Championship leader Kimi Antonelli bounced back from a troubled sprint by storming to pole position for Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix.
The 19-year-old continued Mercedes’ lockout of full qualifying poles so far this season – with Lando Norris’ sprint pole on Friday the only time their grip has been broken.
It had appeared Mercedes’ dominance of the season was under threat as their rivals’ new packages slashed their advantage, with Norris converting that pole into a sprint victory, but the 19-year-old Antonelli underlined his title credentials by claiming a third successive pole.
Max Verstappen burst into life amid a difficult start to the season to claim second, 0.166 seconds adrift, with Charles Leclerc third for Ferrari ahead of Norris in fourth.
Antonelli has won the last two races to sit top of the standings ahead of team-mate and leading title rival Russell, and again had the edge on his experienced team-mate in the searing heat on the streets around Hard Rock Stadium.
Russell will start fifth, having been almost four-tenths off Antonelli’s pace, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri.
Reigning champion Norris had earlier clinched his first victory of any sort this season with a comfortable win in the 19-lap sprint.
Norris crossed the line almost four tenths clear of team-mate Oscar Piastri but Antonelli had a difficult time.
Both Antonelli and Russell have struggled with their starts so far this season but Mercedes had hoped small tweaks had improved their getaways.
TOP-10 - MIAMI GP QUALIFYING
1. Kimi Antonelli
2. Max Verstappen
3. Charles Leclerc
4. Lando Norris
5. George Russell
6. Lewis Hamilton
7. Oscar Piastri
8. Franco Colapinto
9. Isack Hadjar
10. Pierre Gasly
But the Italian was again caught out as he dropped from second to fourth, Mercedes blaming it on a “glitch”.
The 19-year-old was then accused by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc of being “bad wheel-to-wheel” before he went over track limits too many times and was hit with a five-second penalty – dropping him from fourth to sixth.
Former world champion Jenson Button labelled it a “silly mistake” and one which meant Russell, who was promoted to fourth, cut the title lead to seven points.
McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull have all brought a major upgrade package to Miami which has helped them slash the advantage Mercedes have enjoyed so far this season – with Russell labelling their improvement “daunting”.
Team principal Toto Wolff said Mercedes are “out of sync” on the upgrade front and they are expected to make their own improvements soon in a fierce development race.
Antonelli’s pole was therefore a surprise and it could prove a crucial one.
The FIA has made a rain hazard declaration ahead of Sunday’s race, with the chance of rain forecast at over 40 per cent.
There is also a potential lightning threat, with moving the race forward from its scheduled 1600 start time (2100 BST) a possibility.
The Italian will hope Mercedes have solved their issue off the line, with a resurgent Verstappen on his tail.
The four-time world champion has suffered a tough start to the season, amid bitter unhappiness at the sport’s new regulations, and sits ninth in the standings.
But Red Bull’s significant upgrades have slashed their deficit to the dominant Mercedes and Verstappen showed his class to claim a spot on the front row.
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