Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for the Miami Grand Prix, narrowly beating a resurgent Max Verstappen. The Italian driver posted a lap of 1 minute 27.798 seconds in Q3, edging Verstappen by just over a tenth of a second. The result marks Antonelli's third consecutive pole, reinforcing Mercedes' pace at the front of the field.
After qualifying, the FIA, F1, and the Miami promoter announced that Sunday's race start time had been moved forward from 4pm to 1pm local time (6pm BST) due to forecasts of heavy thunderstorms in the afternoon. The decision was made to avoid weather-related disruptions, as the US national weather service advises stopping events if lightning occurs within six to ten miles.
Charles Leclerc qualified third for Ferrari, with Lando Norris fourth and George Russell fifth for Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton took sixth, while Oscar Piastri was seventh. Antonelli leads the championship by seven points from Russell, having won two of the last three races.
Verstappen expressed satisfaction with Red Bull's upgrades, which he said made the car more comfortable and gave him confidence after a difficult start to the season. 'I feel a lot more confident and I don't feel like I'm a passenger any more in the car,' he said. Antonelli acknowledged the development battle among teams, noting that Red Bull's upgrades were unexpected but effective.
The race will be the first competitive wet-weather outing for the current cars if rain arrives as forecast. The revised schedule aims to avoid the worst of the storms, with the race now set to start at 1pm local time.
