Antonelli wins Miami GP, extends championship lead to 20 points

Key facts

• Kimi Antonelli won the Miami Grand Prix, his third straight victory.
• Antonelli leads teammate George Russell by 20 points in the drivers' standings.
• Charles Leclerc received a 20-second penalty after the race, dropping from sixth to eighth.
• Lando Norris finished second, now trailing Antonelli by more than half the points.
• Mercedes leads the constructors' championship by 68 points over Ferrari.
• Oliver Bearman remains eighth despite not scoring in Miami.
• Liam Lawson stays 10th after retiring from the race.
• The next race is the Canadian Grand Prix on May 24.

A third straight win for the teenager

Kimi Antonelli has stretched his advantage at the top of the Formula 1 drivers' championship with victory in the Miami Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver finished ahead of McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in a thriller around the Hard Rock Stadium. George Russell came fourth, with Max Verstappen fifth. The 19-year-old Italian claimed his third consecutive win, a feat achieved by only two drivers before him. Earlier in the weekend, Antonelli became the first driver to take pole position in three successive races since Ayrton Senna. His dominance has captivated Formula 1 enthusiasts, and his winning streak shows no signs of ending.

How the race was decided

The race was ultimately decided on pit road. Antonelli overtook Norris during pit stops, surging to the front for Mercedes. Norris huffed and puffed, jostling back and forth with the gifted teenager, but could not reclaim the lead. Charles Leclerc's race ended in disaster on the last lap. He spun and lost two places, crossing the line sixth. However, after the race, Leclerc was handed a 20-second time penalty following three separate investigations. He dropped to eighth in the final classification, losing four points. Both Ferrari drivers finished the race in damaged SF-26s.

Championship standings shake-up

Antonelli now leads his Mercedes teammate Russell by 20 points after four rounds, having taken the top spot with victory in Japan. Leclerc remains third despite his penalty, but has lost further ground on the Silver Arrows duo. Norris has jumped ahead of Lewis Hamilton to fourth, but the reigning champion now finds himself with just over half the points of Antonelli heading to Canada. Oscar Piastri remains sixth after his podium, with Verstappen moving up to seventh after a difficult start to the campaign. Oliver Bearman failed to score in Miami but remains eighth. Pierre Gasly left the grand prix without points following his dramatic rollover crash early on.

Midfield battles and notable performances

Liam Lawson remains 10th despite retiring after instigating the incident that also took out Gasly. Franco Colapinto moved up to 11th courtesy of a strong weekend that resulted in eighth place. Arvid Lindblad and Isack Hadjar remain locked on four points with neither scoring — Hadjar crashed out in clumsy fashion on Lap 5, calling it a 'very silly mistake'. Williams' Carlos Sainz joins the duo on the same tally, having finished ninth. Teammate Alex Albon is finally off the mark for the year, finishing 10th. In the constructors' championship, Mercedes now holds a 68-point advantage over Ferrari after the Scuderia's difficult race.

What comes next

The next race is the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal on May 24. Antonelli will be aiming to extend his winning streak to four, while Norris and Verstappen will look to close the gap. The championship battle is far from over, but the young Italian has established a commanding lead. With Mercedes dominating both championships, the rest of the grid faces an uphill task. Ferrari, in particular, will need to address reliability issues after both drivers finished with damaged cars. The Miami GP has set the stage for a compelling season ahead.

The bottom line

• Kimi Antonelli has won three consecutive races and leads the drivers' championship by 20 points.
• Mercedes holds a 68-point lead in the constructors' championship over Ferrari.
• Charles Leclerc received a 20-second penalty after the Miami GP, dropping from sixth to eighth.
• Lando Norris trails Antonelli by more than half the points despite finishing second in Miami.
• The next race is the Canadian Grand Prix on May 24.