INDIA in F1

Tag: F1 Sprint

  • Antonelli tops Sprint qualifying to become youngest pole sitter: F1

    Antonelli tops Sprint qualifying to become youngest pole sitter: F1

    Miami (USA), 3 May 2025: Kimi Antonelli took a sensational top spot in Sprint Qualifying for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, to become the youngest driver to take pole position in any race format in the history of F1. The 18-year-old Mercedes driver posted a time of 1:26.482 to beat McLaren’s championship leader Oscar Piastri by 0.045s. Lando Norris, in the other McLaren, will start the Sprint from P3 ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. 

    In the first runs of SQ1, it was Kimi Antonelli who led the way, with the Mercedes driver posting a lap of 1:27.858 to sit 0.008s ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen third on 1:27.953. Championship leader Oscar Piastri lay in fourth place almost three tenths off Antonelli with team-mate George Russell in P5. Elsewhere, Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar has his opening flying lap deleted however and without a time ahead of the final runs, the Frenchman needed a strong final lap. 

    The Racing Bulls driver made no mistakes, and his final flyer lifted him to 12th at the end of the session and into SQ2. There was no place in the middle segment for Red Bull Racing’s Yuki Tsunoda, however. 

    The Japanese driver failed to make it across the line to start his final flyer before the chequered flag was shown and he dropped out of Sprint Qualifying in P18. Also ruled out at the end of SQ1 were 15th-placed Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Alpine’s Jack Doohan in P16, while Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto exited in P19 ahead of Haas’ Oliver Bearman who also failed to get across the line before the chequered flag. 

    At the top of the order, Russell took top spot with his final flyer of 1:27.688 ahead of Antonelli with Williams’ Alex Albon third ahead of Norris, Carlos Sainz and Piastri. 

    Verstappen set the initial pace in SQ2, with the Dutchman posting a time of 1:27.729. Antonelli then went two thousandths of second quicker to steal P1 before Norris moved almost two tenths clear and then Piastri went even quicker with a lap of 1:27.354. 

    It was Norris who made the most of the final runs of SQ2, however, and the Briton took top spot with a lap of 1:27.109, 0.136s ahead of Verstappen with Piastri in third 0.245s off his McLaren team-mate. Antonelli continued his good work with fourth place ahead of the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. Russell went through in seventh ahead of Albon, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Hadjar. 

    Ruled out at the end of SQ2 were Kick Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg in P11, Haas’ Esteban Ocon, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who slapped the wall midway through his lap, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Sainz, who had a massive lock up into Turn 11 and was forced to abandon his final flyer. 

    At the start of SQ3, Verstappen was first out on track and the Red Bull driver stopped the clock at 1:27.070. Russell was right behind the Dutchman on track, however, and he breezed past the Red Bull man’s time to reset the bar at 1:26.791 first flyer. 

    But while Russell headed back to the pit lane, Verstappen who had made a mistake on his lap, stayed out for a surprise second attempt. The 2024 Miami winner managed to improve, and he took provisional pole six hundredths of a second ahead of the Mercedes driver. 

    It was the other Mercedes driver who was going quickest, however. Norris first demoted Verstappen but behind him Antonelli was finding small margins of time and when he crossed the line, he took pole with a superb lap of 1:26.482. Piastri got close but in the end the Italian teenager’s time was good enough to hold on to a historic first pole position. 

    Behind the top four, Russell took fifth ahead of Leclerc, Hamilton, Albon, Hadjar and Alonso. 

    2025 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying 
    1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1’26.482 – –
    2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1’26.527 0.045 0.052
    3 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1’26.582 0.100 0.116
    4 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1’26.737 0.255 0.295
    5 George Russell Mercedes 1’26.791 0.309 0.357
    6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1’26.808 0.326 0.377
    7 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1’27.030 0.548 0.634
    8 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1’27.193 0.711 0.822
    9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1’27.543 1.061 1.227
    10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1’27.790 1.308 1.512
    11 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1’27.850 1.368 1.582
    12 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1’28.070 1.588 1.836
    13 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1’28.167 1.685 1.948
    14 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1’28.375 1.893 2.189
    15 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes – – –
    16 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1’29.028 2.546 2.944
    17 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 1’29.171 2.689 3.109
    18 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1’29.246 2.764 3.196
    19 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1’29.312 2.830 3.272
    20 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1’29.825 3.343 3.866

  • Lando Norris handed Sprint win by Oscar Piastri; Verstappen third

    Lando Norris handed Sprint win by Oscar Piastri; Verstappen third

    Sau Paulo, 2 Nov. 2024: Lando Norris took his first F1 Sprint win after being waved through by McLaren team-mate and long-time leader Oscar Piastri in the closing stages of the 24-lap race at the Autódromo Carlos Pace. Red Bull’s Championship leader Max Verstappen crossed the line in third but was handed a five-second time after the race for a VSC infringment dropping him to fourth behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the final classification.

    At the race start, both McLarens got away well and polesitter Piastri moved across the track successful defend the inside line against front-row starter Norris who held second. Leclerc also defended well into the Senna S to keep Verstappen at bay. 

    Across the opening laps Verstappen pressed hard to provoke a mistake from Leclerc and initially that allowed the McLarens to open a gap. But Norris, in his team-mate’s dirty air, then fell back from Piastri who was subsequently asked to drop back and provide DRS to his team-mate. 

    As the race reached half distance, Verstappen began to get some reward for his efforts, as Leclerc began to struggle more on his Medium tyres. And on lap 18 the Ferrari driver made a small mistake in the Senna S. Verstappen closed in through Turn 3 and with DRS engaged muscles his way around the outside through Turn 4 to claim third place, 

    The Dutchman then began to eat into the gap to Norris, narrowing McLaren’s chances of pulling off a positional swap between Piastri and Norris. 

    However, both McLarens were able to build a healthier two-second gap to the Red Bull and when Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg stopped at the edge of the track at Turn 8 and the threat of a Safety Car appeared, the McLaren pitwall pulled the trigger. 

    Piastri moved across on the run to Turn 4 and Norris slipped past to take the lead. The time lost meant that Piastri was now under threat from Verstappen but just before the start of the penultimate lap, race officials imposed a VSC to deal with Hülkenberg’s stranded car and the gaps froze.

    The VSC ended midway through the final lap and Verstappen closed right up to Piastri in Turn 4 just as the caution was coming to an end. The Dutch driver’s proximity to the Australian was noted and then was investigated after the Sprint.

    The Stewards handed Verstappen a five-second penalty, saying that “Article 56.5 states in part ‘All cars must also be above this minimum time when the FIA light panels change to green.’ The driver was 0.63 seconds below the minimum time at VSC End when the FIA light panels changed to green. This indicates a sporting advantage gained under VSC.’ 

    Verstappen crossed the line third but the time penalty dropped him to fourth behind Leclerc and ahead of the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, with Mercedes’ George Russell in sixth,. Pierre Gasly held on to seventh place for Alpine, just ahead of the hard-charging Sergio Pérez who battled through from P13 to take the final point on offer. 

    2024 FIA Formula 1 São Paulo Grand Prix – Sprint
    1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 24 – 
    2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 24 0.593
    3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 24 1.497
    4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 24 5.656
    5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 24 7.224
    6 George Russell Mercedes 24 12.475
    7 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 24 18.161
    8 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 24 18.717
    9 Liam Lawson RB/Honda RBPT 24 20.773
    10 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 24 24.606
    11 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 24 29.764
    12 Franco Colapinto Williams/Mercedes 24 33.233
    13 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 24 34.128
    14 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 24 35.507
    15 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 24 41.374
    16 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 24 43.231
    17 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 24 54.139
    18 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 24 56.537
    19 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 24 57.983
         Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 19 – Retirement