Kimi Antonelli Wins Miami GP, Extends Perfect Start to Season

Italian teenage driver Kimi Antonelli won the Miami Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday, etching his name into the Formula 1 record books with a third straight victory from pole position.

Antonelli, 19, is the youngest driver ever to lead the world championship and became the first in history to convert his first three career poles into wins. He also became the first driver in the five editions of the Miami race to win from the front row.

“This is just the start, the road is long,” Antonelli said after finishing 3.2 seconds ahead of McLaren’s world champion Lando Norris at the Hard Rock Stadium circuit. The win extended his championship lead to 20 points after four rounds — all won by Mercedes drivers.

“We are working extremely hard and the team is doing an incredible job.”

Norris, who won Saturday’s sprint race, had led Antonelli by up to three seconds but lost out after the pit stops. Antonelli pitted first and jumped ahead when the Briton pitted one lap later.

“Why didn’t we win? We should have won,” Norris said over team radio after the finish. “We got undercut, no excuse other than that. We should have pitted first,” he later explained.

“Congratulations to Mercedes and Kimi, they drove a good race. I’m very disappointed to have missed the win in Miami, but in the end I didn’t have enough pace to get past him.”

Australian Oscar Piastri, the defending Miami GP winner, finished third for McLaren after a lively battle with Antonelli’s teammate George Russell, who was fourth. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen placed fifth despite starting on the front row and spinning 360 degrees on the opening lap without contact, dropping to 10th.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was sixth after being passed by Russell and Verstappen in the closing corners, struggling with a damaged car after leading early and hitting a barrier late in the race. His teammate Lewis Hamilton finished seventh.

Leclerc was investigated after the race for multiple alleged track-limits violations on the final lap, while Verstappen also faced a stewards’ investigation for crossing the white line at the pit-lane exit.

Argentina’s Franco Colapinto finished eighth for Alpine, while Williams scored a double-points finish with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon ninth and 10th respectively.

Antonelli now has 100 points, 20 ahead of George Russell and 37 clear of Charles Leclerc. Norris has 51 points.

The safety car was deployed on lap six after two crashes: Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar slid into the wall, and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rolled after contact with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.

The race was moved up three hours earlier than scheduled due to forecasts of thunderstorms and heavy rain, and was completed without weather disruption.