SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) — It took two of Kimi Antonelli’s rivals working together to put the Formula 1 standings leader to the test. It still wasn’t enough.The 19-year-old Italian beat a display of Red Bull formation flying to take pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix in qualifying on Saturday and boost his push to be the youngest-ever champion.Max Verstappen had set the fastest time after smart coordination with Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar to give him the strongest possible slipstream on his lap. Hadjar stayed in front through the high-speed Blanchimont corners, only moving across at the very last moment to avoid being hit by his own teammate.Mercedes driver Antonelli found a new level of pace on his lap to beat Verstappen by 0.317 of a second and dedicated the pole position as a birthday present to his father Marco, a sportscar racer who turned 62 on Saturday.“Let’s go, man, let’s go,” he said over the radio. “Happy birthday, dad.”
With Verstappen starting second and teammate and title rival George Russell third on the grid, Antonelli is hoping he can cling on to the lead in the long run-up into the forested hills on the first lap Sunday and that if there’s overtaking, “hopefully it’s just off in the distance.” Beyond that, he said, he’ll just focus on managing his tire wear.Verstappen said Hadjar’s help was the difference between being second and sixth but that his Red Bull still can’t keep up with Antonelli’s Mercedes in race conditions.
