F1 star raises questions about Mercedes car after Kimi Antonelli sets Miami GP record

Kimi Antonelli has been making a big impression in his first season as a Formula 1 driver and his display in sprint qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix caught the eye

After watching Kimi Antonelli break the record for the youngest ever polesitter in Formula 1, rival Alex Albon was clearly taken aback. “I don’t know how that Merc is legal,” the Williams driver was heard saying over team radio.

The response to Albon’s words was a simple “Copy”. The comments could just be hyperbole rather than an outright accusation of illegality, and there is no indication Antonelli or his team have done anything wrong.

Antonelli’s hot lap in sprint qualifying certainly caught the eye, though. He pipped Drivers’ Championship frontrunner Oscar Piastri to pole for Saturday’s sprint race in Miami, and plenty of attention will be paid to how he gets on in qualifying for the grand prix proper.

At 18 years, eight months and seven days old, Antonelli has beaten the previous record for youngest polesitter in either a sprint or GP format by more than two years. That record was set by Sebastian Vettel in Italy all the way back in 2008, and Vettel is still the youngest to claim pole for a grand prix.

The two McLarens qualified in second and third for the sprint race, with Piastri just ahead of team-mate Lando Norris. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen is fourth, having taken part in Miami after the birth of his daughter Lily.

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Sky Sports’ Martin Brundle was certainly impressed by Antonelli, who replaced Lewis Hamilton as one of Mercedes’ starting drivers after Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari. “Tremendous. What an effort from such a young driver,” the former F1 star said.

“He has no experience of Miami other than on the simulator and has gone out and smashed a lap in. That’s an outstanding effort.”

Antonelli himself was a little surprised by the achievement. “I did not see that coming. I felt the lap was good and I was happy with it,” he said, per Sky Sports. “There were still a few bits I could have done better but I was super happy with how I put all the sectors together.”

He has noticed a gradual improvement in his first F1 season, though, adding: “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.”