Antonelli Wins the F1 Miami Grand Prix 2026 to Make It Three in a Row

Kimi Antonelli made it three consecutive Formula 1 victories at the Miami Grand Prix. He held off Lando Norris after Mercedes nailed the undercut on Lap 27, the move that decided it. Norris admitted on the podium they should have boxed first. Oscar Piastri completed an all-McLaren podium in third. Charles Leclerc led early, was running third with two laps to go, then spun alone and dropped to sixth. Hadjar and Gasly retired inside six laps, Lawson caught in the fallout.

Key Points: F1 Miami Grand Prix 2026 Race Report

• Winner: Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), third consecutive Formula 1 victory. Championship lead extended
• Norris P2, Piastri P3: first combined McLaren podium of 2026. Norris admits on the podium they should have pitted before the undercut
• Leclerc spins alone on Lap 56 of 57 while running third. Ferrari lose a podium late. Hamilton P7 compromised all race by first-lap contact with Colapinto
• Verstappen recovers from a full 360-degree spin on Lap 1 to finish fifth in one of the drives of the afternoon
• Hadjar and Gasly retire in separate incidents inside six laps. Lawson also out with damage from the Gasly crash. Hulkenberg retires
• Mercedes win with two car updates in Miami while Ferrari brought eleven and McLaren seven. Mercedes development package due in Canada

Race Recap: F1 Miami Grand Prix 2026 Race Report

The Start: Verstappen Spins, Leclerc Leads

Antonelli did not get away cleanly. He locked up at Turn 1, ran wide, and Leclerc took the lead on a normal racing line. Verstappen was three-abreast alongside, squeezed Norris, locked up himself and spun a full 360 degrees across the circuit. Somehow nobody collected him. Antonelli rejoined behind Leclerc who led from Norris and Piastri. Further back, Colapinto and Hamilton made contact. Hamilton was on the radio immediately. He had car damage. He could not race like this. The stewards noted the incident. No further action at the time.

Opening Phase: Leclerc Controls, Antonelli Hunts

Leclerc built his lead across the opening laps with Antonelli tracking him. Russell used Boost to clear Piastri for fourth on Lap 3. Antonelli used Boost down the back straight on Lap 4 to take Leclerc into Turn 17. Leclerc retook it. Then lost it again. Those first ten laps never settled. Every straight, every braking zone, it flipped. Norris was told to stay out of it, protect his tyres, and wait.

Lap 6: Safety Car, Two Retirements, Race Reset

Hadjar clipped the inside barriers, broke his suspension and went straight into the opposite wall. Gasly, in a separate incident, turned in on Lawson, the two made contact and Gasly’s car flipped upside down into the barriers. Both drivers were okay. Lawson retired with damage. Hulkenberg pitted for a new front wing and eventually retired. The safety car came out. Norris used it to pick off Antonelli and moved to second behind Leclerc.

Restart to Pit Window: Rain, Undercut and the Move That Won It

The restart produced more chaos. Piastri cleared Russell into Turn 1. Across laps 14 to 20 the lead changed hands multiple times between Leclerc, Antonelli and Norris as boost mode reshuffled the order on every straight. Three different leaders in as many laps.

Then the rain threat arrived. Russell pitted on Lap 21 for hard tyres. Leclerc came in on Lap 22, a slow 3.7-second stop, and emerged behind Russell. He was furious. Norris led, Antonelli second, Piastri third, all three still on original mediums with the rain falling very lightly and doing nothing to the track.

Antonelli pitted on Lap 27. Fast out-lap. When Norris came in on Lap 28, Antonelli was already ahead. The undercut had worked. Piastri stayed out longest, led briefly, pitted on Lap 29 and emerged behind Verstappen. Antonelli cleared Verstappen immediately. Norris followed. Piastri took Verstappen on Lap 49. Podium set. The rain never came.

Closing Laps: Leclerc Spins, Ferrari’s Day Unravels

Leclerc spent the closing phase hunting a podium that had slipped away at the pit stop. He cleared Verstappen on Lap 47, lost it, retook it when Verstappen used too much battery defending. Running third with two laps to go, he spun alone on Lap 56 of 57. No contact. He clipped the wall on exit and was lucky the rear stayed clear, then limped to the flag in sixth with a damaged car. Russell caught him on the final lap but could only manage fourth. Hamilton seventh after running compromised all race from the opening lap contact.

Antonelli crossed the line 3.264 seconds clear of Norris. Three consecutive Formula 1 victories. The championship lead grows.

Final Results: F1 Miami Grand Prix 2026

From the Podium: F1 Miami Grand Prix 2026 Race Report

Tyres and Strategy: F1 Miami Grand Prix 2026 Race Report

Miami settled into a one-stop race. Every driver started on the C4 Medium, aside from Hadjar from the pit lane on Hards and Bottas on Softs, the only driver to run a two-stop across the afternoon.

The Safety Car on Lap 6 was the only real variable. Verstappen used it to switch to Hard early and ran 51 laps to the flag. No real management needed. That stint told you everything about degradation. It was low, and with cooler conditions than practice, even easier to handle.

The rain threat never arrived. Teams were calling it from Lap 19, but the track stayed dry. That uncertainty forced early moves. Russell boxed on Lap 21. Leclerc followed on Lap 22. Both went to Hard before the race had properly opened up.

Leclerc’s stop cost him. 3.7 seconds. He came out behind Russell and never recovered that track position.

Antonelli and Norris held firm. Antonelli boxed on Lap 27. Norris on Lap 28. That was the race. The undercut worked cleanly.

Piastri went longest on the Medium, stopping on Lap 29. His Hard tyre carried him comfortably to the flag.

Aston Martin split the strategy. Alonso and Stroll both switched to Softs, mirroring Bottas, who stopped twice. It did not pay off. Stroll finished two laps down.

Colapinto ran a clean one-stop. Lap 31 to Hard, straight through to the end, and into the points.

Rest of the Grid: F1 Miami Grand Prix 2026 Race Report

Williams: Double Points, Upgrades Working

Sainz ninth. Albon tenth.

Both cars in the points. The upgrade package is starting to land. Vowles boxed Albon early to clear traffic and secure the double finish.

Sainz called it another solid Sunday. The bigger picture matters more. Reliability is now stable, and the car is delivering what it should. More to come.

Alpine: Colapinto Delivers, Gasly Out Early

Colapinto eighth. Clean. Controlled. Points in consecutive races.

He managed minor damage from early contact without losing pace. Strategy was straightforward and executed properly.

Gasly’s race ended on Lap 6. Heavy contact with Lawson flipped the car. He walked away, but was direct after. Avoidable.

Briatore flagged something else. The new components may not have delivered what was expected on Gasly’s side. That will be looked at before Canada.

Alpine sit fifth in the standings.

Haas: Close, No Result

Bearman eleventh. Ocon thirteenth.

No updates. Still close to the points.

Bearman was clear. Frustrating, but the pace is there. Canada upgrades should shift that.

Ocon’s race fell away after the stop. Tyres and pace dropped off. Hard to hold position from there.

Komatsu took the positives. Close without new parts.

Racing Bulls: Early Exit, One Learning Run

Lawson out on Lap 6. Gearbox issue. Loss of control. Collects Gasly.

He went straight to apologise after.

Lindblad started from the back after missing the Sprint. Finished fourteenth. Struggled early on Mediums, improved once on Hard.

Permane admitted it. Not good enough. More aero coming in Canada.

Audi: Recovery and Loss

Bortoleto twelfth. Started last. Worked forward well. Medium to Lap 32, then Hard to the end.

Hulkenberg’s race ended early. First-lap damage, front wing change, then retirement.

McNish highlighted the recovery drive. Strong pace. Good response after a difficult Saturday.

Cadillac: Consistency Building

Perez sixteenth. Bottas eighteenth.

Third consecutive double finish.

Perez had late fights and saw progress. Bottas struggled with degradation and took a drive-through for a pit lane infringement.

Lowdon called it a step forward. More data. More understanding.

Towriss made the point. Home race pressure. Handled.

Aston Martin and Honda: Small Steps Forward

Alonso fifteenth. Stroll seventeenth.

Both cars finished. That matters right now.

Honda confirmed vibration issues have largely been reduced. That is a baseline improvement.

Performance is not there yet. Orihara did not pretend otherwise.

Small step. More work to come.

Coffee Corner Take

Three wins in a row. Kimi Antonelli is 19 years old and leading the Formula 1 World Championship.

That’s the bit that stands out.

He shares a garage with George Russell and he is beating him. Not once. He is doing it consistently now. No noise around it. No sense of overreach. He just goes out, does the job, and leaves with the result. Three wins in a row, in his second season. Nobody else on this grid has managed that in 2026. He has.

The undercut was the race. Norris said it plainly on the podium. No excuses. They should have boxed first. Mercedes read the rain threat, read the pit window, read the opportunity, and executed before McLaren could react. One call. Race over. But Antonelli still had to drive it. He had a throttle concern mid-race. A gearbox paddle issue in the same stint. He still pulled clear. That is not luck. That is a teenager who does not rattle.

The McLaren podium is the result the season needed from them. Both cars, both drivers, first combined podium of 2026. Piastri’s drive through the field in the closing laps was composed and precise. Norris is gutted and he should be. He had the pace to win this. He did not have the call.

Leclerc’s spin on Lap 56 is the image that will define Ferrari’s Miami. He had dragged himself back into a podium fight from a compromised pit stop, cleared Verstappen twice, and was running third with two laps to go. Then he spun, alone, no contact, and the day unravelled. He clipped the wall. He limped home sixth. Hamilton ran compromised from the first lap. Ferrari leave Miami with a big damage bill and very little to show for the eleven components they brought.

Which brings it back to Mercedes. Two changes to the car in Miami. Two. While Ferrari arrived with eleven new components and McLaren brought seven including a completely new floor, Mercedes changed a tailpipe angle and a front drum lip. And they won. Antonelli had problems mid-race and still pulled clear. That is not a car on the edge. That is a car with margin to spare. The development package is coming in Canada. Mercedes will bring proper updates to Montreal that they chose not to bring here. Every team chasing them ran significant new hardware blind on a sprint weekend. Mercedes brought two changes because they did not need more. A team that wins with two updates and saves the real push for the next race is not a team feeling pressure. It is a team in control of its own season.

Verstappen’s recovery was the best individual drive of the afternoon. Full spin on Lap 1. P16. Fifth at the flag. That is a driver finding something when the race gives him nothing to start with.

This weekend carried something heavier than a race result. Alex Zanardi died on 1 May, the day this race weekend began. F1 held a minute’s silence before the sprint on Saturday in his honour. Zanardi was Italian. A Formula 1 driver in the early 1990s, a two-time CART champion, a man who lost both legs in a racing accident in 2001 and came back to win four Paralympic gold medals. One of sport’s most extraordinary human beings. Gone at 59, the day before this race.

And then on Sunday, in Miami, an Italian teenager stood on the top step of a Formula 1 podium for the third consecutive time. A different kind of Italian sporting story. A different chapter. Zanardi showed the world what courage looks like when sport takes everything from you and you refuse to let it define you. Antonelli is showing the world what fearlessness looks like when sport gives you everything and you refuse to be overwhelmed by it. Different stories. Same country. Same weekend.

Four races in. Antonelli leads. Mercedes haven’t even started developing yet.