Miami: Italian teenage sensation Kimi Antonelli has delivered a commanding performance to win the Miami Grand Prix for Mercedes, securing his third consecutive victory from pole position and further cementing his place in Formula One history.
At just 19 years old, Antonelli became the youngest driver ever to lead the championship. Kimi Antonelli also set a new benchmark as the first driver to claim his first three career wins from pole and the first in five editions of the Miami race to win from the front row.
The race, held at the Hard Rock Stadium circuit, saw Antonelli edge out Lando Norris of McLaren by 3.2 seconds. Norris had briefly led by three seconds but lost the advantage during pit stops, as Mercedes executed a perfectly timed undercut.
Norris remarked that, “How did we not win this? We should have won,” Norris said over team radio, later admitting strategy played a decisive role. We got undercut – we should have pitted first. Hats off to Merc and Kimi, they drove a good race.”
Oscar Piastri secured third place for McLaren, while Antonelli’s teammate George Russell finished fourth, maintaining his position as a close title contender. Reigning champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing ended fifth after an early spin dropped him down the order. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari finished sixth despite late-race struggles with a damaged car, followed by teammate Lewis Hamilton in seventh.
Further down the order, Franco Colapinto claimed eighth for Alpine, while Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon secured a double-points finish for Williams in ninth and tenth. The race saw early drama with a safety car deployed on lap six following incidents involving Isack Hadjar and Pierre Gasly after contact with Liam Lawson.
Antonelli now leads the championship standings with 100 points, ahead of Russell on 80 and Leclerc on 63, while Norris trails on 51 after four rounds, all dominated by Mercedes. The race had been brought forward by three hours due to forecasts of lightning and thunderstorms, but was completed without weather disruption, marking another milestone in Antonelli’s remarkable rise in Formula One.
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