Andrea Kimi Antonelli pipped the McLaren duo to take a shock pole position for the Miami Grand Prix Sprint race, becoming the youngest driver in Formula 1 to do so.
Oscar Piastri went into proceedings having topped the sole practice hour, though a late stoppage denied McLaren team-mate Lando Norris the chance to eclipse him.
The inaugural laps in the opening segment saw Norris hold a slender 0.063-second advantage over Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, with Piastri another two-tenths behind.
However, Antonelli then toppled them all as he propped up 0.032s quicker than the lead McLaren, while Mercedes team-mate George Russell trailed three-tenths back.
Isack Hadjar was located in the drop zone without a time to his name, but he elevated his Racing Bulls up into 12th place to condemn Lance Stroll to a premature exit.
Alongside Stroll in the second Aston Martin, Alpine’s Jack Doohan, Yuki Tsunoda in the Red Bull, Gabriel Bortoleto’s Sauber and Haas’ Oliver Bearman were eliminated.
The times at the sharp end had appeared destined to remain unchanged until Russell delivered a five-tenth improvement to lead a Mercedes 1-2 over Antonelli in SQ1.
Like in SQ1, Verstappen posted the initial benchmark that the rest would be aiming to beat as he pumped in a 1:27.729s in the last remaining Red Bull still competing.
Antonelli managed that as he responded with a time that was a meagre 0.002s quicker than Verstappen’s attempt, though Norris and then Piastri took over at the top.
Ferrari’s pre-weekend concern that it wouldn’t hold the pace to rival the opposition was being realised on the Medium compound as it lagged down in sixth and eighth.
Lewis Hamilton was demoted into the bottom five as others improved around him, but the seven-time F1 champion booked his passage into Q3 on his final timed run.
But the Briton’s predecessor at Ferrari wasn’t able to repeat that as Carlos Sainz got caught on the kerb on the run to Turn 11 and ran wide, leaving him without a time.
That consigned Sainz to 15th place, with Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson completing the quintet that wouldn’t advance into the top 10.
Meanwhile, Norris headed into the all-important pole position shootout with the quickest time in SQ2, one tenth faster than Verstappen, who split the McLaren drivers.
The nascent stages of SQ3 witnessed Verstappen and Russell be the sole drivers to venture out on track as the rest awaited the last minutes to conduct their one run.
Russell produced the goods to emerge over two-tenths quicker than Verstappen, but the Dutchman managed to improve on his second timed run to dethrone Russell.
But Verstappen’s time wouldn’t stand long as Antonelli, who had been quick throughout, managed a 1:26.482s to end up with a time that would land him pole position.
Piastri and Norris had attempted to deny the Italian, but the McLaren duo came up short. However, both secured positions inside the top three to relegate Verstappen.
Russell’s gamble on going earlier than his rivals saw him drop to fifth, three tenths behind his team-mate, while Charles Leclerc headed Hamilton in sixth and seventh.
Williams’ Alex Albon led the remaining trio outside the leading sides as he edged out Hadjar’s Racing Bulls and Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin to complete the order.
READ MORE – F1 2025 Miami Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying Results
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