Mercedes surprised in Miami by putting Kimi Antonelli on pole position, making him deservedly the youngest driver to start at the front in an F1 race. The 18-year-old from Bologna managed to put everything together in a flawless lap, as only the truly talented can do, and was able to rely on a very competitive W16 from the only free practice session.
The black and silver arrow appeared on the Florida street circuit with a very low setup, possibly conceived with the sprint race in mind. In any case, the Brackley technicians did significant work to exploit the characteristics of a car that is always comfortable in high-speed sections, but clearly less so in medium-slow areas where downforce is needed.
The combined setup work allowed Mercedes to increase downforce through the car’s body, enabling the aerodynamicists to lighten the rear wing without compromising the car’s handling in sections with sudden direction changes.
The rear wing stands out not so much for the flap supports, which had already been notably reduced with a very original attachment solution to the endplate, but rather for the smaller chord of the movable element, designed to reduce drag and improve efficiency. Unlike other cars such as the Ferrari, the W16 has not suffered from overheating in the rear tyres, a sign that the development work — also followed by Simone Resta — is bearing fruit.
And we can expect a competitive Antonelli in the sprint race because in yesterday’s practice, both the Italian and Russell never fitted the soft tyres, preferring instead to focus on race preparation and tyre wear evaluation (the current mediums are actually the 2024 red compounds, which had grip issues for the two drivers who dared to use them). Mercedes showed not only an absence of thermal degradation, but also maintained a good race pace.
The Miami track suits both the Silver Arrows and McLaren: it’s no coincidence that the top three positions are held by Kimi Antonelli, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
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