Antonelli gets his first pole position in F1

The Miami Sprint qualifying delivered a major surprise this Friday as Kimi Antonelli took his Mercedes to the top spot. The 18-year-old Italian driver set a time of 1m26.482s at the decisive moment, becoming the youngest driver ever to secure a pole position in any race format in Formula 1 history.

McLaren nearly spoils the party

The McLaren cars showed their strength at the Miami Autodrome circuit, with Oscar Piastri finishing just 45 thousandths of a second behind Antonelli's time. His teammate Lando Norris completed the front row in third position with a time of 1m26.582s, just one tenth behind the Italian.

Current world champion Max Verstappen ended up fourth after an initial attempt that seemed to give him provisional pole. However, the Dutch driver couldn't improve enough on his second attempt, finishing behind both McLarens and the Mercedes rookie.

A cake divided among four teams

The Miami Sprint qualifying showed an interesting distribution of strength among the top teams. Mercedes placed both its drivers in the top five, with George Russell in fifth position after setting an early time in SQ3.

Ferrari took sixth and seventh places with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton respectively, while Alex Albon managed to put his Williams in a commendable eighth place. Racing Bulls had reasons to celebrate with Isack Hadjar in ninth, and Fernando Alonso rounded out the top 10 with his Aston Martin.

Traffic chaos and unexpected eliminations

The first qualifying session (SQ1) proved particularly challenging for several drivers who couldn't complete their final laps due to traffic issues. Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull driver, was knocked out in 18th position after failing to start his final fast lap in time. Jack Doohan of Alpine and Oliver Bearman of Haas suffered the same fate, unable to improve their initial times.

For Carlos Sainz, the session ended in disappointment after a wheel lock-up during his final attempt in SQ2. The Spanish Williams driver had to abandon his lap after running wide at turn 11, dropping to 15th position.

The youth factor in the paddock

Antonelli's pole position confirms Formula 1's trend toward increasingly younger drivers. The Italian not only becomes the youngest polesitter in history but also solidifies Mercedes' bet on young talent.

The Miami Sprint will take place this Saturday at 12:00 local time, with 19 laps ahead to determine the weekend's first points. Antonelli will face the tough challenge of defending his position against more experienced drivers like Piastri, Norris, and Verstappen.