News
‘I did not expect it!’ – Antonelli ‘over the moon’ with debut pole in Miami Sprint Qualifying
Share
Kimi Antonelli was left “over the moon” after scoring his maiden F1 pole position in Sprint Qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix, with the Italian admitting that he did not expect to achieve the feat despite feeling confident about his pace.
After a promising performance throughout SQ1 and SQ2, everything came together for the Mercedes driver in SQ3 as he surged through to displace Red Bull’s Max Verstappen from the top of the timesheets on a lap of 1m 26.482s, a time that ultimately proved unbeatable as the McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris slotted into second and third respectively.
Having labelled his lap as “mighty” after stepping out of the car, Antonelli went on to elaborate further as he later said of his result: “I’m feeling over the moon. I did not expect it, but I was feeling good in the car.
“I was able to improve lap by lap and find that consistency, and that lap came all together. I’m super, super happy with that, and now we will enjoy this moment a little bit more, but as well I want to focus on tomorrow because I really want to try and repeat myself.”
2025 Miami GP Sprint Qualifying: Antonelli crosses the line to seal pole for the Sprint
A touching scene unfolded when Antonelli sought out his father, Marco, in the Mercedes garage to share an embrace as they celebrated the special moment together, with the teenager going on to pay tribute to the support of his family on his journey to F1.
“It definitely was really nice, and also to find him in the garage after Qualifying,” Antonelli added. “I’m super happy to share this moment with him. He’s so important to me as well and he’s like a rock, I know I can always rely on him.
HIGHLIGHTS: Catch all the Miami Sprint Qualifying action as Antonelli makes history with maiden pole
“Really happy to share this moment with him. I would like to share it with my mum and my sister as well, but hopefully next time.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s Sprint – as well as the rest of the weekend at the Miami International Autodrome, a track that he had never driven at prior to the current event – Antonelli reflected: “We did quite a long run in FP1 to try and gather as [much] information as possible.
“Of course we don’t really know the pace of the others, but I guess we will see tomorrow during the [Sprint]. And then about Qualifying, the track is going to keep evolving so it’s going to be important to be on top of it and try to repeat ourselves.”
Antonelli shared an embrace with his father, Marco, after becoming F1's youngest-ever polesitter in Miami
On the other side of the garage, team mate George Russell had posted an initial benchmark in SQ3 after setting his lap earlier than his competitors, but ultimately found himself pushed down to fifth place.
Looking back on the session and why he opted to run early, Russell explained: “Firstly massive congrats to Kimi – really pleased to see [that]. He did an amazing job, he’s been really quick all day, really impressive.
F1 EXPLAINS: The making of the Miami Grand Prix
“I’ve been struggling a little bit today, a little bit off the pace, not been so comfortable and we just wanted to go on the early side because ultimately I didn’t quite have that confidence, and we thought maybe if there’s a red or a yellow [flag] at the end of the session it would come our way. But P5 today, not great – more to improve, but amazing for Kimi and the team.”
Pushed on why he has been struggling for confidence so far in Miami, the Briton responded: “These Sprint race weekends are challenging. If you get in the groove early, you can just build from there, and just all day today I haven’t quite felt it in the car, especially the tyres sliding around a bit.
“But as I said, it’s Sprint [Qualifying] today – obviously disappointing not to be further up the grid, but really happy for Kimi.”
RACE TICKETS - MONACO
Don't miss your chance to experience the world's most famous street circuit...
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
News Alonso ‘proud’ of Aston Martin after ‘better than expected’ P5 result in Imola Qualifying
News Russell reveals lost chance at challenging for Imola pole after 'tight' start to final flying lap
Feature TREMAYNE: Antonelli is giving Italy reason to dream again, exactly 40 years after the last Italian to challenge for the championship
Video HIGHLIGHTS: Relive Verstappen's breathtaking first-lap overtake on Piastri en route to stellar Imola victory
