Antonelli Won Qualifying. Colapinto Deleted Four Laps Trying.

Half a second faster in Sector 1 is impressive. Having four lap times deleted in the same session is something else entirely.

Antonelli set pole at Miami with an 87.798. Colapinto managed 88.762 and finished P8.

Colapinto had four lap times deleted for track limits. Antonelli had one.

Key Finding

Antonelli set pole. Colapinto had four lap times deleted for track limits and finished P8.

Antonelli was faster everywhere

ANT vs COL — sector-by-sector breakdown

Half a second in Sector 1 is the headline, but notice the bars stack — he gained time in all three sectors.

▲ ANT faster▼ COL faster

S1: +0.504s · S2: +0.255s · S3: +0.205s

Key Finding

Antonelli set pole. Colapinto had four lap times deleted for track limits and finished P8.

The sector deltas make this look like a straightforward performance gap. Antonelli was 0.504s faster in Sector 1, another quarter-second up in Sector 2, and still pulling clear in Sector 3. A clean sweep.

But Colapinto wasn't losing time by being slow. He was losing it by being deleted.

Key Finding

Antonelli set pole. Colapinto had four lap times deleted for track limits and finished P8.

Turn 15 accounted for three of Colapinto's four track limit violations. Lap 6, lap 7, lap 20 — all at the same corner. A fourth deletion came at Turn 15 on lap 7. The pattern is not subtle.

Antonelli's single deletion came at Turn 5 on lap 13. He kept his other laps. Colapinto did not.

Where the lap time lived

ANT (Lap 14) vs COL (Lap 16) — fastest laps compared

Antonelli's blue line sits higher through the opening complex — that's Sector 1, where he found half a second. Colapinto never recovered.

ANT (Lap 14)COL (Lap 16)

Fastest laps: ANT Lap 14, COL Lap 16.

Key Finding

Antonelli set pole. Colapinto had four lap times deleted for track limits and finished P8.

Qualifying in Miami is not complicated. Find the limit, stay inside it, extract the lap. Antonelli did. Colapinto found the limit four times and went past it.

The gap between P1 and P8 was a second. The gap between knowing where the white line is and hoping you didn't cross it was larger.

Key Finding

Antonelli set pole. Colapinto had four lap times deleted for track limits and finished P8.

Montreal has five low-speed corners and two long straights. Sector 1 pace matters. Track limits matter more.

Colapinto will want to bring both.

Alistair Drum

@@alistair_drum

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