Andrea Kimi Antonelli is wary of his chances of converting his first pole position into victory in the Miami sprint race.
All six races so far this year have been won from pole position, with the exception of the last round, where pole-winner Max Verstappen incurred a five-second time penalty which dropped him behind Oscar Piastri. The only previous sprint race was won by Lewis Hamilton, who took a surprise pole position in China.
Antonelli beat the McLaren pair and Verstappen to pole position for Saturday’s race in Miami. He expects stiff competition from them, and potentially Ferrari, who have tended to be stronger in race trim than qualifying.
“We know the McLarens, the Ferraris, and the Red Bull of Verstappen have strong race pace,” he said. “It won’t be easy to keep them behind tomorrow, but I will be giving it my all.
Russell congratulated Antonelli on his pole position
“It will be important to have a good start and hopefully from there, set a good pace without suffering too much from tyre degradation.”
He said his pole position came as a complete surprise to him. “I did not expect that,” he admitted. “When I crossed the line, I thought it was a good lap. I was happy with how it came together.
“There were a few areas that I felt I could have found a little bit more time, but I was pleased that I managed to hook up all three sectors.”
Antonelli’s achievement, in only his sixth race weekend, is all the more impressive as he had never driven on the Miami International Autodrome before Friday. He was also unable to set a flying lap on the soft tyre prior to his pole position run due to the red flags during practice.
“It was a great lap in a tight session and will be a moment he will never forget,” said team principal Toto Wolff. “Whilst it is good that we will start tomorrow’s sprint [race] from P1, the most important thing is the progress we are seeing from Kimi.
“He continues to learn and get better every weekend. He has now topped a session, even if it came in sprint qualifying. It is another important milestone in his development.”
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