Andrea Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for the Miami Grand and will lead the field from the front of the grid on Sunday. The 19-year-old Mercedes driver, currently leading the championship, clocked a fastest lap of 1 minute, 27.998 seconds during Saturday's qualifying session.
Antonelli's performance placed him 0.166 seconds ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who will join him on the front row. This marks Antonelli's third consecutive pole position, a feat Al Jazeera reports places the Italian alongside legends Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher in the record books.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari will start third, followed by McLaren's Lando Norris in fourth. Norris enters the race weekend following a victory in Saturday's sprint race, according to CNN Chile.
Race schedule shift due to storm forecast
Organizers have moved the start time for Sunday's 57-lap race forward to 17:00 GMT. Al Jazeera reports the decision was made to avoid a predicted heavy rainstorm that is expected to hit Miami later in the afternoon.
The FIA, along with local promoters and commercial rights holders, announced the change to ensure driver safety and minimize disruption. The race will now begin at 1:00 PM local time, rather than the originally scheduled 4:00 PM.
“It has been an amazing day for me to be on pole again,” Antonelli said, noting that while his sprint race earlier in the day was difficult, he was pleased with his recovery. “I was so stressed because I was waiting for everyone to finish their laps, but it was good enough, and now, hopefully, I will have a magic start tomorrow.”
Verstappen, despite missing out on pole, expressed optimism about his starting position. “For me to be on the front row is way to better than I expected,” the four-time champion said, according to Al Jazeera.
The full starting grid includes George Russell fifth, Lewis Hamilton sixth, and Oscar Piastri seventh. CNN Chile reports that Argentina's Franco Colapinto will start eighth for Alpine, while Sergio Pérez will launch from 21st position for Cadillac.
