In Miami, Kimi Antonelli secured his third consecutive victory: "We brought the win home."

Victory was anything but a walk in the park. Having secured pole position the previous day, Kimi Antonelli once again made a mediocre start and was immediately overtaken by Charles LeclercAttempting to delay his braking to regain position, the Italian went straight into the escape road, just like Max Verstappen — before having the chance to see the Dutchman spin out in front of him, slowing down the whole pack and allowing him to exit the first corners in the Monegasque's wheels.

“The start wasn’t as bad as in the Sprint, but I didn’t expect Charles to brake so early, so I had to avoid him and locked up a wheel. I was lucky afterwards with Verstappen’s spin.”he readily admits. What follows is a yo-yo battle between Antonelli and Leclerc, with Lando Norris lying in wait in third place. The safety car was deployed on lap five — triggered by Isack Hadjar's crash into the wall, then by the collision between Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson three turns later — resets the clock and reshuffles the cards.

At the restart, the reigning world champion took the lead over the Italian, who had to wait until lap 26 to turn the situation around with a decisive undercut: by pitting one lap earlier than the Briton, the driver Mercedes Benz emerges from the pits on new tires and doubles the McLaren at the start of lap 28, when Lando Norris had barely fitted his own hard tires. "We had a very good strategy with a big undercut, and we brought the victory home.", he greets.

A temperamental gearbox, but a well-deserved victory.

The final laps were anything but easy for Kimi Antonelli, who repeatedly complained of gearbox problems when downshifting — a problem reminiscent of the similar difficulties Max Verstappen experienced throughout the 2025 season on his Red BullLando Norris, never more than two seconds behind, maintained constant pressure until the checkered flag without ever finding the necessary opening to attempt an overtake.

Number 12 also admits to having made a mistake mid-race: "I made a small mistake in my energy management while trying to overtake Charles, and I got caught out by Lando." This self-criticism reflects the growing maturity of a 19-year-old driver who is learning to manage the complexities of the 2026 regulations in real time. His victory also defies a statistic that has held true since the Miami Grand Prix's inception on the calendar: the pole-sitter had never won the race.

For the team, the tribute is sincere: "The team is very good, everyone is doing a superb job and without them I wouldn't be here, so thank you to the whole team." With a 20-point lead over Russell in the championship after just four rounds, Antonelli is further cementing his position as the clear favorite for the 2026 season, which is only just beginning. The next race is in three weeks in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix.

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