F1 Miami: Oscar Piastri in second after sprint race qualifying behind 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli in pole

Oscar Piastri has picked up where he left off in qualifying second for the sprint race in Miami ahead of rivals Max Verstappen and teammate Lando Norris but behind the youngest pole holder in F1 history.

Continuing where he left off in the Middle East, Australia’s Oscar Piastri has once again reminded his main Formula One rivals he remains the man to catch after he snatched a spot on the front row for the sprint race at the Miami Grand Prix behind rookie teen sensation Kimi Antonelli.

The first Aussie to lead the world championship standings since 2010 following his back-to-back race victories in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Piastri made a near perfect start to the opening event in North America this season.

After posting the fastest time in practice, the 24-year-old from Melbourne unleashed a blistering flying lap to qualify second for Sunday morning’s sprint.

Oscar Piastri, right, of Australia talks with his team in Miami. Picture: AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

Despite a small error that cost him the chance to get the front place on the grid, Piastri lapped the South Florida street circuit in 1:26.527, less than five-hundredths of a second behind Antonelli, who took a surprise pole for Mercedes.

“I’m reasonably happy, I mean it wasn’t the best lap ever,” Piastri said.

“I had a lock-up into the last corner which is probably where pole went away, but P2 is still a good result, we can still fight from there in the sprint, so all in all, pretty happy.”

Piastri has a great record in sprints, taking the chequered flag at Qatar in 2023 and 2024 and finishing runner-up in the only sprint so far this season, in China, and is hopeful of nabbing another one if he can get past Antonelli.

Feeling good ahead of the Sprint 💪#McLaren | #MiamiGP 🌴 pic.twitter.com/U2EN2wKQ2g

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) May 2, 2025

“We’ve got more pace to unlock and I’m feeling positive,” Piastri said.

“I’ll try and make up a spot tomorrow before we get stuck in where the big points are.

“I think we’ve got a bit more pace to unlock, hopefully.

“So, yeah, feeling positive still and trying to make up a spot tomorrow in the sprint before we get stuck into where the big points are.”

Just 18, Antonelli became the youngest F1 driver ever to take pole in either a sprint or full length race to send a strong message to the sport’s world that he’s going to be a force in the coming years.

“I am over the moon. I did not expect it,” he said.

“I was feeling good in the car. I was able to improve lap by lap and find that consistency and that gap came all together.

Director of Pirelli Mario Isola presents Mercedes' Italian driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli with the pole award after Sprint qualifying in Miami. Picture: Chandan Khanna / AFP

“I am super happy with that. We will enjoy this moment but I want to focus on tomorrow because I really want to try to repeat myself.”

Tipped as a future championship rival for Piastri, the significant short term bonus for Piastri was that he finished in front of his two main opponents for this year’s drivers’ title, his McLaren team mate Lando Norris and four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who was behind the wheel of his Red Bull as a father for the first time.

Norris, who claimed his first F1 win in Miami last year and trails Piastri by 10 points in the standings, was third quickest but far from satisfied.

“It was good, a close qualifying, and just happy to get a good lap in there, it was close, so not much more I could ask for,” a frustrated Norris said.

“Of course, there are a lot of good memories here, but at the same time, it doesn’t matter, it is in the past and I’m concentrating on this weekend and today’s performance, which I think was in the ballpark.

Looking to have some fun in the Sprint Race 👊#McLaren | #MiamiGP 🌴 pic.twitter.com/CqqURbWCd9

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) May 2, 2025

“Obviously, it was not good enough, but it shows how close it is, shows how quick the Mercedes are and both of us are behind.

“There is a bit of a job to do for the Sprint race, but we are close enough to still aim for pole (in grand prix qualifying).”

Norris will start alongside Verstappen on the second row after the Dutchman posted the fourth best time dispute arriving in Miami late after he and his partner Kelly Piquet celebrated the birth of their daughter Lily.

“Of course it is not where I want to be but you have to be a bit realistic with the limitations that we have at the moment and I think it was still quite close,” Verstappen said

“But just going off my own feeling, balance-wise with the car, I think it will be tough with the heat. Like I said, we know our limitations, so we have to try and make the best of it.”

Australia’s Jack Doohan’s luckless start to his first full season in F1 continued when he qualified 17th for the sprint after failing to get in his second flying lap at the quickest point of the session.

Doohan tried to leave his garage at the exact same time as his Alpine team mate Pierre Gasly but because they got in each other’s way, the Aussie ran out of room to exit the pitlane without hitting the pit wall concrete kerbing.

Livid at missing his chance to make it to the second phase of qualifying, Doohan said the mishap should never have happened.

“Of course, from the result, it was not the end to the sprint qualifying we were hoping for. The feeling in the car was good and we felt good heading into the session,” Doohan said.

“On the final run, we lost places in the queue in the pitlane with the car having to be pushed back by the mechanics, which meant we were out of position and chasing to make it to the line in time.

“It’s frustrating not to be able to put in a second fast lap, particularly with the improvement in lap time we saw and potential in the car. It’s something we’ll review and debrief as a team on.”

Originally published as F1 Miami: Oscar Piastri in second after sprint race qualifying behind 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli in pole