05/02/26 08:13:00
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05/02 19:06 CDT Kimi Antonelli storms to Miami Grand Prix pole as Mercedes
rebounds after sprint race stumble
Kimi Antonelli storms to Miami Grand Prix pole as Mercedes rebounds after
sprint race stumble
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) --- Kimi Antonelli helped Mercedes rebound from a
disappointing showing in the Saturday sprint race at the Miami Grand Prix by
winning the pole in qualifying just a few hours later.
It's the third consecutive pole for the current Formula One championship
leader, who blocked Max Verstappen from taking the top starting spot at Miami
International Autodrome for a third straight year.
Mercedes has dominated the competition this season, with George Russell winning
from the pole in the season-opening race, then Antonelli winning from the pole
in the two grands prix that followed. F1 then had a five-week break when a pair
of races in the Middle East were canceled because of the war in Iran.
All teams made upgrades to their cars during the break, but after Russell was
fourth and Antonelli sixth in Saturday's sprint race, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff
acknowledged "we are a little out of sync with our upgrades compared to other
teams."
Antonelli recovered by qualifying and turned a lap at 1 minute, 28.653 seconds
to beat Verstappen of Red Bull for the pole.
"Obviously a difficult start of the day with the sprint where it didn't go our
way, but super happy with the recovery," Antonelli said. "We will do our best
this week and obviously it's been a little bit more difficult for us."
Verstappen earned his best starting spot of the season as Red Bull has
seemingly improved with its car upgrades. The four-time world champion --- a
two-time winner at Miami --- had qualified sixth in Australia, eighth in China
and 11th in Japan.
His best finish of the season so far was sixth in the Australia season opener,
and the Dutchman has been so frustrated with the current car regulations that
he's talked about potentially leaving F1.
He was all smiles after his qualifying result.
"For sure the car has not been great in the previous races and from my side I
never felt comfortable with the layout of the car," Verstappen said. "I think
over the those last few weeks the team has been pushing to try to bring
upgrades to the car and making me feel more comfortable with a lot of things in
the car and it really pays off.
"I feel more in control of the car again and I can push a bit more. To be on
the front row is way better than I expected heading into the weekend."
Charles Leclerc, who was third in the sprint race, qualified third for Ferrari.
Lando Norris, the reigning world champion and defending Miami Grand Prix
winner, qualified fourth for McLaren after winning the sprint race from the
pole.
Russell was fifth, Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari was sixth and Oscar Piastri of
McLaren was seventh after finishing second in the sprint race.
Both of the Cadillac drivers failed to advance out of the first round in the
team's first race in the United States. Despite major upgrades made to the new
car during the five-week break between the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29 and
Miami, Valtteri Bottas qualified 20th and Sergio Perez was 21st.
Only Gabriel Bortoleto qualified below them, last in 22nd, because of an issue
that caused his Audi to catch fire.
F1 and the FIA governing body moved the start time of Sunday's race up by 3
hours to 1 p.m. EDT because of heavy rain expected in Miami. Most of the
drivers have been concerned since Thursday about the forecast, which calls for
thunderstorms. The race must be paused if there's lightning in the area because
conditions must be clear enough for a medical helicopter to operate when cars
are on the track.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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