- Antonelli wins the Miami GP from pole for the third time running.
- Five drivers led, Gasly’s Alpine flipped, and Leclerc spun in the closing laps.
- Mercedes’ perfectly timed undercut decisive as Norris & Piastri complete podium.
Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Miami GP on Sunday to become the first driver in Formula 1’s 76-year history to convert his first three career pole positions into three consecutive race victories.
The 19-year-old Italian, driving for Mercedes, crossed the line ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to extend his championship lead to 20 points over teammate George Russell.
The race, brought forward three hours because of the threat of thunderstorms in Florida, produced five different leaders, a 360-degree spin from Max Verstappen on the opening lap, and a terrifying crash that left Pierre Gasly’s Alpine inverted at Turn 17.
Gasly and Isack Hadjar, who hit the barrier separately on the same lap, both escaped without injury.
Antonelli had already matched Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna by taking his first three pole positions at consecutive races. No driver before him, though, had won all three.
As it happened in the Miami GP
The entire grid lined up on medium tyres under overcast skies, with the track temperature 16 degrees cooler than it had been for Saturday’s sprint. Hadjar started from the pit lane on hard tyres after he was disqualified from Saturday’s qualifying.
Antonelli bogged down off the line and locked up into Turn 1, letting Verstappen and Charles Leclerc pull alongside him.
Verstappen squeezed Norris at the start before applying too much power out of Turn 2, spinning a full 360 degrees without collecting anyone. Leclerc led, with Antonelli falling in behind him.
The two traded the lead early. Antonelli passed Leclerc at Turn 17 on lap 4 using his battery boost, but Leclerc took it back a lap later at Turn 10.
The race then came to a halt under the safety car on lap 6, when Hadjar broke his suspension against the inside barrier and bounced into the opposite wall, and Lawson clipped Gasly’s Alpine at Turn 17, flipping it upside down. Both drivers walked away.
Norris moved ahead of Antonelli before the Safety Car was deployed, so the restart order was Leclerc, Norris, Antonelli and Russell.
Verstappen, who had pitted for hard tyres during the caution period, restarted from 16th.
Leclerc held the lead well at the restart, but the field reshuffled behind him as Piastri passed Russell into Turn 1. Norris eventually overtook Leclerc for the lead at the end of lap 13, with Antonelli following him through shortly afterwards.
Mercedes made the decisive call in the pit stop window. Russell came in on lap 21, Leclerc on lap 22, and Antonelli on lap 27.
The timing of Antonelli’s stop was crucial. When Norris pitted a lap later, he came out behind the Mercedes.
Piastri briefly held the lead before his own stop on lap 29, and from lap 30 onwards, Antonelli led from Norris.
Norris sat roughly a second behind but could not find a way through. Antonelli reported paddle shift problems on lap 34, which caused brief concern at Mercedes, though the issue did not worsen.
Further back, Verstappen mounted a forceful recovery drive on hard tyres. Leclerc eventually got past him on lap 47 for the final podium position, but Verstappen fought back until he ran out of battery power.
Piastri then overtook Verstappen on lap 49 and set off after Leclerc.
The final two laps settled the podium. Piastri swept past Leclerc on lap 56, and as Leclerc attempted to respond, he spun alone and clipped the wall.
Russell, who had been chasing Verstappen, suddenly found the damaged Ferrari directly ahead and drove past it. Verstappen passed Leclerc on the start-finish straight immediately after.
Tennis legend Rafael Nadal waved the chequered flag as Antonelli came through to win. Lewis Hamilton, who had damaged his car in a lap-one collision with Franco Colapinto, finished seventh.
Verstappen faces a post-race stewards’ investigation for crossing the pit-exit line. Russell was also noted for moving under braking.
What the top three said after the race
Antonelli was straightforward about a start that could have unravelled his race.
He acknowledged a mistake with energy management while trying to pass Leclerc early on, but credited his team for turning the race around.
“The team did a great strategy, a massive undercut, and we managed to bring it home,” he told Jenson Button during the post-race interviews. “I’m going to enjoy this one, and then get back to work.”
Norris did not look for excuses. He accepted that Mercedes had outplayed McLaren in the pit stop window and admitted the loss stung.
“We got undercut, no excuses, we should have boxed first,” he said.
He also pointed to the demands of the new technical regulations.
“It was tough, you have to be tactical with how you use the battery,” Norris added. “I feel I did a good job, and the team did a good job all weekend.”
Piastri, who started seventh and worked his way onto the podium in the closing stages, took a measured view of a difficult weekend.
“The pace seemed more encouraging today,” he said.
He was more optimistic about what the result suggested for races ahead.
“I think this weekend we showed that if we get track position, we can hang on to things,” the Australian said. “Hopefully, in Canada, we can take another step forward.”
2026 Miami GP, full results
| Position | Driver | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Kimi Antonelli | Leader |
| 2 | Lando Norris | +3.264s |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | +27.092s |
| 4 | George Russell | +43.051s |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | +43.949s |
| 6 | Charles Leclerc | +44.245s |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | +53.753s |
| 8 | Franco Colapinto | +61.871s |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz | +82.072s |
| 10 | Alexander Albon | +90.972s |
| 11 | Oliver Bearman | +1 lap |
| 12 | Gabriel Bortoleto | +1 lap |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | +1 lap |
| 14 | Arvid Lindblad | +1 lap |
| 15 | Fernando Alonso | +1 lap |
| 16 | Sergio Perez | +1 lap |
| 17 | Lance Stroll | +1 lap |
| 18 | Valtteri Bottas | +2 laps |
| 19 | Nico Hulkenberg | DNF |
| 20 | Liam Lawson | DNF |
| 21 | Pierre Gasly | DNF |
| 22 | Isack Hadjar | DNF |
Note: These results are provisional and subject to change pending the outcome of post-race stewards’ investigations, including Verstappen’s alleged pit-exit line infringement, Russell being noted for moving under braking, and Leclerc under investigation for driving his car in an unsafe condition.
