He kept chipping away, and when the checkered flag flew at the end of qualifying for the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, Max Verstappen was where he has been so many times before over his storied career.

Kimi Antonelli, who at 18 years old became F1’s youngest pole winner in history when he started first in Saturday’s sprint race, qualified third for Mercedes. It is the first time he qualified higher than teammate George Russell, who was fifth behind current F1 points leader Oscar Piastri of McLaren.

Red Bull’s Verstappen, who arrived tardy to F1’s Miami party after the birth of his daughter Lily. Saturday’s pole makes three in a row for the Miami Grand Prix for four-time defending world champion and four of the last five races in Miami Gardens. Mercedes Kimi Antonelli provided the outlier Friday with his stunning pole lap in Sprint qualifying.