Antonelli, who is doing his first F1 season, has been hired by Mercedes to replace the seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
I'm on cloud nine, I didn't expect this, he says after the race.
He drove in qualifying ahead of big stars like McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
Antonelli passed the driving tests as late as in January and also set a record by becoming the youngest to take the lead in a race in April. The previous record was held by Max Verstappen in 2016.
Every weekend I get safer and safer in the car, can play with it and explore its limits, says Antonelli.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was visibly pleased after Antonelli's performance on the track.
He's a young man. Hopefully, we'll have a lot in the future, says Wolff.
In Saturday's sprint race, he starts alongside the current points leader, Oscar Piastri from McLaren, who lost pole position by 0.045 seconds to Antonelli.
