Mercedes’ teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli shocked everyone by securing his first-ever pole position for the Miami GP Sprint.
The 18-year-old stepped in for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes after the seven-time champion’s move to Ferrari. This is only his sixth race weekend in Formula 1.
In his debut on the unfamiliar Miami street track, Antonelli delivered an impressive lap in the final SQ3 phase of Sprint Qualifying. His time was just 0.045 seconds faster than world championship leader Oscar Piastri’s, securing him pole position for Saturday’s 5 pm Sprint. With this victory, the Italian is now the youngest driver ever to claim a pole position in any of F1’s qualifying formats, breaking Sebastian Vettel’s 2008 record by over two years.
Antonelli, who was congratulated by many, said, “I did not see that coming. I felt the lap was good, and I was happy with it.”
“There were still a few bits I could have done better, but I was super happy with how I put all the sectors together,” he added.
Here is the updated list of the youngest F1 polesitters (Grand Prix and Sprint).
| Driver | Age | Race |
| 1) Kimi Antonelli | 18 years, 8 months, 7 days | 2025 Miami GP Sprint |
| 2) Sebastian Vettel | 21 years, 2 months, 11 days | 2008 Italian GP |
| 3) Charles Leclerc | 21 years, 5 months, 15 days | 2019 Bahrain GP |
| 4) Fernando Alonso | 21 years, 7 months, 22 days | 2003 Malaysian GP |
| 5) Max Verstappen | 21 years, 10 months, 5 days | 2019 Hungarian GP |
In a social media post, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team stated, “Hugs all round for F1’s youngest-ever polesitter ❤️”
Many praised the achievement, calling it a milestone moment. One simply wrote, “The next world champion 🔥👏😍”
Other race highlights
Piastri outpaced his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, and Max Verstappen qualified fourth for Red Bull. George Russell, driving the second Mercedes, was disappointed with his fifth-place finish. He found himself 0.309 seconds behind Antonelli.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton weren’t among the pole finishers, coming in sixth and seventh, respectively. Hamilton was at least closer to his teammate than in recent races, just 0.2 seconds behind.
Alex Albon finished eighth, while Carlos Sainz was knocked out after running wide at Turn 11. Racing Bull’s Isack Hadjar took ninth, with Fernando Alonso rounding out the top 10 for Aston Martin.
Here is the list of Miami GP Sprint Qualifying: Top 10
1) Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
2) Oscar Piastri, McLaren
3) Lando Norris, McLaren
4) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
5) George Russell, Mercedes
6) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
7) Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
8) Alex Albon, Williams
9) Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls
10) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin