Kimi Antonelli wins the Miami Grand Prix for his third straight F1 victory

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Kimi Antonelli made history as the first driver to win his first three Formula 1 races from the pole when the 19-year-old Mercedes driver won the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday.

It was the third consecutive victory for Antonelli, the current points leader who is proving early this season to be a legitimate championship contender.

“It is just the beginning, the road is still long, but we're working super hard,” Antonelli said. “The team is doing an incredible job and without them I wouldn't be here. I'm going to enjoy this one and then get back to work.”

The Italian and teammate George Russell have won the first four races of this season for Mercedes and all four poles to date. They were blocked from the podium in Saturday's sprint race, which was a 1-2 finish for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri of McLaren in the only thing the Mercedes drivers have not won this season.

“Kimi, that was very, very impressive. You know I like to complain, but there was nothing to complain about today,” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff told his young driver. “Very good."

Antonelli holds a 20-point lead over Russell in the championship standings.

Antonelli started from the pole but had a slick start on a damp surface at the Miami International Autodrome. Threats of heavy rain led F1 to move up the start of the race by three hours, and there was an early morning thunderstorm with lightning strikes directly over the Hard Rock Stadium, but it cleared by the time the event began.

Still, the first 25 laps were attacked by the drivers as if the rain could return at any moment, and that led to early chaos, even for Antonelli.

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari had a spectacular start from third and surged to the lead when Antonelli went wide off course trying to defend. A split-second later, Max Verstappen spun trying to hold off Leclerc when the two cars made contact.

The contact caused Verstappen, who started a season-best second, to plummet to ninth after the spin.

Antonelli recovered and reclaimed the lead on the fifth lap, and the leaders briefly swapped positions as Leclerc moved back to the front before reigning world champion Norris took over on Lap 14.

Verstappen worked his way through the field and briefly took the lead as others pitted, but Antonelli beat Norris off pit lane and reclaimed the lead for good once everything cycled out.

Norris finished second, 3.2 seconds behind Antonelli.

“A mixed bag, really. We just got undercut (in the pits). There's no excuses other than that,” Norris said. “We should have boxxed first. Kimi did a good job. Hats off to Merc and Kimi. They drove a good race.”

Leclerc was poised to finish third until Oscar Piastri of McLaren passed him on the final lap. Leclerc spun and settled for sixth.

Russell was fourth and Verstappen finished a season-best fifth for Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari was seventh.

Cadillac, in its first race in the United States, had an unimpressive weekend on the track even as it splashed its way through Miami with appearances and events. Sergio Perez finished 16th and Valtteri Bottas was 18th — the last car to finish in the 22-driver field.

Messy start

Isack Hadjar had been disqualified after qualifying and started last, but his race lasted five laps before he drove his Red Bull into the wall. Hadjar was openly angry at the result as he pounded his helmet before climbing from his car and angrily stomping away.

Seconds later, Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson made contact that caused Gasly's car to do a full rollover. The Frenchman's car ended stuck with its rear tires atop a barrier and he climbed from the half-suspended BMW on his own.

Up next

The Canadian Grand Prix is next for F1 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on May 24. That date was traditionally held by the Monaco Grand Prix but a tweak to the schedule shifted it to Canada, and F1 will no longer be the opener for what had traditionally been the most prolific day in motorsports.

The F1 race typically opened the morning ahead of the Indianapolis 500 and then NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600. Because the race is in Canada and not Monaco, it has a late afternoon start time and will follow the Indy 500 and end during the NASCAR race.

___

AP Auto Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/formula-one