The 19-year-old becomes the first driver in F1 history to turn his first three pole positions into race wins.
Published May 3, 2026
Italian teenage prodigy Kimi Antonelli won the Miami Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday, etching his name into the F1 record books with his third straight win from pole position.
The youngest driver ever to lead the championship at the age of 19, Antonelli became the first driver to win his first three career races from the top of the grid, and the first driver to win from the front row in five races at Miami.
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“This is just the beginning and we still have a long way to go,” he said after beating McLaren’s world champion Lando Norris by 3.2 seconds at Hard Rock Stadium, increasing his lead to 20 points after four races. Mercedes won everything.
“We are working hard and the team is doing a great job.”
“Why didn’t I win?”
Norris, Saturday’s sprint winner, held a three-second lead at one point but stalled after Antonelli pitted first for a tire change, ahead of the Briton who pitted a lap later.
“Why didn’t we win? We should have won,” Norris said over the team radio after the checkered flag.
“I just got undercut. There’s no other excuse. I got undercut. I should have boxed first,” he later explained.
“Hats off to Merc and Kimi. They ran a good race. It’s a shame to miss out on the win here in Miami. I think it was possible today. But we didn’t have the pace to pass him in the end, so we’ll take it on the chin.”
Last year’s winner, Australia’s Oscar Piastri, rounded out the podium for McLaren after a spirited race, with Antonelli’s teammate and closest rival George Russell in fourth place.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen started on the front row, did not collect anyone on the opening lap, did not get hit by another car and fell back to 10th place, and finished in 5th place after going around in the opening lap.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was sixth, leading at the start, but was overtaken by Russell and Verstappen at the final corner as he struggled with a damaged car that had hit the barrier at the end, leaving teammate Lewis Hamilton in seventh.
Leclerc faced a post-race investigation for multiple track limit 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, with Williams completing a double points finish, with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon in ninth and 10th.
Antonelli now has 100 points, compared to Russell’s 80 and Leclerc’s 63, while Norris has 51.
The safety car was brought out on lap six after two accidents, in which Red Bull’s Isaac Hajjar slid into the wall and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly collided with Racing Bull’s Liam Lawson and cartwheeled off.
Due to thunderstorms and thunderstorms in the forecast, the race was moved forward by three hours and was completed without any interruptions due to weather.
