Kimi Antonelli edged out Lando Norris in a dramatic Miami Grand Prix, securing his third straight victory and stretching his world championship advantage to 20 points. Like his previous two wins, Antonelli could not keep the lead from the front of the grid; he slipped to third early on before reclaiming the top spot through a clever undercut during the sole pit‑stop window.
The Italian youngster overtook Norris wheel‑to‑wheel at the pit exit and then defended his position against the McLaren driver in a tense final stint. At just 19 years old, Antonelli joins an elite trio of drivers who have opened their Formula 1 careers with three consecutive wins, a club that includes former champions Damon Hill and Mika Häkkinen. His teammate, George Russell, managed to mitigate the damage on a weekend where he could not match Antonelli’s blistering pace. Russell passed Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in a chaotic closing phase to finish fourth, widening the points gap between the two Mercedes drivers from seven to twenty.
After the race, Antonelli praised his team’s strategy: "The pace was strong, I stayed close, and the team executed a massive undercut that brought us home, even though it wasn’t easy. This is just the beginning; the road is long. We work incredibly hard and the team does an amazing job. Without them I wouldn’t be here, so thank you to them and my family.
I’ll enjoy this win and then get back to work." Norris, meanwhile, admitted the undercut had cost him: "We got undercut – no excuses. We should have boxed first.
Kimi did a great job. Hats off to Mercedes and Kimi, they drove a solid race. I’m gutted to miss the win in Miami – it was possible, but we didn’t have the pace at the end, so we take it on the chin. Still a positive weekend overall." The finishing order featured: 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) Piastri also moved past Leclerc on the penultimate lap, giving McLaren a double podium and cementing a solid weekend for the defending constructors' champions after Norris had led a one‑two in Saturday’s Sprint.
The team’s major aerodynamic upgrade clearly paid dividends, lifting their performance across the board. Verstappen, who benefited from Red Bull’s substantial upgrade package, was forced to settle for fifth after an uncharacteristic spin at the start dropped him from his second‑grid slot. He then pitted under an early safety‑car period, leaving him to battle on aging hard tyres in the closing laps. Leclerc, who had taken the lead at the opening, suffered a slow pit stop, spun into the barriers while trying to recover from Piastri, and incurred damage that allowed Russell and Verstappen to overtake him in the final corners.
Leclerc’s woes continued when a 20‑second penalty was handed for leaving the track and gaining an advantage while struggling to control his car after a late‑race incident. Verstappen received a five‑second penalty for crossing the white line at the pit exit, but it did not affect his final position.
Lewis Hamilton moved up to sixth as a result of the penalties handed to his teammates, while Ferrari’s own upgrade package failed to deliver the expected gains. Mercedes’s ability to claim four straight wins despite postponing the deployment of their own major upgrade until the Canadian round will be viewed as a significant triumph for the Silver Arrows. The confidence gained from this consistency should serve them well heading into the Montreal Grand Prix. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto secured seventh place after teammate Pierre Gasly was flipped in an early collision with Liam Lawson, an incident that coincided with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar crashing and prompting a safety‑car deployment.
Williams saw both Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon finish in the points, reflecting the team’s progress after they managed to reduce the car’s overall weight. The race unfolded under the constant threat of rain, prompting organizers to move the start time three hours earlier than originally planned to avoid forecasted thunderstorms.
A pause in the F1 calendar—caused by the cancellation of events in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to regional conflict—meant Antonelli had a five‑week break between his championship‑seizing win in Japan and the Miami showdown. During that hiatus, the media speculated whether the teenage driver could sustain his title challenge, with even team principal Toto Wolff tempering expectations for his protégé. Antonelli’s Sprint race performance had been marred by a five‑second penalty for exceeding track‑limit allowances, handing a two‑point advantage to Russell and raising questions about his composure under pressure. Nevertheless, Antonelli answered with a stunning pole lap, only to slip off the line at the start for the sixth consecutive race, locking up and running off‑track at the first corner.
He recovered by capitalising on Verstappen’s spin, then held his own in a three‑way battle with Norris and Leclerc around the safety‑car period, positioning himself second behind the McLaren as the pit‑stop window approached. The decisive moment arrived on lap 26 when Mercedes called Antonelli in, trailing Norris by just under two seconds. McLaren responded a lap later, but Antonelli’s swift out‑lap and slightly quicker stop left the two drivers virtually side‑by‑side as they rejoined the track. Antonelli used the extra boost to slip into the lead, and despite Norris’s attempts to pressure him, the Italian maintained a comfortable margin, crossing the line three seconds ahead.
Looking ahead, Formula 1 will travel to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix and another Sprint weekend, with live coverage on Sky Sports F1 from May 22‑24. Viewers can stream the action via NOW without a contract, cancel anytime.