Kimi Antonelli has taken a third successive pole. A ballistic first run in Q3 yielded a time of 1m 27.798s, one that would prove untouchable for the rest of the field. This marks the third time in history that a driver’s first three career poles have come in consecutive order. The other two drivers to have done so were Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Given that storied company, it's safe to say Antonelli is now a force to be reckoned with.
He will be joined on the front row by an upbeat Max Verstappen. Having praised his team's work and the improved driveability of his car, Verstappen remained in contention for pole throughout. However, a valiant final effort saw him come to within three tenths of Antonelli for what is by far Verstappen’s best qualifying result of the season so far. The Dutchman was encouraged by his lap and stated that he now sees “light at the end of the tunnel”, given Red Bull’s early-season woes.
Charles Leclerc qualified third but was frustrated at the Ferrari SF-26’s lack of pace.
Behind him was Lando Norris. After dominating the sprint, McLaren were unable to match Mercedes or Ferrari in qualifying. Norris reported boost issues and could only manage fourth. However, the reigning world champion remained happy with his individual performance.
As was the case in sprint qualifying at last year’s Miami GP, George Russell had to make do with fifth. He cited his long-running struggle with low-grip circuits as the primary factor but refused to see his weekend as an exercise in damage limitation. With Antonelli on pole, Russell will need a good start if he’s to keep his title bid from losing momentum.
Lewis Hamilton was unable to match his teammate’s one-lap pace and qualified sixth ahead of Oscar Piastri, who, in contrast to the positive figure he cut after the sprint, described McLaren’s one-lap pace as a “kick back down to reality”.
As was the case in the sprint, Franco Colapinto managed the eighth fastest time to equal his best starting position of the season so far. Isack Hadjar was eighth tenths and seven places adrift of his teammate in ninth, while Pierre Gasly snuck into Q3 and will start tenth.
Nico Hülkenberg qualified 11th ahead of Liam Lawson, Ollie Bearman, Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon and Arvid Lindblad.
Aston Martin’s driveability issues look set to continue as Fernando Alonso suffered both a major slide on the exit of turn 17 and a double front lockup on the entrance to the pit lane.
Lance Stroll qualified 19th ahead of the two Cadillacs of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.
After being disqualified from the sprint race for a technical infringement, Gabriel Bortoleto’s qualifying session was brought to an early end with a fiery brake failure.
Having been outgunned by McLaren for much of the weekend, Mercedes – and specifically Antonelli – have hit back in style. However, given his history of poor starts this season and the presence of a resurgent Max Verstappen alongside him, Antonelli will have plenty to watch out for come turn one on Sunday.
