Kimi Antonelli made history in qualifying for the Miami F1 Grand Prix : he took his third consecutive pole after having secured the first, as only Senna and Schumacher had been able to do, and dedicated it to Alex Zanardi, who died yesterday, May 1st, the same day that 32 years ago the Circus said goodbye to the legend Ayrton Senna.
"I'm happy after a tough weekend. It wasn't easy, but the third lap was very good. This pole," Antonelli emphasized to Sky, "is dedicated to Alex Zanardi, who is a friend of ours."
THE RACE – Formula 1’s return to the track in Miami after a month-long hiatus due to the cancellation of the “Arab” GPs due to the war in Iran marks the rebirth of the Woking team and of world champion Lando Norris, who dominated Saturday’s mini-race, ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri and the Ferrari of an excellent Charles Leclerc, who will start Sunday’s long race from third place.
At the start, the Monegasque driver overtook Antonelli's Mercedes (sixth place for the championship leader, penalized two places for track limits) and in the final laps even looked like he could fight for second place. George Russell's Mercedes finished just outside the podium, having lost the on-track battle with his teammate, only managing to overtake Antonelli thanks to the five-second penalty imposed on the Italian driver for crossing the white line four times. Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished fifth, blocking Lewis Hamilton's path, unable to do better than seventh place. In the standings, Russell is seven points behind leader Antonelli, while Leclerc is 20 points behind the driver from Bologna.
All this in a race that began with the moving memory of Alex Zanardi, with all the drivers lined up at the finish line , a minute of silence and the scoreboard on the starting line illuminating the name and face of the former Formula 1 driver and Paralympic champion.
(Unioneonline)
