 "Kimi Antonelli: Meet 18-year-old Mercedes sensation and the youngest ever F1 pole sitter")
Mercedes Italian rookie driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli keeps breaking records in Formula 1. The 18-year-old on Friday became the youngest polesitter in any format after a superb final lap in the Miami Grand Prix sprint qualifying.
While many expected McLaren drivers to take the pole, Antonelli raced front of the grid for Saturday’s race with a fastest lap of 1:26.482 as he forced Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to finish second and third respectively.
“It was a very intense qualifying. I felt really good since this morning and I felt good going into qualifying. I put everything together, so really happy to get the first pole,” said Antonelli.
“Tomorrow will be nice to start on the front row, will be a bit of a different feeling.”
Kimi Antonelli. The youngest ever pole sitter of any format! đź‘Ź#F1 #F1Sprint #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/tImg5ucrOC
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 2, 2025
What’s the secret to making the record? Antonelli said the weekend off after the Saudi Grand Prix played a crucial role.
“Every weekend I learn massively. Last week, having a break really helped me to gather information and process it all and recharging the batteries, it was really good,” he said.
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More Shorts“The whole qualifying I felt I was able to make a step lap by lap. I’m much more aware of how to do a consistent warm up and extract more out of the tyres but there’s a lot to improve.
“Every weekend I get more confident with the car, can play with it more and explore the limits. At the same time, I can understand more from the set-up and give much better feedback which allows the team to improve the car.”
Who is Kimi Antonelli?
Amazingly, Antonelli only passed his driving test in January. Earlier in the 2025 season, he became the youngest driver to lead a race as he broke a record held by four-time world champion Max Verstappen from 2016 in Japan.
Antonelli was born in Bologna in 2006 and joined Mercedes’ junior programme in 2019. He has been methodically working his way up the motorsport ranks as he turned heads in 2022 by dominating both the Italian and ADAC Formula 4 circuits.
After a strong showing in Formula Regional, Antonelli made the uncommon leap past Formula 3 — a bold step that underlined Mercedes’ trust in his exceptional potential.
He joined Mercedes as seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton left for Ferrari.
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