Kimi Antonelli takes pole at Miami Grand Prix as rain threatens race day

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli bounced back from a difficult sprint race to take pole position for the Miami Grand Prix. It was the Italian's third pole in four grands prix this season and his team-mate and title rival George Russell was down in fifth place, 0.399 seconds adrift. Max Verstappen took second, 0.166secs from Antonelli, after a remarkable turnaround in form for his Red Bull team following upgrades to their car. McLaren's Lando Norris, who dominated the sprint earlier on Saturday, was fourth, behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, whose team-mate Lewis Hamilton was sixth, ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri. The race is due to take place at 21:00 BST on Sunday but heavy rain and thunderstorms are forecast during the day. F1 officials are meeting later on Saturday to assess the latest forecast and discuss whether to change the schedule. Antonelli secured his pole with his first run in final qualifying, and a mistake on his final run meant he faced an anxious wait to see if anyone could improve his time. But only Verstappen, who was third fastest on the first runs, managed to go faster on a second attempt in the 33C Miami heat. The 19-year-old, who was demoted from fourth to sixth in the sprint by a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits, said: "It has been an amazing day to be on pole again. It was a difficult start to the day with the sprint but super-happy with the recovery. I got a little bit excited on the final lap of Q3 but the first lap was good enough. I was very stressed just waiting for everyone to finish their laps." Red Bull, like McLaren and Ferrari, brought a major upgrade to their car for this weekend, and while McLaren's worked well early on, refinements from Red Bull and Mercedes left the sprint winners trailing. Verstappen said: "The car has not been at its best in the previous races but also from my side I never felt comfortable with the layout of the car. The team has been pushing flat out to bring upgrades and make me feel more comfortable and it really paid off. I feel more in control and I can push a bit more and to be on the front row is way better than I expected heading into the weekend." Verstappen's team-mate Isack Hadjar, who had had a promising start to his Red Bull career, was left trailing, 0.825secs adrift of the Dutchman in ninth. Leclerc was a little disappointed with third after Ferrari's upgrade, saying they were just not fast enough to compete at the very front. He headed Hamilton by 0.176secs. The top 10 behind Piastri was completed by Alpine's Franco Colapinto, on good form on one lap all weekend, Hadjar and the second Alpine of Pierre Gasly. At the back, Fernando Alonso made it 40 grand prix qualifying sessions in a row beating Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll as his team improved after qualifying right at the back for the sprint, both their drivers beating the Cadillacs.