Kimi Antonelli secured his third consecutive victory of the 2026 season at the Miami Grand Prix, demonstrating his championship potential by triumphing over current Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris in a direct contest.
Antonelli successfully fended off Norris throughout a rain-free event at the Miami International Autodrome. Oscar Piastri secured the third-place spot for McLaren, capitalizing on Charles Leclerc’s diminishing performance towards the end, which culminated in a spin during the ultimate lap, elevating George Russell to fourth and Max Verstappen to sixth, ahead of Leclerc.
Event organizers advanced the start of the 57-lap competition by three hours from its original schedule, aiming to complete it despite the persistent forecast for rain and thunderstorms. Sunday morning had already seen rainfall, with further precipitation anticipated for the afternoon.
However, contrary to the impending weather predictions, the race began under dry conditions, with most competitors opting for medium compound tires. The opening was tumultuous; pole position holder Antonelli once again made a suboptimal start, enabling Red Bull’s Verstappen and Ferrari’s Leclerc to pull alongside him as they sped towards the first turn.
Antonelli experienced a wheel lock-up and veered off course, whereas Leclerc adopted a conservative approach through the corner, securing him the lead. Directly behind, Verstappen spun out upon exit; the Dutch driver quickly reoriented his Red Bull. Fortuitously, Verstappen avoided collision with the following cars, though he descended to tenth position, contending with the Williams racers.
Consequently, McLaren teammates Norris and Piastri advanced to third and fourth places, respectively, ahead of Russell and Hamilton. Hamilton managed to continue despite an early collision with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto.
During the fourth lap, Antonelli overtook Leclerc to seize the lead. Leclerc, in turn, reclaimed the position on the subsequent lap, with Norris also progressing past the Ferrari driver into the second spot.
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
The competition entered a neutral safety car period after merely five laps, prompted by a pair of distinct occurrences. A visually dramatic collision saw Alpine’s Pierre Gasly undergo a low-speed barrel roll, triggered by contact with Racing Bulls pilot Liam Lawson at the Turn 17 hairpin. Gasly’s vehicle came to rest partially on the barrier, but he emerged without injury. Lawson’s race also concluded due to irreversible damage.
Concurrently, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar suffered a crash at the chicane as he tried to improve his position, having been forced to start from the pitlane following a technical infraction. Committing an unforced error, Hadjar made contact with the inner wall at Turn 14, which severed his front-left suspension, causing his uncontrolled RB22 to impact the barriers at a gentle pace.
Following the twelfth-lap restart, Norris seized the leading position from Leclerc, who was ahead of Antonelli, with Piastri and Russell engaged in a close battle behind. Verstappen was the sole leading driver to switch to hard tires during the safety car period, a move that initially relegated him to 16th. However, since the anticipated rain failed to materialize and other frontrunners also opted for hard tires midway through the race, Verstappen briefly found himself in a virtual lead.
Utilizing significantly newer tires, Antonelli and Norris quickly managed to overtake the Dutch driver as he fell behind the leading pack. Leclerc held fourth, while Piastri moved past Russell into fifth. Hamilton’s race suffered due to a slower pitstop, causing him to drop to seventh, the final position among the leading competitors. Additionally, the British driver seemed to be managing a damaged Ferrari following his earlier incident with Colapinto.
As no rain occurred, the event evolved into a simple one-stop strategy, featuring a direct confrontation between Antonelli and Norris, while Verstappen found it challenging to maintain pace. For much of the second segment, Norris and Antonelli appeared evenly matched; however, Norris found it difficult to execute an overtake while trailing in Antonelli’s turbulent air, choosing instead to wait for an opportune moment as managing the rear tires became crucial.
Nevertheless, Antonelli overcame difficulties with downshifting and persevered to clinch his third victory in a row from pole position, thereby extending his world championship advantage over Russell to 20 points.
Rafael Nadal waves the checkered flag for Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Photo by: Rebecca Blackwell / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
With his Pirelli tires significantly degraded, Verstappen became vulnerable to the pursuing pack of Leclerc, Piastri, and Russell during the race’s concluding ten laps. Consistent with his character, Verstappen resisted fiercely, maintaining third place by cornering on the outside of Leclerc. However, he was unable to withstand the Ferrari’s pressure for an extended period, and both Piastri and Russell also managed to overtake him.
Leclerc appeared poised to secure the ultimate podium position, yet he spun during the last lap, making light contact with the wall but astonishingly evading a more severe impact. Piastri advanced smoothly to claim third place, 27 seconds adrift of Antonelli, while Russell forcefully moved into fourth, ahead of Verstappen and Leclerc.
Hamilton concluded the race in an isolated seventh place. Colapinto secured eighth following an impressive weekend display, with the Argentine driver reaching as high as fourth after postponing his initial pit stop until the 32nd lap.
Behind the main action, Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon outmaneuvered the Haas competitors, earning a commendable double points finish in ninth and tenth positions for the struggling Williams team. They were the final two vehicles to complete the race on the lead lap.
The Formula 1 circuit will next move to Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the Canadian Grand Prix, scheduled from May 22-24.
