02/05/2025 23:23
Rookie Kimi Antonelli sensationally made F1 history by becoming the
youngest polesitter in any qualifying format by setting the fastest
time for the Miami sprint. Out of the blue, in the top-10
shoot-out, Antonelli left his more experienced rivals trailing in
his youthful wake as the 18-year-old posted a time of 1:26.482s,
deposing Red Bull's Max Verstappen from top spot. The big guns of
McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris lined up behind him to
deny him his shot at glory, but the Australian finished 0.045s shy,
with the Briton a further 0.055s adrift, leaving Verstappen having
to settle for fourth on the grid. At just over 18 years and nine
months old, Antonelli has obliterated the F1 pole record, although
the mark set by Sebastian Vettel in the 2018 Italian Grand Prix of
21 years and 72 days was for a grand prix and will continue to be
the target - for now! On the soft tyres for SQ3, Verstappen set the
benchmark with a 1:27.070s, only to be quickly deposed by Mercedes'
George Russell by three-tenths of a second. Verstappen stayed out
for a second run on the same set of tyres, whilst Russell pitted as
no tyre changes are permitted in the final session. The four-time
F1 champion's strategy paid off to a certain extent as he improved
significantly on his second run, but even he, with so many age
records to his name, will have to doff his cap to Antonelli on this
one. In beautiful, late-afternoon conditions, and with the
medium-compound Pirellis the mandated tyre choice for SQ1, Russell
and Antonelli led the way, the first time Mercedes has topped any
session this season. For Red Bull, it was a disaster again in a
qualifying session, resulting in the shock exit of Yuki Tsunoda.
Needing a time on his second flying lap to get into the second
session, after a mistake on the first run, Tsunoda came across a
slow Verstappen at the final corner. Unsure as to what his
team-mate was doing, the loss of time was critical, leading to the
Japanese driver finishing a miserable 18th. Ahead of him will be
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and Alpine's Jack Doohan, the latter
fuming with his team over the radio upon his return to the pits,
describing their strategy as "unacceptable". Behind Tsunoda on the
back row will be Stake's Gabriel Bortoleto, and the surprising
figure of Oliver Bearman in his Haas, rubbing salt into the British
rookie's wounds after a late spin and a clip into a wall in the
sole practice session brought it to a premature end. With the
medium rubber again required for SQ2, at the end of which Norris
led the way with a lap of 1:27.109s, it was Williams' Carlos Sainz
who was the key name to depart. Sainz made a critical error at the
final corner, locking up and taking to the escape road, leaving him
to start 15th. Ahead of him. Albon had underlined what was possible
in their car. Nico Hulkenberg fell just 0.077s shy of giving Stake
its first top-10 shoot-out opportunity of the year, with Hadjat
ahead of him. The veteran German will line up ahead of Esteban Ocon
in his Haas, Alpine's Pierre Gasly, and Liam Lawson in his Racing
Bulls, with the New Zealander six-tenths of a second behind
team-mate Hadjar, and describing his performance as "so bad" over
the radio.
