Antonelli pleased to "hook up all three sectors" in the nail-biting Miami sprint qualifying

Having become the 14th Italian driver to set the fastest time in a Formula 1 grid-deciding session, Andrea Kimi Antonelli is eager to keep his rivals behind, although he expects strong pace from the "McLarens, Ferraris and the Red Bull of Verstappen."

Having shown promising pace in the sole practice session, Andrea Kimi Antonelli continued to impress in qualifying. The 18-year-old looked quick on the mediums in SQ1 and SQ2 before he he went on to beat McLaren's Oscar Piastri, the championship leader, by 0.045 seconds.

Lando Norris appeared to be the quicker McLaren driver in qualifying, but he ended up third, a place behind his team mate Piastri. Reigning champion Max Verstappen elected to complete two laps in the final stage of the sprint qualifying, and he was right as his second lap was the quicker one, but it was still only enough for P4 on the grid.

With his stellar last push lap, the Bologna-born driver sealed his first ever P1 grid slot in style, at a track he has never driven before, in an incredible history-making effort.

"I did not expect that! It feels fantastic to take my first pole position. When I crossed the line, I thought it was a good lap. I was happy with how it came together.

"There were a few areas that I felt I could have found a little bit more time, but I was pleased that I managed to hook up all three sectors. I will enjoy this moment but quickly focus on tomorrow as it would be good to repeat today by taking victory in the Sprint itself."

As for the prospects for the sprint race, Antonelli said: "We know the McLarens, the Ferraris, and the Red Bull of Verstappen have strong race pace. It won’t be easy to keep them behind tomorrow, but I will be giving it my all to do so.

"It will be important to have a good start and hopefully from there, set a good pace without suffering too much from tyre degradation. After the Sprint, we will have to try and do the job we have done today to secure a good grid position for the Grand Prix on Sunday."