Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli took Sprint pole at the 2025 Miami Grand Prix becoming the youngest ever polesitter in Formula 1.
Antonelli showed early on in qualifying that he had the speed, flirting with the top spot in SQ1 and SQ2, but then he finished the job in SQ3 after one attempted making it count.
As such, the young Italian, who posted a lap time of 1:26.482, denied several favorites pole for the Sprint race on Saturday in Miami as championship leader Oscar Piastri was second fastest, 0.045s off the pace with Lando Norris third, 0.055s further behind.
Another contender that was denied pole was Max Verstappen who was fourth fastest after doing two laps in SQ3 and ended up 0.255s off the pole time.
But the driver who would've been mostly hurt by Antonelli's pole was George Russell as Mercedes sent him out early in SQ3 to post a time and did not send him out again as he sat in the garage watching his time tumble down to fifth in the end.
Ferrari duo, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were up next, sixth and seventh respectively while Alex Albon was eighth fastest in the Williams.
Isack Hadjar was ninth fastest after a shaky start in SQ1 while Fernando Alonso did well to make tenth.
Antonelli: The last lap was mighty
Speaking after Sprint qualifying, Antonelli said: "It was a very intense qualifying. I felt very good since practice and felt confident going into qualifying.
"The last lap was mighty. I put everything together. I'm really happy to get the first pole," he added. "Tomorrow will be nice to start on the front row.
"It will be a bit of a different feeling but I can't wait for tomorrow to see what we can do in the Sprint and in qualifying.
"I did not see that coming," the Italian added later in the paddock. "I felt the lap was good and I was happy with it. There were still a few bits I could have done better but I was super happy with how I put all the sectors together.
"I will enjoy this moment but focus on tomorrow because it would be good to repeat that result. McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull have strong race pace but we are pretty close.
"It will be important to have a good start, then set a good pace without degrading [the tyres] too much," the Mercedes youngster concluded.
As for the man who believed in Antonelli's talent and decided he would be the replacement of Hamilton, Toto Wolff cut a satisfied figure.
He commented: "He's a young man...Hopefully we make a lot of fun in the future, a lot of happiness. It's about the trajectory. It's not whether it's a pole in the Sprint, or tomorrow, he's done it and he's quickest."
SQ1: Tsunoda out!
Track temperatures were up as the green light for SQ1 was given as the action started with the tarmac recording a temperature of 50 degrees Celsius as air temperature was 29 degrees.
Drivers scrambled to get out on track to set a lap time with the mandatory Medium tyres bolted to their cars as a long queue developed in the pitlane awaiting the green light.
Jack Doohan was soon complaining about Liam Lawson being unsafely releases into his path. McLaren and Mercedes took their time remaining in their garages.
Yuki Tsunoda was not happy about his helmet and asked to get it replaced after the first run due to the wind.
Nico Hulkenberg set the first lap time but then Verstappen went almost one second ahead. Albon slotted in second and Carlos Sainz in third as Gasly was fourth.
Hamilton then jumped to second and Leclerc was third as Norris was doing his flying lap and popped up at the top 0.063s ahead of Verstappen as Piastri went third. Antonelli then went fastest with Russell fifth.
Leclerc reported that he touched the wall at Turn 16. Gabriel Bortoleto reports the same in the Sauber.
Order after first runs: Antonelli - Norris - Verstappen - Piastri - Russell - Hamilton - Leclerc - Albon - Alonso - Esteban Ocon - Sainz - Pierre Gasly - Hulkenberg - Lawson - Lance Stroll.
At risk: Doohan - Tsunoda - Bortoleto - Beraman - Hadjar. Hadjar did not have a time on the board after going wide at Turn 17.
With less than three minutes remaining and the track evolution huge, the second round of laps started and in the end Russell took the lead with Antonelli second as Albon was third.
Norris was fourth ahead of Sainz in fifth with Piastri in sixth. Verstappen was seventh followed by Hamilton in eighth with Ocon and Leclerc ninth and tenth.
Bottom of the top 15 were: Gasly - Hadjar - Alonso - Hulkenberg - Lawson.
The first five drivers to be eliminated were: Stroll - Doohan - Tsunoda - Bortoleto - Bearman.
It was a messy session in the end with many teams messing up their run plans. Tsunoda had to back off for Verstappen who opted not run again, but the Japanese driver missed out on a chance to run.
Verstappen seemed to be in hot waters as several drivers complained about him being on the racing line. Norris and Stroll namely.
Doohan was fuming over the radio as he wasn't happy with how the team sent him out behind Gasly.
SQ2: A Spaniard in and another is out
With Medium tyres still mandatory, the remaining 15 drivers set out to book a position in the top ten shootout.
Verstappen was the first to run and went to the top while Russell was third as Antonelli went to the top again. But soon Norris took the top spot only for Piastri to drop him to second.
The order: Piastri - Norris - Antonelli - Verstappen - Russell - Leclerc - Albon - Hamilton.
Gasly, Alonso, Sainz, Ocon, Hadjar, Hulkenberg, and Lawson did not take part in the first run and opted for only one timed lap.
With three minutes remaining, the final runs of SQ2 began and in the end, Norris led the way with Verstappen second ahead of Piastri in third.
Antonelli was fourth ahead of Leclerc in fifth as Hamilton was sixth in the sister Ferrari. Russell was seventh ahead of Albon in eighth.
Alonso and Hadjar were ninth and tenth respectively as for those missing out on SQ3 were: Hulkenberg - Ocon - Gasly - Lawson - Sainz.
Gasly tapped the wall at Turn 16 on his only lap while Sainz had a lockup on his lap and it wasn't counted.
SQ3: Antonelli delivers the business!
Finally, the Soft tyres made their appearance at the Start of SQ3 as the remaining ten drivers started their final runs.
Verstappen and Russell did not wait and went out on track first as the remaining eighth drivers waited on in their garages.
Verstappen started the first timed lap while Russell was behind him on track doing his. The Dutchman went fastest but Russell beat him by two tenths of a second.
With three minutes remaining, the other drivers were unleashed onto the track for one and only attempt at setting a time.
Russell returned into the pits while Verstappen remained out on track for another crack at Sprint pole.
Hamilton went second fastest but Verstappen improved after a second run and went fastest only for Antonelli to go even faster as Norris failed to beat him and was second and the dropped to third as Piastri went second fastest.
In the end, the Mercedes rookies took his first ever pole position, a Sprint pole ahead of Piastri in second while Norris was third,
Verstappen had to settle for fourth as Russell was fifth with Leclerc sixth ahead of Hamilton in seventh.
Albon was eighth with Hadjar and Alonso completing the top ten.
Miami GP Sprint Qualifying Classification
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