Kimi Antonelli unstoppable: Mercedes star secures hat-trick with Miami Grand Prix win. Kimi Antonelli delivers another dominant Formula 1 victory at the Miami GP.

The driver from Bologna secured Mercedes’ fourth consecutive win of the season, proving that they remain the benchmark despite being one of the few top teams not to bring major upgrades to Florida. Above all, he has gifted himself a third straight win and 100 points in the general standings, pulling significantly clear of teammate George Russell, his closest rival.

Antonelli built his success right from the start, getting off the line better than usual and avoiding contact with a hard-charging Max Verstappen into the turn 1 braking zone. Charles Leclerc briefly capitalized on their scrap, but the Ferrari driver’s joy was short-lived. Antonelli and Lando Norris quickly dispatched the #16 SF-26 and engaged in a fierce duel until lap 28, when Antonelli successfully overtook the McLaren world champion. From there, Norris tried everything to pressure the Italian, but Andrea remained ice-cold, managing every phase of the race to secure a well-deserved win.

Mercedes wins, but McLaren finds its rhythm

While Mercedes took the trophy, McLaren flexed its muscles. The updates introduced in Miami have clearly paid off, and the MCL40 now looks poised to become the new performance benchmark in Formula 1. Norris finishing second and Oscar Piastri taking third is a clear warning shot to the rest of the grid.

Ferrari paid the price for this resurgence. Charles Leclerc saw a podium spot snatched away just miles from the finish. The Scuderia was expected to be a protagonist but found itself as the third-fastest force behind Mercedes and McLaren. Finishing more than 20 seconds behind Antonelli is not a result that will please Maranello; more races will be needed to understand the true gap to their rivals on different track layouts.

Insult was added to injury due to a late issue on Leclerc’s SF-26, which saw him spin on the final lap. The Monegasque plummeted from third to sixth in a matter of kilometers, clearly struggling with his machinery. George Russell—who finished a distant 43 seconds behind his teammate after an anonymous race—and Max Verstappen both took advantage of Leclerc’s misfortune.

Safety car drama and early retirements

The Safety Car was deployed on lap 6 following two separate incidents in quick succession. Isack Hadjar broke a steering arm after clipping a barrier and ending up in the wall. Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly was tagged at the final corner by Liam Lawson, causing the Alpine to flip. In an instant, two French drivers were out. The damage was extensive: Hadjar’s Red Bull RB22 suffered front-end wreckage, while Gasly’s A526 was totaled in the roll. The incident also ended Lawson’s day due to significant damage, and Nico Hulkenberg retired his Audi around the same time with a mechanical failure.

Max Verstappen gambled on a very early stop for Hard tires to gain track position, a move that worked until 20 laps from the end. Eventually, his tires fell off a cliff, relegating him to fifth. Lewis Hamilton fared even worse, finishing seventh and 53 seconds adrift of Antonelli. Despite a positive feeling yesterday, his race was compromised by contact with Franco Colapinto, which damaged his left-side bargeboards.

Alpine can celebrate a solid eighth-place finish for Colapinto, while Williams secured an unlikely double points finish with Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon rounding out the top ten in their still-overweight FW48. Outside the points, Haas missed out as Oliver Bearman outpaced Esteban Ocon. At the back of the pack, Valtteri Bottas had a day to forget, finishing last and over 80 seconds behind Stroll after a series of infractions.

Miami Grand Prix – Final Classification