Mercedes teen star Rookie Antonelli made history as he became the youngest pole-sitter in Formula One history.
According to BBC, the 18-year-old who replaced seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes this year left behind Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris on Friday, May 2, 2025, to claim his maiden F1 pole position for the Miami Grand Prix Sprint.
The Italian car racer also beat the record held by Sebastian Vettel since 2008 by more than two years and became the youngest-ever driver to secure a pole position across F1 qualifying formats.
Rookie Antonelli ‘over the moon’ after new career milestone
After creating Formula 1 history, Antonelli expressed, "I am over the moon. I did not expect it. I was feeling good in the car. I was able to improve lap by lap and find that consistency and that gap all came together."
The teen racer added, "I am super happy with that. We will enjoy this moment, but I want to focus on tomorrow because I really want to try to repeat myself."
After the top pole position, he hugged his father Marco in the Mercedes garage as his team cheered for him and celebrated the moment.
"It was really nice, and also to find him (Marco) in the garage after qualifying. I am super happy to share this moment with him. It is so important to me; he is like a rock. I can always rely on him. I would like to share it with my mum and sister as well, but hopefully next time."
Antonelli's previous highest grid position of the 2025 season was fifth. He will now begin the weekend’s sprint ten points ahead of Norris at the Miami International Autodrome.
