Kimi Antonelli has etched his name into Formula 1 record books after claiming victory at the 2026 Miami Grand Prix, becoming the first driver in the sport’s history to secure his first three career pole positions and translate each of them into consecutive race wins. The 19-year-old Italian’s triumph also extended his lead in the World Drivers’ Championship standings.
The race itself nearly unravelled for Antonelli before it had properly begun. A significant lock-up at Turn 1 on the opening lap forced the Mercedes driver wide, handing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc the lead into the first corner. The chaos continued directly behind them, where Max Verstappen — starting second in a heavily upgraded Red Bull — made contact with Leclerc through the early sequence of corners. The collision sent the three-time world champion into a violent 360-degree spin, though Verstappen remarkably kept his RB22 running and rejoined the race, dropping to ninth in the process.
Before the field could settle, a safety car was deployed on Lap 5 following two separate serious incidents. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who had started from the back of the grid after a qualifying disqualification, lost control and hit the wall. Almost simultaneously, a high-speed collision between Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson resulted in Gasly’s car flipping upside down and coming to rest with its rear tyres on top of a safety barrier. Both Gasly and Hadjar climbed from their cars uninjured.
Prior to the incidents, the race had already been reshaped by an unusual scheduling intervention. The FIA and Formula 1 management moved the race start forward by three hours on Sunday, May 3, citing the threat of heavy rain and flash thunderstorms during the traditional late-afternoon slot. The grand prix ultimately ran in hot, overcast, and humid but fully dry conditions — a change that reportedly caught several setup teams off guard.
Once racing resumed, the lead exchanged hands multiple times among Leclerc, Antonelli, and McLaren’s Lando Norris, who took the top position on Lap 14. The race’s decisive moment arrived at the pit stop phase. Mercedes executed a perfectly timed stop for Antonelli, enabling him to overcut Norris and reclaim the net lead. From that point, the Italian managed the gap methodically over the remaining laps of the 57-lap contest. Norris closed to within 3.264 seconds at the chequered flag but could not find a way through, finishing second.
The closing stages delivered further drama further down the order. Oscar Piastri moved past Leclerc on the penultimate lap to claim third. In responding, Leclerc lost control on the final lap, spun, and made contact with the wall — dropping from fourth to sixth as both George Russell and a recovering Verstappen swept past him at the flag.
The provisional finishing order placed Antonelli first, Norris second (+3.264s), Piastri third (+27.092s), Russell fourth (+43.051s), Verstappen fifth (+43.949s), and Leclerc sixth (+44.245s). Lewis Hamilton crossed the line seventh for Ferrari, followed by Franco Colapinto (Alpine), Carlos Sainz (Williams), and Alex Albon (Williams) to complete the top ten. Gasly, Lawson, Hadjar, and Nico Hülkenberg were classified as retirements. Despite the podium presentations taking place, all results remain provisional as FIA stewards continue to process a number of post-race investigations.
Antonelli’s emergence has been one of the defining narratives of the 2026 Formula 1 season. The Bologna-born driver, who replaced seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes — Hamilton having moved to Ferrari — has now won all three races he has started from pole position in his debut campaign. No driver in the sport’s history had previously achieved that feat across the first three starts of a career.
