MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes won the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix on Sunday, securing his third victory in a row and increasing his lead in the world championship.
The 19-year-old Italian prodigy started first after taking his third consecutive pole position for the race. And while he lost his lead at the start, he regained it and held off the charging McLaren of Lando Norris toward the end.
“This is just the beginning. The road is still long,” Antonelli said after the race, which gave him 20-point lead in the title fight.
Antonelli said he’s “did not expect” to be ahead in the standings when asked by NBC News whether he’s growing more optimistic about his championship chances.
“We’re leading at such a good moment. But as I said before, it’s still a very long season, and there’s so many things that can change,” he said. Referring to his teammate George Russell, he added: “George, for sure, is going to be super strong in Canada [which hosts the next race]. … I feel much more comfortable in the car, much more in control as well.”
Norris finished second, with fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri completing the podium in third place.
The race time was moved up by three hours to start at 1 p.m. local time due to a threat of thunderstorms later in the afternoon.
It was the fourth race of the 2026 season, coming after an unplanned five-week gap due to two races in the Middle East getting canceled because of the war in Iran. It’s also the first race in the U.S. since new rules led to massive changes in the sport. Formula 1 tweaked the regulations in response to criticisms that it devalued flat-out racing in favor of battery management.
“I’m gutted to miss out on a win here in Miami,” Norris said. “I think it was possible today, but yeah, not the pace to get back past him in the end. So we take it on the chin. But it’s still a positive weekend altogether.”
Antonelli, who became Formula 1’s youngest ever championship leader in March, defeated Russell, his more experienced teammate, for the third straight race. His unexpected strength in his sophomore season of Formula 1 is spicing up the intra-team battle. Russell, 28, entered the season as the betting-odds favorite to win the title. He finished fourth on Sunday.
The Miami result leaves Antonelli with 100 championship points, ahead of Russell with 80, Leclerc with 63 and Norris with 51. (A Grand Prix victory awards 25 points.)
The race delivered on the exciting wheel-to-wheel racing that F1 hoped for with the polarizing new regulations, featuring numerous of battles as Antonelli, Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc each looked, at different moments, capable of winning.
Leclerc fell out of contention for victory later in the race, and finished sixth after spinning on the last lap, nearly crashing his car and losing multiple positions in the final few corners. A penalty for cutting chicanes later dropped him to eighth.
Leclerc said he’s “disappointed” with himself for the error, telling reporters he was trying hard to secure a podium.
“I think that without the mistake, I could have done a podium,” he said. “I wanted to get the overtake from Oscar in that last lap.”
There was some “yo-yo” racing, with cars using electrical energy to overtake and then getting repassed as their battery ran out. The drivers sought to map out where to use their “boost” buttons for maximum impact. That aspect of the new rules has sparked controversy as some drivers say it’s antithetical to racing.
It was also the inaugural home race for the GM-backed Cadillac F1 team, which joined the grid this year. The owner of the team hopes it’ll help Formula 1 break further into American culture.
“We just have to break into that mainstream sports conversation. The NFL draft is like this cultural event. I mean, the amount of people that watched and attended that event was crazy. And then you got the NBA playoffs, and you’ve got the MLB season underway. And so motorsports is on the rise, for sure, but it still has to take that big next step,” Dan Towriss, the CEO of the Cadillac F1 team, told reporters Friday in the paddock. “It has to break into that sports conversation where everyday people are talking about what happened in ... Formula 1.”
Formula 1 says the U.S. is a top-priority market.
“We want to keep embracing the American fans, in the right way, creating the right vibes, talking about sport, talking about business,” Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said Friday at the Autosport Business Exchange Miami.
While Apple hasn’t released exact viewership figures, the company’s senior vice president Eddy Cue said Friday the ratings were “way up” in the opening three races compared to last year.
Antonelli lost his lead after a chaotic start, with Leclerc charging into first place on the first lap after Max Verstappen of Red Bull spun around in the opening corners and lost positions. Verstappen ultimately recovered to finish the race in fifth place.
There was chaos on Lap 6 with two unrelated crashes that brought out a “safety car” and neutralized the race. Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar hit the barriers after misjudging a chicane. Elsewhere on track, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson locked up and hit Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, leaving Gasly’s car stricken on track.
McLaren, who dominated the team championship last year, showed significant improvements this weekend after struggling in the first three races of 2026. Norris and Piastri finished first and second, respectively, in the Miami “sprint” race Saturday.
“Thanks to the team, a step closer in performance once again,” Piastri said Sunday after his podium finish.
Celebrities and athletes lined the paddock in Miami, including soccer legend Lionel Messi, tennis great Rafael Nadal, actor Patrick Dempsey, “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon and NBA star Bam Adebayo.
The 6’9” Miami Heat player said he came away impressed by the racers.
“People don’t understand how much the drivers really go through at 200 miles an hour,” Adebayo told NBC News after walking the grid. “For me, man, it’s what they go through and how they still get up every day and go race.
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