That was a wild and entertaining Miami Grand Prix and yet Andrea Kimi Antonelli came out on top to achieve his third consecutive Formula 1 victory for Mercedes.
The Mercedes driver underlined his title ambitions by winning and resisting the pressure from reigning world champion Lando Norris.
Antonelli held off Norris after a dry race at the Miami International Autodrome, with Oscar Piastri completing the podium for McLaren after a late-race fade by Charles Leclerc, who had a spin on the final lap, allowing George Russell into fourth and Max Verstappen to take sixth.
The race started three hours earlier than planned as organisers tried to find a window to get the 57-lap race due to the constant threat of rain and thunderstorms.
But despite the prospect of rain, the race started in dry conditions, with the majority of the field setting off on medium tyres. At a chaotic start, polesitter Antonelli suffered another poor getaway, allowing Red Bull’s Verstappen and Ferrari’s Leclerc to immediately draw alongside as they went towards Turn 1.
Antonelli locked up and went off, while Leclerc took a cautious line into the corner that ended him the lead. Behind him Verstappen spun off on the exit, with the Red Bull rapidly pointing his car in the right direction again. In doing so, Verstappen was lucky not to be collected by the chasing pack, but he did drop down to P10 battling the Williams drivers.
That allowed McLaren duo Norris and Piastri through to claim third and fourth, ahead of Russell and Hamilton, with the latter surviving contact with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto.
On lap 4 Antonelli passed Leclerc for the lead, with Leclerc returning the favour on the following lap while Norris also followed the Ferrari driver through into second.
The race was neutralised after just five laps due to two separate incidents. In a spectacular-looking accident, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was flipped into a low-speed barrel roll after being clipped by Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson at Turn 17, Gasly ending up halfway up the barrier but escaping unhurt. Lawson also retired with terminal damage.
Meanwhile, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar crashed at the chicane while working his way up the order, the Red Bull driver having been demoted to a pitlane start due to a technical issue. Making an unforced error, Hadjar tagged the inside wall at Turn 14 which sheared off the front-left suspension and sent his car into the barriers at low speed.
After the lap 12 restart Norris snatched the lead away from Leclerc ahead of Antonelli, followed by a duelling Piastri and Russell. Verstappen had been the only frontrunner to pit for hards under the safety car, which initially dropped him down to P16. But as the expected rain did not materialise and the frontrunners also picked up hard tyres around the halfway point, Verstappen emerged into a lead and yet it was short-lived.
On much fresher tyres, Antonelli and Norris were both quickly able to repass Verstappen as he lost touch with the leaders, while Leclerc was fourth as Piastri passed Russell for fifth. Hamilton lost out after a slower pitstop, which demoted him to seventh and last of the frontrunners, while the Ferrari driver also appeared to nurse a damaged Ferrari after his early contact with Colapinto.
With no rain forthcoming, the race turned into a straight-forward one-stopper, and a duel between Antonelli and Norris as Verstappen struggled to keep up. On balance, Norris looked the quicker of the two but was unable to find a way past in Antonelli’s dirty air/.
But Antonelli managed to survive downshift issues and hang on to take his third consecutive win from pole, expanding his world championship lead on Russel to 24 points.
On worn Pirelli rubber Verstappen fell into the chasing group of Leclerc, Piastri and Russell in the final ten laps of the race. True to form Verstappen did not go down without a fight, clinging on to third around the outside of Leclerc, but he was powerless to hold off the Ferrari for much longer, and both Piastri and Russell also worked their way past.
Leclerc looked destined to take the final podium spot, but spun on the final lap, tapping the wall but luckily avoiding harder contact. Piastri went through to take third 27 seconds behind Antonelli, while Russell muscled his way to fourth ahead of Verstappen and Leclerc.
Hamilton finished a lonely seventh, with Colapinto eighth after a strong weekend performance, the Argentine running as high as fourth after delaying his first stop until lap 32.
In the background Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon defeated the Haas drivers to take an encouraging double points finish in ninth and tenth for the underperforming Williams outfit, being the last two cars finishing on the lead lap.
So a thrilling race in Miami with Antonelli taking victory. Kimi is riding this winning form with so much confidence and has the performance edge over his Mercedes teammate Russell. The next race will be Canada, in which last year George won. He needs to do the same to reduce the points gap.
Miami Grand Prix, race results:
1 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:33:19.273
2 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes +3.264s
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes +23.828s
4 George Russell Mercedes +43.051s
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Ford +43.949s
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +44.245s
7 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +53.753s
8 Franco Colapinto Alpine-Mercedes +61.871s
9 Carlos Sainz Williams-Mercedes +82.072s
10 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes +90.972s
11 Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari +1 lap
12 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +1 lap
13 Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari +1 lap
14 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls-Ford +1 lap
15 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Honda +1 lap
16 Sergio Perez Cadillac-Ferrari +1 lap
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Honda +1 lap
18 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari +2 laps
Nico Hulkenberg Audi DNF
Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Ford DNF
Pierre Gasly Alpine-Mercedes DNF
Isack Hadjar Red Bull-Ford DNF
Kimi Antonelli has taken victory in an action-packed Miami Grand Prix, the Italian resisting pressure from Lando Norris to seal his third consecutive win of the season.
A dramatic start ensued when the race got underway, with polesitter Antonelli facing a three-way scrap alongside Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc before both the Mercedes and Red Bull cars locked up into the first corner. Verstappen then made contact with Leclerc, sending the Dutchman into a 360-degree spin which dropped him down the order.
The lead changed hands numerous times from there, with Antonelli later overtaking Leclerc while Norris, Oscar Piastri and Verstappen all enjoyed stints at the front. Separate crashes for Isack Hadjar and Pierre Gasly, meanwhile, saw the Safety Car deployed in the opening laps.
But it would ultimately prove to be a two-horse battle between Antonelli and Norris as the race wore on, the McLaren remaining on the tail of the former during the latter stages. Despite that tension, Antonelli held on to score his third victory of the campaign, making history as the first driver to convert their maiden three pole positions into wins.
Norris crossed the line 3.264s back in P2, while Piastri snatched the final spot on the podium from Leclerc during a chaotic final two laps. Leclerc subsequently spun and managed to keep on going, but the Ferrari man was overtaken by Mercedes’ George Russell for fourth while Verstappen – who will be investigated after the race for crossing the line at the pit exit – grabbed fifth from Leclerc at the line.
Lewis Hamilton claimed seventh in a quieter outing for the sister Ferrari, while Franco Colapinto scored some valuable points for Alpine in eighth. There was also a good return for Williams, with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon completing the top 10.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/antonelli-wins-thrilling-miami-grand-prix-from-norris-and-piastri.2bxaKuYKJjxlXx8KOJf7lc
Isack Hadjar and Pierre Gasly both crashed out of the Miami Grand Prix in separate incidents on the sixth lap of the race at the Hard Rock Stadium, leading to the deployment of the safety car.
After starting the race from the pitlane, Hadjar clipped the wall and seemed to break his front suspension before he crashed into the wall of Turn 13. The French-Algerian driver was seen thumping his steering wheel and helmet in a rage.
In the same lap, Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson locked up on the inside of Gasly, who had been defending Lawson and attacking Williams’ Alex Albon at the time, causing the Alpine to flip and crash into the barriers. Fortunately, the Frenchman quickly confirmed that he was OK.
Lawson also retired from the race due to damage sustained from the collision with Gasly. The incident is under investigation with the stewards.
At the time of the safety car, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc had taken the lead of the race. Lando Norris had also just overtaken polesitter Kimi Antonelli for second before the safety car was deployed.
Many of the drivers decided against pitting under safety car conditions as rain was expected later in the race. “There’s a possible short shower on lap 25, that could be heavy but not long duration,” Oscar Piastri was told by McLaren.
The safety car remained out until the end of Lap 11.
Prior to the race, Gasly sat eighth in the drivers’ standings with 16 points after a promising start to the season for Alpine. Hadjar was 12th with four points and Lawson 10th with 10 points.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/isack-hadjar-and-pierre-gasly-crash-out-in-dramatic-miami-gp-incidents/10817825/
Liam Lawson has explained that he “lost the gearbox” before colliding with Pierre Gasly during the Miami Grand Prix.
While the Alpine driver attacked Williams’ Alex Albon and fought off Lawson, the Racing Bulls driver lost control at Turn 17 and clipped the rear of Gasly. The nudge caused the Frenchman’s car to flip before it crashed into the barriers.
Fortunately, Gasly was OK, but both he and Lawson were out of the race.
“Yeah, it sucks for both of us, obviously,” Lawson told the media after the race. “I just went into the last corner, and when I braked, I lost the gearbox and I went to neutral.
“So I basically had no gears, and I couldn’t stop, so it’s not something I’ve had before. Obviously, it’s quite a big issue for us and it’s what meant we had to retire the car, but it’s a shame because it’s obviously taken out Pierre as well.”
The incident came after a strong first lap for the New Zealander. He started 11th on the grid and was up into ninth by lap four.
“Yeah, we haven’t really been quick enough this weekend and we had a good start,” Lawson added.
“First lap was really, really good, made up a lot of places and was well inside the top 10 and fighting the balance a lot at the start of the race, which is why I was actually defending so that’s quite frustrating and obviously a mechanical to take us out is disappointing. Hard luck.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/liam-lawson-reveals-gearbox-issue-behind-pierre-gasly-miami-gp-crash/10817867/
Ferrari Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc has placed the blame on himself after a late spin in the Miami Grand Prix cost him a podium finish.
The Monegasque driver had just lost third position to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri when he went to overtake the Australian, but he spun out as he pushed to make the move. While he avoided a massive crash, he did clip the wall and lost further positions to George Russell and Max Verstappen.
“The damage was significant. To tell you exactly what was the damage, I’m not so sure,” Leclerc told Motorsport.com and other media after the race.
“I’m pretty sure there was a puncture, there was probably some suspension damage as well, as I couldn’t really turn to the right anymore. So yeah, I’m very disappointed with myself. It’s all on me and it’s a mistake.
“I obviously need to look because with these cars, you always have the question mark of how much it deploys and considering it was the last lap, maybe there was a bit more out of that corner as you just need to finish the lap with that amount of energy. But that’s not an excuse in any way. It’s all on me and it’s not acceptable. So I need to look at that.”
When asked if the moment was frustration-fuelled from earlier complaints over the team radio about pit strategy, Leclerc added: “No, I was very calm actually. I was very calm. I wanted to get the overtake from Oscar in that last lap. Hence why I didn’t make his life too difficult before the last corner for him to overtake me.
“I was relatively calm in the car. Of course, I pushed like an animal in Turn 3. Most of the time this year, it went through. I’ve had quite a few battles this year, but this time it didn’t. I’m disappointed with myself.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/charles-leclerc-blames-himself-after-unacceptable-late-miami-gp-spin/10817894/
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli expressed his pride and satisfaction after a hard-fought run to victory in the Miami Grand Prix – becoming the first driver in F1 history to win his first three races from his first three pole positions.
Antonelli survived another tricky start when Sunday’s encounter got under way – once again being attacked into Turn 1 before taking to the run-off to avoid Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, and then having to dodge Max Verstappen’s spinning Red Bull.
After regaining his composure, Antonelli fought back to come out on top in wheel-to-wheel exchanges with Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris, and maturely managed gearbox concerns to ultimately take the chequered flag first.
Speaking after the race, the Italian said: “The start was not as bad as yesterday – it was a little bit better! I didn’t expect Charles to brake that early, so to avoid him I locked up. I was a bit lucky with what happened [with Verstappen] in Turn 2.
“I did a little mistake with the energy management, trying to overtake Charles, then I lost a place to Lando, but then the pace was strong and I was able to stay close.
“Then the team did a great strategy; we did a massive undercut, and we managed to bring it home, even though it was not easy.”
Antonelli’s win, combined with team mate George Russell’s fourth-place finish, means the teenager now holds a 20-point lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship – but he is keeping his feet firmly on the ground.
“This is just the beginning; the road is still long,” he commented. “But we’re working super hard, the team is doing an incredible job, and without them I wouldn’t be here – so it’s mainly thanks to them, my family.
“I’m going to enjoy this one and then get back to work, because Canada is in two weeks’ time.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/antonelli-overjoyed-with-record-breaking-miami-win-but-knows-the-road-is-still-long-in-2026-title-race.1Bn4oOCY3QYSgHalec3riz
Charles Leclerc’s day at the Miami International Autodrome has taken a turn for the worse after the stewards gave him a post-race time penalty.
Leclerc was called up by the officiating panel for three separate potential offences, triggered when the Ferrari man suffered a last-lap spin and tapped the wall.
leaving the track multiple times and gaining an advantage, and clashing with Mercedes rival George Russell at the final hairpin.
Following their investigations, the stewards opted to hand Leclerc a drive-through penalty, which – given that this was handed out after the Grand Prix – has been converted into 20 seconds being added onto his race time, dropping him down the order to eighth place.
This penalty was given for leaving the track “on several occasions without a justifiable reason”, a document released following the stewards’ hearing confirmed.
After hearing from Leclerc and a team representative – as well as the data, video and radio evidence – the findings from the stewards read: “Car 16 spun on the last lap at Turn 3 and hit the wall but continued on track.
“The driver informed us that the car appeared fine save that the car would not negotiate the righthand corners properly.
“Given this problem, he was forced to cut chicanes on the way to the chequered flag. We determined that the fact that he had to cut the chicanes (i.e. to leave the track) meant that he gained a lasting advantage by leaving the track in that manner.
“The fact that he had a mechanical issue of some sort did not amount to a justifiable reason. We accordingly impose a Drive Through penalty on Car 16, given the number of times the car left the track and gained an advantage.
“We also considered whether there was an additional breach in continuing to drive a car with an obvious and discernible mechanical issue. We determined that there was no evidence of there being an obvious of discernible mechanical issue. We therefore took no further action in relation to that potential infringement.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/leclerc-penalised-by-miami-grand-prix-stewards-amid-multiple-post-race-investigations.2WRnpMfi71Yt8qT07r1eK0