After taking pole in the Sprint Qualifying and third in qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli joined the top ranks. For the first time, he took part in the traditional press conference reserved for the top 3, and both Verstappen and Norris had kind words for their younger rival.
“He’s certainly not in Formula 1 by chance,” commented Lando. “What he did before arriving here was really impressive. His teammate beat Lewis over the last two seasons, and if he’s ahead of George today, he’s definitely doing a great job.”
“When you’re taking your first steps in Formula 1, there’s so much to learn,” Max Verstappen added. “And if you already have the pace we’re seeing from Kimi, well, that’s really impressive.”
Antonelli, slightly blushing, replied with a “You’re too kind.”
The top-3 result in qualifying was beneficial for many different reasons. First, Kimi Antonelli made it clear that his performance 24 hours earlier wasn’t just a one-off. On top of that, laying a strong foundation for today’s Grand Prix helped erase the setbacks suffered in the morning’s Sprint. “I struggled a bit more compared to yesterday’s qualifying,” Kimi admitted. “The track conditions were different due to the rain in the morning, but the final lap in Q3 was pretty good. Maybe I pushed a little too hard in turn 1, but otherwise everything went well.”
The team working around Kimi Antonelli is aware that the first phase of his development is behind him. There’s still a journey ahead, but everything appears to be well ahead of the schedule set last winter. “Every race weekend is a learning experience and a chance to gain more confidence with the car. I’m happy with how I can now feel more comfortable, which allows me to explore the limits more and feel good behind the wheel.”
There’s another part of the work that played a key role in the progress Antonelli showed this weekend in Miami. “The free week after Jeddah was really useful to take stock and analyze all the data gathered in the first phase of the season. I focused on some weak points, like getting the most out of the tires over a full qualifying lap—something I didn’t do well in the first weekends. There’s still room for improvement, I’m aware of that, but feeling better in the car speeds up the learning process. After this weekend, we’ll be heading to European tracks I know well, so I hope to maintain the same pace or take further steps forward.”
Looking ahead to today’s 57-lap race, Antonelli didn’t want to make any bold predictions. “The start will be important, then the goal is to try to stay close to Max and Lando. It won’t be easy, and there are some question marks, like the weather. If the race stays dry, the laps we did in race trim during FP1 will help, but I think it’ll be a race to understand lap by lap.”
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