Kimi Antonelli claimed his third consecutive victory at the Miami Grand Prix, holding off a determined Lando Norris in a gripping race-long battle to extend his championship lead to 20 points. The 19-year-old Italian became the first driver in Formula 1 history to win from his first three pole positions, and has now won three of the opening four races of the 2026 season — a run of form that has firmly put pre-season favourite George Russell in the shade.
Norris pushed Antonelli all the way to the flag for McLaren, with team-mate Oscar Piastri completing a strong afternoon for the Woking outfit in third. Russell could only manage fourth for Mercedes, while Max Verstappen recovered from a first-lap spin to salvage fifth for Red Bull. Ferrari endured a difficult afternoon, with Charles Leclerc dropping to eighth after a post-race penalty and Lewis Hamilton classified sixth following first-lap damage to his car.
Strategy Decides It at the Front
The opening laps were chaotic. Antonelli was swamped off the line — as has become a pattern this season — with Leclerc sweeping into the lead and Verstappen charging to the inside. The four-time champion ran deep, was squeezed by Leclerc at Turn Two and spun a full 360 degrees with the entire field bearing down on him, dropping to tenth in an instant. That left Leclerc, Antonelli and Norris to engage in a frantic three-way fight, the lead changing repeatedly as the new boost and overtake energy modes produced the yo-yo racing that has divided opinion throughout the early part of the 2026 season.
A safety car on lap six — triggered by Isack Hadjar crashing at the final chicane and Pierre Gasly being flipped into a somersault by Liam Lawson — temporarily reset the order. After the restart, Norris swept to the front and led confidently, with both he and Antonelli waiting for the rain that had been forecast around half-distance. When it became clear the downpour would not arrive, Mercedes blinked first.
Antonelli pitted on lap 24 for fresh rubber, with Norris staying out a further three laps as McLaren remained cautious about the weather. It proved the decisive call. Antonelli built enough of a gap on his newer tyres to emerge ahead when Norris finally stopped, and although the McLaren sat within a second of the Mercedes for much of the remainder of the race, Antonelli held firm — despite gearshift issues and overheating rear tyres — and eased clear in the closing laps.
“We got undercut, no excuses,” Norris said afterwards. “We should have boxed first. It was possible today. Didn’t have the pace to get back past him at the end.” McLaren felt the result could have been different had Norris not lost time with a couple of errors on his in-lap and a slow pit stop, but the afternoon nonetheless underlined that the upgrade package they brought to Miami has genuinely closed the gap to Mercedes.
Leclerc Undoes Himself
Charles Leclerc had shown genuine pace in the opening stint but his afternoon unravelled in the second half of the race. Called in for his pit stop on lap 21 — a decision he complained about over the radio, saying he had not been consulted — he was dropped into traffic and had to fight his way back through the midfield. He eventually reclaimed third, only to lose it to Piastri on the penultimate lap as his tyres gave up. Then, on the final lap, Leclerc spun on his own, hit the wall, picked up a puncture and lost two further positions at the final corner. A 20-second post-race penalty for repeatedly leaving the track on that final lap dropped him from sixth to eighth. “That’s all on me,” he admitted. “It’s unacceptable.”
Verstappen’s Rollercoaster
Verstappen’s afternoon was a microcosm of Red Bull’s season so far — flashes of pace, a costly mistake, aggressive recovery driving and more than a little controversy. After his first-lap spin he pitted under the safety car for fresh tyres and gambled his way up to the lead mid-race on worn rubber, before inevitably sliding back down the order as others pitted around him. He finished fifth after some forceful overtaking that drew complaints from rivals, and was handed a five-second penalty for crossing the white line on his pit exit — though it had no bearing on his final position.
Top 10 Results
1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
4. George Russell (Mercedes)
5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
7. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
9. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
10. Alex Albon (Williams)
Analysis: Antonelli in a Class of His Own
Four races in, the 2026 Formula 1 season has a dominant narrative: Kimi Antonelli is extraordinary. Three wins from four races, three pole positions converted, and a championship lead of 20 points over the team-mate widely expected to be the title favourite heading into the season. McLaren’s upgrade package in Miami was real and Norris was genuinely close — but Antonelli and Mercedes have shown time and again that when it matters, they find the margin they need. Ferrari’s race craft continues to raise questions, and Red Bull’s pace looks closer than their results suggest. The championship picture is becoming clearer by the race.
What’s Next?
Formula 1 stays in North America for the Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, from 22–24 May. The street circuit — one of the most unpredictable on the calendar — also hosts a sprint event, and with the championship battle intensifying, Canada promises to be another unmissable weekend.
