Kimi Antonelli made it three wins from four races in Miami, but it was far from comfortable — Lando Norris pushed him to the limit, Leclerc threw away a likely podium with a late incident, and Verstappen produced a stunning recovery from a mid-race spin.
The race weekend began with an unusual logistical twist: the start was moved three hours earlier than scheduled due to the threat of severe thunderstorms sweeping across South Florida. The revised timetable created chaos for spectators and teams alike, but on track the racing more than compensated for the disruption.
From pole position, Antonelli led into the first corner and built a small but manageable gap. McLaren had arrived in Miami with a genuine performance step, and Norris — benefiting from a well-executed undercut — emerged from his pit stop with a genuine challenge. For the final twenty laps the two swapped strategy radio with their engineers while the gap barely changed, with Norris never quite close enough to attempt a pass into a braking zone.
After the race, Norris was visibly frustrated. "How did we not win?" he asked his team, pointing to strategic opportunities he felt had not been fully exploited. Team principal Andrea Stella defended the race calls, but the afternoon had been further complicated by events around their second car.
Charles Leclerc appeared set for a podium until a late-race incident earned him a stewards' penalty that dropped him all the way to eighth. The Monégasque accepted full responsibility, saying it had been "all on me" after putting "a very strong race in the bin." Ferrari salvaged third through Lewis Hamilton, who ran a clean, measured race to complete the podium.
Max Verstappen produced arguably the most eye-catching individual drive of his 2026 season so far. After spinning off track mid-race and collecting a separate penalty, commentator Martin Brundle called his recovery to fifth place "genius" — a reminder of what Verstappen can extract from a car even when it is not fully competitive.
Red Bull's weekend was further complicated by qualifying, where Isack Hadjar was disqualified from his session, prompting a formal team apology. The cumulative difficulties painted a picture of a team still working through significant teething problems with their 2026 interpretation.
Miami extended Antonelli's championship lead to 20 points. McLaren's improved pace suggested the constructors' battle was tightening, with Norris moving up the standings on the back of his strong result. Ferrari's consistent points scoring kept Hamilton and Leclerc in contention despite their contrasting afternoons.
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. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +27.092s.
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) took pole position at Miami International Autodrome, Miami.
