Kimi Antonelli, pole position in the name of Alex Zanardi: "It is for him"

Andrea Kimi Antonelli also took pole position at the Miami Grand Prix: the third in a row for him in this extraordinary start to the 2026 season. However, there is also a veil of sadness in yet another feat of the Mercedes driver, who even before taking the track wanted to honor Alex Zanardi with an inscription on his single-seater. The Paralympic champion, who passed away at the age of 59, was as Bolognese as he was. Not only that: in his last year in Lotus before transferring to Champ Car, 1994, he raced in Formula 1 precisely with the number 12. The same as his young heir.

Fatally, then, among the Miami poleman’s first thoughts is also a tribute intended precisely for Zanardi. “This pole position is obviously dedicated to Alex, who was a friend of ours and has left us,” a contrite Antonelli told ‘Sky Sport’.

I send my condolences to the family, I really wanted to do it. And this result is for him.”

Antonelli then commented on the crazy statistic of his third career and consecutive pole position, a record shared with only Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. “I would say a lot of stuff,” the Mercedes driver smiled. “However, I’m especially happy because it had been a pretty complicated weekend for us so far. We struggled with the balance, not to mention that the other teams brought important updates to the track. It was not easy, but I must say that already the first lap of Q3 was very good. I also had a little something extra, never say never with opponents like Verstappen or Leclerc. On the return lap I was quite tense, and also a little bit angry.”

The Miami weekend had, after all, started uphill for Antonelli. In the afternoon sprint race, the world leader had gotten off to a bad start and had also been penalized for violating track limits several times, slipping from fourth to sixth overall. Triumphing had been Lando Norris ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri, with Charles Leclerc on the third step of the podium. Already in Friday’s sprint qualifying, moreover, the McLaren had shown its muscles: Norris had dominated SQ3, with Antonelli managing to break the Papaya duopoly only in extremis, placing second and ousting Oscar Piastri from the front row by just 17 thousandths.

Qualifying for the long race instead delivered an Antonelli in a state of grace, able to put everyone in line with a time – 1’27″798 – that left Verstappen at 166 thousandths and Leclerc at almost four tenths. Particularly significant was the gap to teammate Russell, fifth at almost exactly four tenths: a sign that, within Mercedes, the internal rivalry is increasingly heated. It is no coincidence that in recent weeks former driver David Coulthard had already warned, “The friendship is over, George now knows that there is a real threat to the world title.”

In Ferrari’s house, the Miami weekend was expected to be an important test after the long break in the calendar. Team principal Frédéric Vasseur had brought several aerodynamic upgrades to Florida on the SF-26, including the much-discussed rear wing dubbed the “Macarena” for its characteristic double movement. Despite the changes, the qualifying result still tells of a significant gap from the top: Leclerc, third more than three tenths behind the pole man, is the Cavallino’s best, with Hamilton only sixth more than half a second behind Antonelli.

Mourning for Zanardi’s passing had already run through the paddock throughout the day. A minute’s silence had been observed in his memory before the sprint race, and tributes had multiplied in every corner of the sporting world. Among the most touching voices was that of Dr. Claudio Costa, founder of the MotoGP Mobile Clinic and a longtime friend of Alex’s: “Alessandro Zanardi has left this earthly world to go racing in the prairies of heaven,” he had written on social media, recalling how after the terrible accident in 2001 at the Lausitzring Zanardi had arrived at the hospital with such serious clinical conditions that he seemed to be without a chance, except that he then astonished the entire world with his extraordinary willpower. Antonelli’s pole position, in this sense, is much more than just a sporting achievement: it is the most beautiful way for the boy from Bologna to say goodbye to another boy from Bologna, who had linked one of the pages of his career and – in retrospect – of his life to the number 12.