Miami Grand Prix: Kimi Antonelli on pole ahead of Max Verstappen
Antonelli secured pole position with his first run in final qualifying and a mistake on his final run meant he faced an anxious wait to see if anyone could improve his time.
However, only Verstappen, who was third fastest in the first races, managed to go faster on the second attempt in the 33C Miami heat.
The 19-year-old driver, who fell from fourth to sixth place in the sprint with a 5-second penalty for exceeding the track limits, said: “It was a great day to be in pole position again.
“I had a tough start to the day with the sprint but I’m extremely happy with my recovery. I got a little excited on the last lap of the third quarter but the first lap was good enough. I was very stressed waiting for everyone to finish their laps.”
Red Bull, like McLaren and Ferrari, brought a major upgrade to their cars for this weekend and McLaren’s worked well early on, while Red Bull and Mercedes’ improvements saw them outpace the sprint winners.
Verstappen said: “The car hasn’t performed at its best in previous races, but from my perspective I never felt comfortable with the setup of the car.
“The team is doing their best to bring improvements and make me feel more comfortable and it’s really paid off. I feel like I’m more in control and can push a little bit harder and being on the front row is a lot better than I expected going into the weekend.”
Verstappen’s teammate Isack Hadjar, who had a promising start to his Red Bull career, was 0.825 seconds behind the Dutch pilot in ninth place.
Leclerc was a little disappointed with Ferrari’s third-place finish after their upgrade, saying they were not fast enough to race at the front. He led Hamilton by 0.176 seconds.
After Piastri, the top 10 was completed by Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, who showed good form in one lap all weekend, Hadjar and Pierre Gasly’s second Alpine.
At the back, Fernando Alonso advanced by beating his Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll in 40 consecutive grand prix qualifying sessions, after his team was at the back of the pack for the sprint, with both drivers beating the Cadillacs.
