Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli etched his name into Formula 1 history on Friday, by seizing pole position for Saturday’s Miami Grand Prix sprint race. At just 18 years, 8 months and 7 days old, Antonelli became the youngest driver ever to secure a pole position in any F1 format, beating Sebastian Vettel’s previous record of 21 years, 73 days, when he clinched pole at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix at a rain-soaked Monza. It was followed up by a historic win for the German driver with Toro Rosso.
Antonelli looked formidable right from SQ1, where the lead Mercedes was ahead of the entire pack with a time of 1:27.858, with both McLarens trailing. SQ2 saw the season favourites, McLaren, take a one (Lando Norris), three (Oscar Piastri) with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen breaking up the two in second. With the field switching up to soft tires, it was an action-packed SQ3 with Verstappen briefly on provisional pole, but Antonelli, with a time of 1:26.482 managed to clinch the top spot, denying pole to both McLarens. Piastri missed pole by +0.045, whereas Norris was +01.00 behind.
Adding another layer of intrigue this weekend was the extension of the contract for Miami until 2041. The vibrant atmosphere and challenging track have quickly made the tropical circuit one of the top venues not just in the United States, but also on the F1 calendar. As for this weekend, Antonelli’s unexpected pole position has indeed injected a fresh wave of excitement. As we head into the second Sprint race of the season, all eyes will be on the rookie who replaced the seven-time world champion at Mercedes.
Source: Formula 1, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1
