Miami GP 2026: Antonelli undercuts Norris for third straight win

Kimi Antonelli won the Miami Grand Prix from pole position, finishing 3.264 seconds ahead of Lando Norris at the Miami International Autodrome for his third victory in a row. Oscar Piastri made it two McLarens on the podium, with George Russell fourth. The decisive moment came in the pit lane, where Mercedes stopped Antonelli one lap before McLaren called in Norris.

How Antonelli undercut Norris

The start had been brought forward three hours because of forecast storms, and the rain never properly arrived. Antonelli made another poor getaway, ran wide at Turn 1 and handed the lead to Charles Leclerc, who started third. It is becoming a habit: the Italian has lost places off the line at every grand prix and sprint start this season. Max Verstappen, alongside him on the front row, spun in the opening corners and fell down the order.

A safety car followed within a few laps. Pierre Gasly's Alpine was launched into a roll after contact with Liam Lawson at Turn 17 while the pair fought over tenth; Gasly climbed out unhurt, but neither car continued. Isack Hadjar, who had started from the pit lane after being excluded from qualifying, clipped the inside wall at Turn 14 and broke his suspension. Verstappen used the neutralisation to switch to hard tyres.

Norris passed Leclerc for the lead shortly after the restart and controlled the first stint. Mercedes then brought Antonelli in for hards, McLaren answered a lap later, and Norris rejoined behind. Once Verstappen, running long on his old set, had been cleared, Antonelli led to the flag. Norris closed to within a second late on but could not make a move stick in the dirty air, while Antonelli nursed his rear tyres and a downshift problem. "We got undercut, no excuses," said Norris.

Piastri took third in the closing laps as Verstappen's tyres faded. Leclerc spun at Turn 3 on the final lap, hit the wall and limped home sixth, passed by Russell and Verstappen. The stewards then added 20 seconds for leaving the track several times on that lap, ruling that his car problem did not justify it, and he was classified eighth.

Antonelli vs Russell and the other teammate duels

Mercedes. Antonelli took pole while Russell lined up fifth, 0.454% of a lap slower. Russell stopped early, dropped to twelfth and fought back to fourth with late passes on Leclerc and Verstappen, but finished 43 seconds behind. On F1 Duels, Antonelli now leads their 2026 head-to-head 3–1 in qualifying and 3–1 in races.

McLaren. Norris won Saturday's sprint from Piastri, then out-qualified him for the grand prix, fourth against seventh. Second and third on Sunday made it a strong weekend for McLaren's upgraded car, and Norris had the better of it each time. In our count Norris vs Piastri is now level at 1–1 in races, with Piastri still 3–1 up in qualifying.

Ferrari. Leclerc out-qualified Lewis Hamilton, third against sixth, and led the early laps. Hamilton's car was damaged in a first-lap clash with Franco Colapinto, yet the penalty moved him up to sixth and gives him the race duel. That levels their races at 2–2, while Leclerc leads 3–1 on Saturdays.

Colapinto recovered to seventh, his best Formula 1 result, after out-qualifying Gasly by the smallest teammate margin of the weekend. Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon took the last two points for Williams.

What it means for the title

Antonelli has now won three of the first four grands prix and leaves Miami 20 points clear of Russell. With the two Mercedes drivers first and second, the championship is for now a fight inside one garage, and in Miami Antonelli won it in qualifying and in the race. Every head-to-head from this round is on our Miami GP duels page.