Kimi Antonelli beats Red Bull’s team effort to qualify on pole for F1’s Belgian Grand Prix

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.

“He did amazing. I initially thought ‘Oh my god, it’s too close.’ Actually it worked out well to the last corner. It was close but I trusted him,” Verstappen said of Hadjar, who had nothing to gain because of a penalty which sends him to the back of the grid.

“The gap in qualifying even with a massive tow is still three-tenths, so I don’t really expect to race (Mercedes) tomorrow,” Verstappen added.

Lando Norris qualified third-fastest for McLaren but a grid penalty means he drops 10 places. Antonelli’s teammate George Russell is set to move up to third on the grid, but once again he struggled to match the 19-year-old Italian.

Russell complained that trying to match Antonelli was like “battling with one had behind your back,” in comments to Sky Sports, and said the team had “changed everything” in an attempt to narrow down why he’s struggled to keep up.

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were fifth and sixth on a disappointing day for Ferrari following Leclerc’s surprise win at the British Grand Prix. Even getting on track was a small victory for Hamilton after a crash in practice meant Ferrari had to rebuild his car in a hurry.

Russell closed the gap to Antonelli to 25 points in the standings at the British Grand Prix after the latest in a series of car problems for the Italian, but has consistently been off his teammate’s pace, except for a win at the Austrian Grand Prix last month.

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This story has been corrected to specify that Antonelli’s father was marking his 62nd birthday, not 61st.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing