Teenager Kimi Antonelli sprung the surprise of the season so far by taking pole position for Saturday’s sprint race in Miami.
The 18-year-old Italian, just six rounds into his rookie campaign as a replacement for Lewis Hamilton, saw off championship leader Oscar Piastri by just 0.045 seconds at the Hard Rock Stadium.
Piastri’s McLaren team-mate Lando Norris finished third, 0.100 sec behind Antonelli, with Max Verstappen fourth and Antonelli’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell in fifth.
Charles Leclerc and Hamilton qualified sixth and seventh respectively for Ferrari.
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F1 MIAMI GRAND PRIX - LATEST UPDATES
- Sprint race in Miami starts at 5pm (BST); qualifying is at 9pm
- Kimi Antonelli takes his first pole position in F1
- Click HERE for the top-10 in Miami sprint qualifying
- PREVIEW: The missing piece for F1 in the US despite three races and two teams
George Russell, after qualifying P5 for the sprint:
23:20
,
Kieran Jackson
“Massive congrats to Kimi, really pleased to see he did an amazing job.
“We wanted to go on the early side because I didn’t have that confidence, P5 today - not great, more to improve, but amazing for Kimi and the team.
“Sprint race weekends are challenging, I haven’t quite felt it in the car today.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff:
22:59
,
Kieran Jackson
“Young man, hopefully will make us lots of fun in the future!
“It’s about the trajectory, he’s done it, he’s quickest!”
Miami GP start times:
22:47
,
Kieran Jackson
All times BST
Saturday 3 May
- Sprint race: 5pm
- Qualifying: 9pm
Sunday 4 May
- Race: 9pm
TOP-10 IN SPRINT QUALIFYING
22:44
,
Kieran Jackson
1. Kimi Antonelli
2. Oscar Piastri
3. Lando Norris
4. Max Verstappen
5. George Russell
6. Charles Leclerc
7. Lewis Hamilton
8. Alex Albon
9. Isack Hadjar
10. Fernando Alonso
Kimi Antonelli, record-breaker!
22:26
,
Kieran Jackson
Antonelli, 18, is the youngest pole-sitter in any format of Formula One!
The next-best was Sebastian Vettel, at 20 years old!
Kimi Antonelli after finishing on pole:
22:23
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Kieran Jackson
“It was a very intense qualifying, I felt really good and confident – the last lap was mighty! I put everything together, really happy to get the pole!
“Tomorrow is going to be nice to start on the front row, a different feeling. I can’t wait for tomorrow, to see how we can do in the sprint and in qualifying.”
Kimi Antonelli on team radio:
22:20
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Kieran Jackson
Antonelli: “Yes mate, come on! Not bad, not bad!
Bono: “Well done lad! I think we’re getting somewhere...”
KA: “It feels mega!”
Kimi Antonelli takes pole position!
22:17
,
Kieran Jackson
What a moment for the 18-year-old!
A stunning lap! All smiles in the Mercedes garage and from Toto Wolff!
Piastri 2nd, Norris 3rd.
4-10: Verstappen, Rssell, Leclerc, Hamilton, Albon, Hadjar, Alonso
George Russell on provisional pole!
22:11
,
Kieran Jackson
Russell goes three-tenths quicker than Verstappen with a 1:26:7!
Market set for the rest with 3:00 to go!
SQ3 underway!
22:10
Just Verstappen and Russell out on track from the off at the start of this eight-minute SQ3 session, with all 10 on soft tyres!
10 drivers involved: Verstappen, Russell, Norris, Piastri, Antonelli, Leclerc, Hamilton, Albon, Alonso, Hadjar
Lewis Hamilton safe!
22:03
Hamilton moves up to P6!
Carlos Sainz, however, is out! Lap deleted for track limits - a huge lock-up at turn 11!
Bottom-five and out in SQ2 (11-15): Hulkenberg, Ocon, Gasly, Lawson, Sainz
Top-3: Norris, Verstappen, Piastri
Time for the top-10 shootout!
Lewis Hamilton only P8!
21:57
,
Kieran Jackson
Work to do for Hamilton then, he’ll need to go quicker me thinks!
2:00 to go in SQ2...
Current bottom-five (11-15): Sainz, Ocon, Hadjar, Hulkenberg, Lawson
George Russell:
21:56
,
Kieran Jackson
“I’m not liking this tyre!”
P5 at the moment for the Mercedes man!
Current bottom-five (11-15): Sainz, Ocon, Hadjar, Hulkenberg, Lawson
4:00 to go in SQ2...
SQ2 underway!
21:51
,
Kieran Jackson
10 minutes for SQ2 with all the cars on medium tyres again!
Will we have any shock absentees from the top-10?
Yuki Tsunoda out in SQ1!
21:44
,
Kieran Jackson
Yuki didn’t get a lap in!
A big queue to get out and both Tsunoda and Bearman did not start their lap in time!
Nightmare for Red Bull’s second driver!
Bottom-five (16-20) and out in SQ1: Stroll, Doohan, Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Bearman.
Top-3: Russell, Antonelli, Albon
Kimi Antonelli goes to the top!
21:39
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Kieran Jackson
First time at this track for the 18-year-old, but plain-sailing so far for Antonelli - he goes P1 with a time of 1:27:858, 0.012 secs quicker than Norris!
Russell is P5; Hamilto is P6.
Current bottom-five (16-20): Doohan, Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Bearman, Hadjar
4:00 to go in SQ1; this will be chaos in the pit-lane coming up now!
Lando Norris quickest early on
21:38
,
Kieran Jackson
Norris a few tenths quicker than Piastri at the top, with Verstappen seperating them in P2.
In the bottom-five (16-20) with five minutes left: Doohan, Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Bearman, Hadjar
SQ1 underway!
21:32
,
Kieran Jackson
SQ1 is a go!
12 minutes, all on mediums, quickfire stuff!
Jack Doohan, early on, complaining of an unsafe release with Liam Lawson in the pit-lane...
Ten minutes before sprint qualifying!
21:24
,
Kieran Jackson
A lot of unknowns as we head into this quickfire qualifying session!
McLaren are the favourites, but can Red Bull, Mercedes and even Ferrari challenge Piastri and Norris?
Mercedes announce release of Kimi Antonelli ‘The Seat’ documentary on Netflix
20:14
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Kieran Jackson
Mercedes have announced a new documentary, titled ‘The Seat’, that will air on Netflix next week, charting Kimi Antonelli’s promotion to a race seat at the team in 2025.
The 45-minute documentary will reveal the “private conversations” between Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and 18-year-old Italian prodigy Antonelli last year, leading to the teenager taking Lewis Hamilton’s seat at the Silver Arrows.
VIDEO: Ollie Bearman's crash in FP1
19:59
,
Kieran Jackson
“Yeah I’m fine, just... sorry.”
Red flag!
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 2, 2025
Ollie Bearman spins into the barrier ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Fhaap5rOG0
George Russell on prospect of FIA swearing rules changing:
19:44
,
Kieran Jackson
“We want to see these things put into action rather than saying ‘we’re considering things,'” Russell said.
“You know, we all consider a lot of things.
“We’re clear we want changes and once they are implemented then we’ll comment. But for the time being, it’s being considered. So those words don’t mean anything until the change has been made.”
Stefano Domenicali on Miami's new deal until 2041:
19:30
,
Kieran Jackson
“We believe that the credibility and multiplicity to make sure that we stay here for a long time can be the right story to be relevant, and that's what we need to do in this market, because, as I said, we are growing, but we are still small.
“We want to think bigger and bigger.
“[This event] could be one of the most important pillars for our growth in this country”
19:20
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Kieran Jackson
What are the start times in Miami?
All times BST
Friday 2 May
- Sprint qualifying: 9:30pm
Saturday 3 May
- Sprint race: 5pm
- Qualifying: 9pm
Sunday 4 May
- Race: 9pm
FULL FP1 RESULTS
18:59
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Kieran Jackson
Oscar Piastri tops the timesheets in FP1
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 2, 2025
That's it for Miami practice! Here's your full rundown #F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/1X95pxzBP8
Piastri P1!
18:36
,
Kieran Jackson
Oscar Piastri quickest in FP1!
18:31
,
Kieran Jackson
Not all the frontrunners got in a hot lap on the soft tyres, but Oscar Piastri did!
The championship leader quickest in that session with a 1:27:128 - 0.356 seconds faster than Charles Leclerc in second!
Max Verstappen was third, four-tenths off, with Carlos Sainz in fourth and Alex Albon fifth!
6-10: Hadjar, Russell, Tsunoda, Antonelli, Alonso
Norris and Hamilton, in P12 and P13, did not set a fast-lap on the soft tyre...