Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for the Miami Formula 1 GP. After a challenging Sprint race, the Mercedes team bounced back in the qualifying session for Sunday’s GP and ended Saturday on a high note.
Read more NASCAR Brazil: Nicolas Costa wins in Cascavel and Bruna Tomaselli makes history in the Challenge
The result puts the team in a strong position for the race, especially in a balanced grid scenario. With rain forecasted, the contest promises to be even more unpredictable.
Antonelli celebrated the performance in Q3 and highlighted the execution of the decisive lap: “I’m very happy with the qualifying session, it was a great recovery after a tough Sprint. I felt I maximized the car and my performance,” he said. The young driver also revealed that he had to abort the last attempt after a wheel lock-up, but the previous time had already secured pole.
The Italian also looked ahead to Sunday’s race and pointed out a focus area: “We need to improve the start, that has been a limitation this year. Still, I’m confident we can put ourselves in a position to fight for the win,” he added.
Read more F2: Check out the starting grid for the main race of the Miami round
George Russell, meanwhile, only managed fifth position on the starting grid and acknowledged he could have done better: “It’s a disappointing result. I think P3 was possible if we had got everything right,” he said. He also mentioned difficulties with the track and small mistakes that cost some positions.
The team principal, Toto Wolff, praised the recovery after a difficult start to the weekend. According to him, adjustments made after the Sprint race put the car in a better condition: “It was a great lap from Kimi, everything came together for him. The session was extremely close, with several teams in contention,” he said, also highlighting that the race should be influenced by variable weather conditions.
