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Antonelli secured pole on his first run in the final qualifying session, and a mistake on his final run meant he was anxiously waiting to see if anyone could better his time.
But only Verstappen, who was third fastest in the early runs, was able to go faster for the second test in the 33C Miami heat.
“It’s an amazing day to be on pole again,” said the 19-year-old, who dropped from fourth to sixth with a five-second penalty for crossing the track boundary.
“It was a difficult start to the race day but I’m very happy with the recovery. I was a bit excited in the last lap of Q3 but the first lap was enough. I was only really worried until everyone finished their laps.”
Red Bull, like McLaren and Ferrari, brought major improvements to their cars for this weekend, and while McLaren worked well early on, improvements from Red Bull and Mercedes kept them chasing the sprint winners.
Verstappen said: “The car has not been at its best in previous races, but from my side I was not comfortable with the car’s position.
“The team has been pushing flat out to make improvements and make me feel more comfortable and it’s really paid off. I feel more in control and can push a bit more and being on the front row going into the weekend is more than I expected.”
Verstappen’s team-mate Issac Hadjar, who has had a good start to his Red Bull career, is 0.825s off the Dutchman in ninth. He said he had been struggling with a lack of power all weekend.
Leclerc was a little disappointed in third after Ferrari’s improvement, they were not fast enough to compete at the front. He led Hamilton by 0.176 seconds.
Behind Piastre the top 10 was completed by Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, who had been in good form throughout the weekend with one round, Hadjar and second Pierre Gasly’s Alpine.
At the back, Fernando Alonso beat Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll to make it 40 grand prix qualifiers as the team improved after qualifying from the back, with both drivers winning Cadillacs.
