effort, with a time of 1:26.791, but withdrew to the pits after his one and only attempt and was shuffled down to fifth by the chequered flag.

Sixth went to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finished a quarter of a second clear of his teammate Lewis Hamilton in seventh.

Williams had shown very strong pace through qualifying, and Alex Albon delivered upon this promise by finishing in eighth with Racing Bull’s Isack Hadjar in ninth ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

In SQ2, the surprise elimination was Williams’ Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard made a critical error into Turn 11 on his final flying lap to slide off the track. Having wrecked his one and only chance, he apologised to his team as he worked his way back to the pits.

Joining Sainz on the sidelines were Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg in 11th, Haas’ Esteban Ocon, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.

In the first part of Sprint qualifying, Jack Doohan was left raging with his elimination. The Alpine driver had been compromised by his exit from the garage in the final minutes of the session, as the team released him at the same time as teammate Pierre Gasly. With Doohan unable to apply full steering lock upon his initial peel out, he wound up coming too close to the pitwall and had to stop – meaning some rival cars managed to get in between himself and Gasly.

Also eliminated were Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, and Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver had locked up on his first flying lap and felt he was held up by the presence of another car leaving the pits at the start of his second run, leaving him with an uphill task for the Sprint race.

Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto was 19th, with Haas’ Ollie Bearman in 20th.