MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Kimi Antonelli became the youngest pole-winner of any Formula 1 event in history when the 18-year-old Mercedes driver won the top starting spot Friday for the sprint race ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.
Antonelli is in his first season in F1, where Mercedes hired him to replace seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes has great faith the Italian can deliver, and he did in qualifying for the second sprint race of the season.
“I am feeling over the moon, I did not expect this,” Antonelli said.
He will start Saturday's sprint race alongside current F1 points leader Oscar Piastri of McLaren, who lost the pole by .045 seconds to Antonelli. It's the first time since 2009 an Italian driver has won any pole in F1.
“It was a very intense qualifying,” Antonelli said. “I felt very since this morning and I felt very confident going into qualifying. Really happy to get the first pole. It's going to be nice to start on the front row and see how we can do in the sprint."
Lando Norris, second in the standings, qualified third for McLaren and was followed by Max Verstappen, who arrived in Miami in time for Friday practice after skipping Thursday activities as he welcomed his first child with partner Kelly Piquet.
George Russell, the lead driver at Mercedes, qualified fifth and was followed by Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Hamilton. Alex Albon of Williams was eighth and followed by Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls and Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin.
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press
