Kimi Antonelli takes Miami pole

Formula 1 qualifying is where a weekend can flip in one lap — and that is basically what happened in Miami. Kimi Antonelli looked frustrated a few hours earlier after the Sprint, then came back and put his Mercedes on pole for Sunday’s Grand Prix. He beat Max Verstappen by 0.166 seconds, with Charles Leclerc third, and suddenly the whole shape of the race changed. The extra twist is that Sunday’s start was moved from 4:00 p.m. local time to 1:00 p.m. because of heavy-rain concerns, so grid position matters even more if teams expect a disrupted afternoon. ### Why was this such a big swing? Because Mercedes did not look like the cleanest story of the day before qualifying. Antonelli had taken a five-second penalty in the Sprint for track-limits infringements, and the team said neither driver had really been happy with the car through arper over one lap. ### What did Antonelli actually do? He nailed Q3 early. Antonelli set a 1:27.798, and that first big lap held up even though he could not improve on his final run. Formula 1’s official report says he stayed near the top all session, and the onboard summary makes clear that one hooked-up lap was enough to seal it. That m here. ### Who is around him on the grid? Verstappen starts second, so Red Bull is still right there. Leclerc is third for Ferrari, Lando Norris fourth for McLaren, and George Russell only fifth in the other Mercedes. Then come Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri, Franco Colapinto, Isack Hadjar that all think they can win or at least control strategy. ### Why does pole matter so much in Miami? Miami is not Monaco — you can pass here — but clean air still changes everything. The leader gets first control over tire life, battery usage, and the rhythm of the opening stint. If rain or safety cars scramble the race, starting first also means you are reacting from the front instead of fighting through s the launch and own the inside line into the opening sequence. ### Is this a one-off lap or a trend? Turns out it looks more like a trend. Formula 1’s coverage and other race reports both note that this was Antonelli’s third straight Grand Prix pole. That is the part that changes the story from “nice Saturday” to “real title-shaping pace.” He is not just stealing one session — he is becoming the driver the field has to beat over a single lap. ### What about McLaren? McLaren still matters a lot, but qualifying exposed a gap between Sprint pace and one-lap execution. Norris had won the Sprint, yet he ended up fourth on the grid, with Piastri seventh. That does not rule McLaren out on Sunday — race pace