Antonelli bounces back from bitter sprint race to claim Miami GP pole
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli bounced back from a disappointing sprint race to claim pole position for Sunday's Formula One Miami Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver clocked 1 minute 27. 798 seconds in Saturday's qualifying session to claim a third consecutive pole position this season.
"It was a difficult start with the sprint when it didn't go our way but super happy with the recovery," he said. "Hopefully a magic one happens tomorrow. It would be nice to not lose any positions but we will do our best.
This weekend has been more difficult for us but we are keeping it together and maximizing the performance, so I'm happy with that. " Antonelli started the sprint in second but didn't get away particularly well and lost positions. He finished fourth, but was demoted to sixth after a penalty for excessive track limits breaches.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull was 0. 166 seconds behind the Italian in second, by far his best qualifying result this year. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari completed the top three.
"The car hasn't been great in the previous races, but also from my side I never felt comfortable with the layout of the car, and over the last few weeks the team has been pushing flat out to try to bring upgrades to the car and making me feel more comfortable with a lot of things," Verstappen said. "And it really pays off, I feel more in control of the car again, and then I can push a bit more. To be on the front row is way better than I expected heading into this weekend.