2026 Miami Grand Prix: Antonelli Wins as McLaren Takes the Sprint

Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Miami Grand Prix from pole position, his third successive Grand Prix victory and a result that stretched his championship lead. McLaren had dominated the sprint the day before, when Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished first and second. Miami was round four of the season and the second of six sprint weekends in 2026.

Who won the 2026 Miami Grand Prix?

Antonelli won the Grand Prix on 3 May 2026 after starting from pole, finishing 3.264 seconds clear of Norris. Piastri completed the podium for McLaren. Antonelli became the third driver, after Damon Hill and Mika Hakkinen, to take his first three Grand Prix victories in consecutive races.

The start was chaotic. Antonelli and Max Verstappen both locked up into the first corner, and Verstappen made contact with Charles Leclerc and spun down the order. Leclerc took the lead, with Antonelli and the two McLaren drivers close behind.

Antonelli regained control of the race in the middle stint. He passed Verstappen on lap 29 and had Norris close behind him. By lap 40 he led Norris by less than a second, and Verstappen was further back on much older tyres. Antonelli later reported a possible gearbox issue and complained about his rear tyres, but he kept his advantage to the flag.

Norris finished second, and his pace in the closing laps showed how close McLaren had become to the Mercedes. Piastri completed the podium after a late pass on Leclerc, and Russell crossed the line fourth on track, with Verstappen, Hamilton and Colapinto behind him.

Three straight Grand Prix wins for Antonelli, and a sprint won by McLaren, made Miami a weekend of real momentum for both teams.

How did the sprint shape the weekend?

Lando Norris won the sprint on 2 May from pole, finishing 3.766 seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri. The result gave McLaren its first win of the 2026 season and a 1-2 finish, and it ended Mercedes' perfect winning start to the year. Charles Leclerc took third for Ferrari.

Sprint qualifying on 1 May was held in three segments, with the six slowest drivers eliminated after the first two. In the final segment, Norris set a lap of 1:27.869, the only time under 1:28 in the session. Antonelli was second, 0.222 seconds behind, and Piastri third, 0.239 seconds off pole. Norris credited McLaren's upgrade package for the extra grip, and it was the first pole of the season for the team.

Lawson and Ocon both failed to progress after troubled laps. Alonso recorded a slow time after a compromised run and Stroll set no time at all after going off at turn 17, which brought out a brief yellow flag period. Alonso and Stroll were allowed to start the sprint at the stewards' discretion, because neither had met the time limit.

The sprint itself was a race of contrasts. Norris kept the lead at the start, while Antonelli made a poor getaway and fell behind Piastri and Leclerc. He later retook fourth from Russell under braking. Antonelli took a five-second penalty afterwards. He had already been warned with a black-and-white flag, and the penalty dropped him from fourth to sixth.

There was an emotional moment before the start. A minute's silence was held for Alex Zanardi, the former driver and Paralympic champion, who had died the previous day. Nico Hulkenberg could not take the start, as his Audi had stopped on its way to the grid, trailing smoke and flames. Arvid Lindblad also missed the start after a technical issue.

The sprint result changed again after the race. Bortoleto was disqualified from eleventh after an intake pressure breach on his car. Audi said the pressure rose because temperatures climbed higher than expected, but the stewards held that the rules apply at all times.

How did qualifying set the Grand Prix grid?

Antonelli took pole with a lap of 1:27.798 on his first Q3 run, his third consecutive Grand Prix pole. Verstappen was second, 0.166 seconds behind, with Leclerc third and Norris fourth. Isack Hadjar was disqualified from qualifying for a floorboard breach, which moved Hulkenberg into the top ten.

Qualifying was held in hot conditions on 2 May. Verstappen set the early benchmark for Red Bull with 1:29.099 in the first segment, before Antonelli moved to the top with 1:28.653. Piastri narrowly progressed in sixteenth, with Lindblad failing to improve enough to stop him. Arvid Lindblad, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez and Gabriel Bortoleto were eliminated in that segment.

In the second segment Verstappen set 1:28.116 to top the times, with Antonelli and Leclerc behind him. Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly both reached Q3 for Alpine, and Colapinto's appearance in the final segment was his first since the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Norris had a difficult session after a snap at turn six and a boost issue, but he still reached the final segment.

Q3 was slow to start, and Antonelli produced the decisive lap on his first run. Verstappen improved late for second, but nobody could beat Antonelli's time. After the session, Hadjar's Red Bull was found to protrude 2 mm outside the permitted reference volume, and he was disqualified. Red Bull changed power unit elements under parc ferme conditions, so Hadjar started from the pit lane, and Hulkenberg was promoted into the top ten.

What happened during the race?

Race time was moved forward from 16:00 to 13:00 because of the threat of heavy rain, and the Grand Prix ran for 57 laps. Early contact at the first corner was followed by a safety car, after which Norris passed Leclerc for the lead. Antonelli then pulled ahead and held off Norris over the closing laps to win.

The first lap set the tone. Antonelli and Verstappen both locked up at the first corner, and Verstappen collided with Leclerc. Antonelli passed Leclerc at turn 17 on lap four, but Leclerc repassed him the next time round. Norris then moved past Antonelli for second, before two incidents brought out the safety car. Hadjar hit the wall at the turn 14 chicane and retired, and Liam Lawson's Racing Bulls was anti-stalled while he tried to pass Pierre Gasly.

Gasly and Lawson made contact, sending Gasly's car into the barriers. Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg both retired, and Verstappen used the period to pit for hard tyres. He fell to sixteenth, but the strategy would carry him to the end of the race on a different plan. The safety car came in at the end of lap 11, and Norris passed Leclerc for the lead on the restart.

Russell was the first of the front runners to stop, switching to hard tyres on lap 21 and rejoining in twelfth. Leclerc's stop was slow at 3.7 seconds, and he dropped behind Russell. Antonelli pitted on lap 27, followed by Norris a lap later. Verstappen then inherited the lead on older hard tyres before Antonelli passed him on lap 29, and Norris followed through soon after.

The closing stages were decided by tyre age. Leclerc caught and passed Verstappen on lap 47, and Piastri took Verstappen on the next lap. Piastri then closed on Leclerc and passed him late for the final podium place. Russell and Verstappen touched while fighting for position, and Leclerc spun on the final lap and hit the wall, which left his car damaged. Antonelli crossed the line first, 3.264 seconds ahead of Norris.

Which penalties changed the final order?

Verstappen received a five-second penalty for crossing the white line at the pit exit, but it did not affect his final position. Leclerc received a twenty-second time penalty, which replaced a drive-through, because he left the track several times in his damaged car. That dropped him from sixth to eighth.

With Leclerc demoted, Hamilton moved up to sixth and Colapinto to seventh. Sainz and Albon scored for Williams, taking ninth and tenth.

Earlier in the race, Hamilton and Colapinto made contact at turn 11, leaving debris on the track. The stewards investigated the incident but took no further action. Hamilton's Ferrari was damaged in the collision, but it did not change the classification.

What did Miami mean for the championship?

Antonelli's win extended his championship lead, the result that mattered most for the Mercedes team. Before Miami he led George Russell by nine points, with Leclerc a further fourteen points back. Mercedes had led the constructors with 135 points, 45 ahead of Ferrari, and McLaren was a further 45 points behind.

The sprint and the Grand Prix had different winners, which underlined how close McLaren and Mercedes had become. The weekend was a turning point for McLaren, whose upgrade package brought it its first win and first pole of the season. Norris said the upgrades had improved the car's grip, and the sprint result showed that the team could challenge Mercedes over a single lap and a race.

For Mercedes, the sprint loss to McLaren ended a perfect start to the season. The team responded on Sunday with a Grand Prix win and pole, which kept its title position intact despite the sprint setback. Antonelli's pole and win gave the team a clear answer to the sprint, and Russell's fourth place kept both Mercedes drivers in the points.

What was the final order?

The top ten showed Antonelli first, Norris second and Piastri third, with McLaren on the podium. Russell and Verstappen filled fourth and fifth, and Hamilton and Colapinto moved up after Leclerc's penalty. Sainz and Albon completed the points for Williams.