Kimi Antonelli has now won three Formula 1 Grands Prix in a row. The Mercedes teenager turned Sunday pole at the 2026 Miami Grand Prix into a controlled victory ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, surviving an opening lap that saw Max Verstappen briefly take the lead before spinning into his own teammate.
The race exploded in the first sequence of corners. Verstappen passed Antonelli into turn one but lost the rear at turn two and spun, sliding into the path of teammate Isack Hadjar, whose Red Bull was sent into the wall and out of the race. Charles Leclerc spun at the same instant. Antonelli moved back into the lead through the chaos and never relinquished it.
Mercedes then handed him the win on strategy. A one-lap-earlier pit stop than McLaren broke the McLaren undercut threat and put Antonelli in clean air for the rest of the afternoon. Norris closed the gap in the final stint but never had the run he needed to attack into a braking zone.
"It's a bit weird, I feel like we should have won the race out there today," Norris said afterwards. "At least we could have had more of a fight post the stop. I just didn't get that chance again. And Kimi drove a good race, so it's hats off to him, honestly."
The Briton was characteristically self-deprecating about his own pace. "When it's a win, if it's like a P2 P3, I'm less bothered. But when it's for a win, of course it hurts a little bit more."
Piastri rounded out the podium after a steady drive, picking off cars in the closing stages. "Reasonably good race," the Australian said. "Couple of moments that weren't my finest, but to come away with the podium's obviously great."
George Russell finished fourth in the second Mercedes despite running with damaged front-wing endplate from contact in the opening sequence. Verstappen recovered to fifth on aged hard tyres, holding off Leclerc on the final lap, while Lewis Hamilton came home seventh.
For Antonelli, the meaningful number is now the championship lead — comfortably the largest at this point in the season for any rookie in the modern era. The Italian carries his momentum into the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, a circuit where Russell traditionally goes well and where the Mercedes intra-team tension is suddenly the most interesting subplot in Formula 1.
Both Russell and Verstappen left Florida with their results pending stewards' investigation. For the championship leader, the 25 points were already in the bag.
