Miami GP: 5 THINGS that happened as 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli makes history with 3rd consecutive victory

Mercedes’ high-flying start to the season continued at the Miami Grand Prix, as wunderkid Kimi Antonelli secured a stunning victory, fending off a ferocious challenge from reigning World Champion Lando Norris.

The 19-year-old Italian overcame a chaotic start and a safety car intervention to become the first driver in Formula 1 history to claim his first three career poles and convert them into three consecutive race wins.

The win extends Antonelli’s lead in the World Drivers’ Championship standings.

Fearing heavy rain and flash thunderstorms during the traditional late afternoon slot, the governing FIA and Formula 1 management made a rare late call to pull the start time forward by three hours on Sunday, May 3. The grand prix got underway in hot, overcast, and deeply humid conditions, retaining a fully dry race that caught several setup teams off guard.

Antonelli started on pole, but his lead evaporated within seconds.

A massive lock-up into the first corner forced him wide, allowing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to dive up the inside and take the provisional lead.

Directly behind the leaders, Max Verstappen, starting second in a heavily upgraded Red Bull, fought aggressively for position with Leclerc.

The two made contact through the opening sequence of corners, sending Verstappen into a violent 360-degree spin. The Dutchman remarkably kept his RB22 running but plummeted to ninth.

The race was quickly neutralised on Lap 5 following a pair of severe crashes. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who started from the back of the grid due to a qualifying disqualification, lost control and slammed into the wall.

Moments later, a high-speed collision between Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson caused Gasly’s car to violently flip upside down, coming to a rest with its rear tyres perched on top of a safety barrier.

Both Gasly and Hadjar climbed out of their vehicles uninjured, but the incident brought out the safety car to bunch the field.

As the race resumed and strategy played out, the lead shifted multiple times between Leclerc, Antonelli, and McLaren’s Lando Norris, who assumed P1 on Lap 14.

The definitive moment of the race came during the only round of pit stops. Mercedes executed a flawlessly timed stop for Antonelli, giving him the leverage to pull off a powerful overcut on Norris. Antonelli reclaimed the net lead and expertly managed the gap for the remainder of the 57-lap contest.

Norris threw everything at the young Italian, closing the gap to just 3.2 seconds at the checkered flag but was forced to settle for second place.

The closing laps provided pure theatre. Charles Leclerc seemed destined for the final spot on the podium until McLaren’s Oscar Piastri executed a bold pass on the penultimate lap.

Pushing to respond on the final lap, Leclerc lost control and spun. While he avoided destroying his Ferrari, he tapped the wall. The error caused him to drop from fourth to sixth after being overtaken by Mercedes’ George Russell and a hard-charging Max Verstappen.

Despite the podium celebrations, the final results remain strictly provisional as FIA stewards process several high-profile post-race investigations.

1 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

2 Lando Norris (McLaren) +3.264s

3 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +27.092s

4 George Russell (Mercedes) +43.051s

5 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +43.949s

6 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +44.245s

7 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +53.753s

8 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +61.871s

9 Carlos Sainz (Williams) +82.072s

10 Alex Albon (Williams) +90.972s

11 Ollie Bearman (Haas) +1 Lap

12 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) +1 Lap

13 Esteban Ocon (Haas) +1 Lap

14 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +1 Lap

15 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +1 Lap

16 Sergio Perez (Cadillac) +1 Lap

17 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +1 Lap

18 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) +2 Laps

DNF Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)

DNF Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

DNF Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

DNF Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)