Italian wunderkind Kimi Antonelli won from the pole for the third consecutive race, claiming the Miami Grand Prix to tighten his hold on the Formula 1 drivers’ championship lead with a strong performance Sunday in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Antonelli, 19, lost the lead to Charles Leclerc on the first lap, quickly regained it and then had to tussle with Lando Norris before retaking the front for good when Norris pitted from the lead around Lap 28 of the 57-lap race.
After winning the Chinese and Japanese Grand Prix back-to-back, Antonelli earned his third career race win and further boosted Mercedes atop the manufacturers’ standings. He’s the third driver in F1 history to capture his first three wins in consecutive races, joining Damon Hill and Mika Hakkinen.
“This is just the beginning; the road is still long,” Antonelli said. “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 (the Canadian Grand Prix) is in two weeks’ time.”
Antonelli is projected to grow his lead over Mercedes teammate George Russell to 20 points.
McLaren occupied the rest of the podium, as Norris and Oscar Piastri placed second and third. It was Norris’ first podium of the year, yet the unsatisfied Brit was heard on the team radio post-race asking, “How did we not win this? We should have won, guys.”
“We just got undercut — no excuses other than that. We got undercut; we should have boxed first. Kimi did a good job. Hat’s off to (Mercedes) and Kimi, they drove a good race.
“… I’m gutted to miss out on a win here in Miami, I think it was possible today. But not the pace to get past him in the end, so we take it on the chin. But it’s still a positive weekend all together.”
Leclerc had a dramatic spin during the last lap and, though he avoided the wall, he fell from fourth to sixth as Russell and Max Verstappen passed him to move into the top five.
Coincidentally, Leclerc benefited from a different spin on the opening lap. Verstappen, who gridded second, spun 360 degrees in the middle of the track while Leclerc moved past Antonelli from third to first. Verstappen was able to recover in short order as he earned his best finish this season.
However, Russell, Verstappen and Leclerc were all summoned by the FIA for post-race investigations. Verstappen apparently crossed the pit exit line a touch early; Verstappen reported that Russell made contact with him during the chaotic final lap; and Leclerc will be looked at for multiple infractions, including leaving the track and gaining and advantage.
Antonelli reported a gearbox issue multiple times during the race, and Mercedes later confirmed his steering wheel experienced a “connectivity issue.” But afterward, Antonelli placed the focus on his own mistakes early in the race, which has become a recurring issue for him.
“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,” Antonelli said.
“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.”
The race was moved up by three hours to 1 p.m. local time to avoid thunderstorms in the forecast.
–Field Level Media
