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Kimi Antonelli became the third driver in Formula 1 history to win his first three consecutive victories, holding off a charging Lando Norris in a chaotic Miami Grand Prix that featured a car flipping at Turn 17, a Leclerc penalty and multiple safety car interventions across 57 breathless laps.
Miami 2026 will be remembered as the race that confirmed Kimi Antonelli's status not just as a precocious talent but as a complete Formula 1 racing driver. In 57 laps of barely controlled chaos — featuring a car flipping at Turn 17, four separate safety car deployments, a 20-second post-race penalty for Charles Leclerc and a late charge from Lando Norris that had the Miami crowd on its feet — Antonelli kept his composure and took his third consecutive victory, joining the rarefied company of Damon Hill and Mika Häkkinen as the only drivers in the sport's history to win their first three grands prix in consecutive order.
The Sprint race on Saturday had gone to Norris — the McLaren driver produced a dominant 19-lap performance in the abbreviated format, with Piastri second and Leclerc third. It was a reminder, heading into Sunday's main event, that Mercedes' advantage was less pronounced over shorter distances where tyre management mattered less and raw pace counted for more.
The grand prix itself began in controversy. Verstappen spun at Turn 1 after catching a kerb aggressively, dropping to the back of the field and immediately ruining Red Bull's race. Then, on the early laps, Franco Colapinto and Lewis Hamilton made contact in a scrappy incident that the stewards deemed a racing incident with no further action — though Hamilton's car required a trip through the pit lane for a front wing check.
The race's most dramatic moment arrived mid-distance when Liam Lawson tagged Pierre Gasly's Alpine at Turn 17. The impact launched the Alpine skyward and the car came down inverted, triggering a full Safety Car. Gasly emerged shaken but unharmed, and the Safety Car restart compressed the field and handed the race its defining battle: Norris on fresh tyres pressing Antonelli for the final dozen laps.
Norris had closed to within a second with five laps remaining, and for a breathless period it seemed Mercedes' recent dominance might finally be broken. But Antonelli's tyre management — the result of lessons he had taken from every previous race distance in 2026 — proved the decisive factor. He managed the gap perfectly, never throwing away the margin he had built, and crossed the line 3.264 seconds clear.
Leclerc crossed the line in what appeared to be fourth place, but received a 20-second time penalty post-race for repeatedly leaving the track at Turn 1 to gain an advantage across multiple laps — a decision that dropped him to seventh in the final classification and gifted fourth to Russell and fifth to Verstappen. Max Verstappen had also received a 5-second penalty for crossing the pit lane exit line, a relatively minor infraction in a race that could have gone much worse for the Dutchman.
The fastest lap belonged to Norris — his 1:31.869 on lap 35 was the quickest time of the race and at least gave McLaren the bonus point to go with the Sprint victory. But the main narrative was unambiguous: Antonelli, 100 championship points from just four race weekends, had opened a 20-point gap over Russell and was accelerating away from the field at precisely the point where his rivals needed him to stumble.
Antonelli's third consecutive win moved him to 100 championship points — a 20-point lead over Russell (80). Leclerc (59 pts) sat third, with Norris and Hamilton level on 51. The championship margin was now significant enough that even a retirement for Antonelli would not put Russell in the lead, marking the first time the Italian had enjoyed genuine breathing room in the title race.
Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Miami Grand Prix driving for Mercedes. Race time: 1:33:19.273 over 57 laps.
1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) — 1:33:19.273; 2. Lando Norris (McLaren) +3.264s; 3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +27.092s.
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) took pole position at Miami International Autodrome, Miami.
