By Joe Murphy
What a sensational performance. Young Kimi Antonelli secured his very first career Pole, narrowly beating Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, in a session where the top three were separated by less than a tenth of a second.
In a session where Mercedes had looked pacey, it was the rookie who pulled it out of the bag to stun a Miami crowd, with teammate Russell only managing to finish behind the Red Bull of Verstappen, as well as the McLaren racing pair.
With only the top eight scoring points tomorrow, Mercedes and Antonelli alike will be keen to push on and convert this exceptional result into a win, albeit a sprint one.
However, this will be a challenge with the title contending three right behind him from the off.
It will be interesting to see what strategy drivers go for, with the Medium tyre expected to be the optimum choice. Arguably, it could be won or lost at Turn 1. Can the young driver keep everyone else behind him? We’ll find out the answer tomorrow.
In terms of power points positions, it was a rare Q3 for Fernando Alonso, as Isack Hadjar yet again outshone Liam Lawson in the ‘pink’ RB as he pushes towards Tsunoda’s seat, with the Japanese driver struggling in comparison. The Ferrari pair are just ahead of these two and Alex Albon, with Leclerc yet again having the advantage over Hamilton, with the Brit continuing to struggle. It must be tough considering the seat he vacated only a few months ago, takes pole in the second sprint of the year, after Hamilton himself had taken the first sprint pole and win earlier in the season.
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