Kimi Antonelli took a sensational top spot in Sprint Qualifying for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, to become the youngest driver to take pole position in any race format in the history of F1. The 18-year-old Mercedes driver posted a time of 1:26.482 to beat McLaren’s championship leader Oscar Piastri by 0.045s. Lando Norris, in the other McLaren, will start the Sprint from P3 ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. 

In the first runs of SQ1, it was Kimi Antonelli who led the way, with the Mercedes driver posting a lap of 1:27.858 to sit 0.008s ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen third on 1:27.953. Championship leader Oscar Piastri lay in fourth place almost three tenths off Antonelli with team-mate George Russell in P5. Elsewhere, Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar has his opening flying lap deleted however and without a time ahead of the final runs, the Frenchman needed a strong final lap. 

The Racing Bulls driver made no mistakes, and his final flyer lifted him to 12th at the end of the session and into SQ2. There was no place in the middle segment for Red Bull Racing’s Yuki Tsunoda, however. 

The Japanese driver failed to make it across the line to start his final flyer before the chequered flag was shown and he dropped out of Sprint Qualifying in P18. Also ruled out at the end of SQ1 were 15th-placed Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Alpine’s Jack Doohan in P16, while Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto exited in P19 ahead of Haas’ Oliver Bearman who also failed to get across the line before the chequered flag. 

At the top of the order, Russell took top spot with his final flyer of 1:27.688 ahead of Antonelli with Williams’ Alex Albon third ahead of Norris, Carlos Sainz and Piastri. 

Verstappen set the initial pace in SQ2, with the Dutchman posting a time of 1:27.729. Antonelli then went two thousandths of second quicker to steal P1 before Norris moved almost two tenths clear and then Piastri went even quicker with a lap of 1:27.354. 

It was Norris who made the most of the final runs of SQ2, however, and the Briton took top spot with a lap of 1:27.109, 0.136s ahead of Verstappen with Piastri in third 0.245s off his McLaren team-mate. Antonelli continued his good work with fourth place ahead of the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. Russell went through in seventh ahead of Albon, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Hadjar. 

Ruled out at the end of SQ2 were Kick Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg in P11, Haas’ Esteban Ocon, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who slapped the wall midway through his lap, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Sainz, who had a massive lock up into Turn 11 and was forced to abandon his final flyer. 

At the start of SQ3, Verstappen was first out on track and the Red Bull driver stopped the clock at 1:27.070. Russell was right behind the Dutchman on track, however, and he breezed past the Red Bull man’s time to reset the bar at 1:26.791 first flyer. 

But while Russell headed back to the pit lane, Verstappen who had made a mistake on his lap, stayed out for a surprise second attempt. The 2024 Miami winner managed to improve, and he took provisional pole six hundredths of a second ahead of the Mercedes driver. 

It was the other Mercedes driver who was going quickest, however. Norris first demoted Verstappen but behind him Antonelli was finding small margins of time and when he crossed the line, he took pole with a superb lap of 1:26.482. Piastri got close but in the end the Italian teenager’s time was good enough to hold on to a historic first pole position. 

Behind the top four, Russell took fifth ahead of Leclerc, Hamilton, Albon, Hadjar and Alonso. 

2025 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying 
1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1'26.482 - -
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1'26.527 0.045 0.052
3 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'26.582 0.100 0.116
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'26.737 0.255 0.295
5 George Russell Mercedes 1'26.791 0.309 0.357
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'26.808 0.326 0.377
7 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1'27.030 0.548 0.634
8 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1'27.193 0.711 0.822
9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1'27.543 1.061 1.227
10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'27.790 1.308 1.512
11 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1'27.850 1.368 1.582
12 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1'28.070 1.588 1.836
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1'28.167 1.685 1.948
14 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1'28.375 1.893 2.189
15 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes - - -
16 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'29.028 2.546 2.944
17 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 1'29.171 2.689 3.109
18 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'29.246 2.764 3.196
19 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1'29.312 2.830 3.272
20 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1'29.825 3.343 3.866