Formula 1: I didn't expect it, says Antonelli on debut pole in Miami Sprint Qualifying

Miami, May 3 (IANS) Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli was "over the moon" after claiming his first-ever Formula 1 pole position during Sprint Qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix. The young Italian admitted he hadn’t expected to achieve the milestone, even though he felt confident in his pace heading into the session.

Antonelli became the youngest driver ever to clinch pole position in the history of the sport.

Delivering strong performances in both SQ1 and SQ2, Antonelli put it all together in SQ3. He clocked an impressive 1m 26.482s lap, enough to knock Red Bull’s Max Verstappen off the top spot. That time held firm as McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris settled into second and third, respectively.

“I’m feeling over the moon. I did not expect it, but I was feeling good in the car," Antonelli said.

“I was able to improve lap by lap and find that consistency, and that lap came all together. I’m super, super happy with that, and now we will enjoy this moment a little bit more, but as well I want to focus on tomorrow because I really want to try and repeat myself," the Italian added.

A heartfelt moment unfolded as Antonelli made his way to the Mercedes garage to embrace his father, Marco, in celebration of his milestone. The teenager later paid tribute to his family, acknowledging their unwavering support throughout his journey to Formula 1.

“It definitely was really nice, and also to find him in the garage after Qualifying. I’m super happy to share this moment with him. He’s so important to me as well and he’s like a rock, I know I can always rely on him," Antonelli said.

“Really happy to share this moment with him. I would like to share it with my mum and my sister as well, but hopefully next time.”

Reflecting on Saturday’s Sprint - as well as the rest of the weekend at the Miami International Autodrome, a track that he had never driven at prior to the current event - Antonelli said, “We did quite a long run in FP1 to try and gather as (much) information as possible.

“Of course we don’t really know the pace of the others, but I guess we will see tomorrow during the [Sprint]. And then about Qualifying, the track is going to keep evolving so it’s going to be important to be on top of it and try to repeat ourselves.”

On the other side of the Mercedes garage, George Russell had briefly set the benchmark in SQ3 after completing his lap earlier than the rest of the field. However, he was eventually pushed down to fifth place.

Looking back on the session and why he opted to run early, Russell explained: “Firstly massive congrats to Kimi - really pleased to see (that). He did an amazing job, he’s been really quick all day, really impressive.

“I’ve been struggling a little bit today, a little bit off the pace, not been so comfortable and we just wanted to go on the early side because ultimately I didn’t quite have that confidence, and we thought maybe if there’s a red or a yellow (flag) at the end of the session it would come our way. But P5 today, not great – more to improve, but amazing for Kimi and the team.”

Pushed on why he has been struggling for confidence so far in Miami, the Briton responded, “These Sprint race weekends are challenging. If you get in the groove early, you can just build from there, and just all day today I haven’t quite felt it in the car, especially the tyres sliding around a bit.

“But as I said, it’s Sprint (Qualifying) today – obviously disappointing not to be further up the grid, but really happy for Kimi.”

--IANS

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