Kimi Antonelli wins three GPs from three in Miami ahead of McLarens

Credit: FORMULA 1. The opening corners of the race was a scene you couldn’t take your eyes off.

Kimi Antonelli held on from the two surging McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to win a dramatic Miami Grand Prix.

Formula One returned from a four-week hiatus where Antonelli resumed his dominance by taking pole and victory for the Grand Prix that was brought forward due to the stormy weather conditions.

Second place finisher Norris enjoyed a stellar weekend having snatched pole position for the sprint race from the Mercedes to end their run of topping ever competitive session this year. Norris went on to win the sprint from teammate Piastri – the papaya team showing positive signs that they are in the hunt to challenge the Silver Arrows.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led the opening phase of the race after escaping the sandwich of Antonelli and Max Verstappen who both locked up into the first corner, with Verstappen spinning and tumbling down the following turn.

Norris ultimately prevailed in a three-car battle to lead the bulk of the race. However, the Briton’s luck ran out as he was undercut by Antonelli in the pit stops, then the 19-year-old unleashed his typical display of raw speed to sprint to victory.

Leclerc’s race took a late tumble as a resurgent Piastri made his way through the field from seventh to beat the Ferrari for third. The Monegasque endured a hair-raising spin on the final lap and narrowly avoided a race ending incident. Car damage left him vulnerable to George Russell and Verstappen, with Leclerc finishing behind Russell and Verstappen, but a penalty dropped him to eighth.

Russell suffered a tricky weekend at a track he names his bogey circuit – the Briton now twenty points behind his teenage teammate in the championship battle.

Verstappen and Red Bull were more competitive this weekend, having employed Ferrari’s extravagant ‘Macarena’-style rear wing, however the Dutchman’s early spin left him frustrated as he lunged through the midfield to other driver’s disapproval.  

Lewis Hamilton finished a lonely race in sixth, despite Ferrari’s eleven upgrades, ahead of Alpine’s Franco Colapinto who took his best career finish in seventh, having collided with Hamilton in the opening laps.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon guaranteed Williams took the final points positions to show clear progress after a difficult Saturday and start to the season.

Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto finished in twelfth in between the two Haas cars of Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon.

Arvid Lindblad finished in fourteenth while his teammate Liam Lawson came together with Pierre Gasly which saw the Alpine flip over mid-air in dramatic fashion. The Frenchman walked away unscathed.

Fernando Alonso finished in fifteenth after a battle with Cadillac’s Sergio Perez, from Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas to round out the finishers.

Nico Hulkenberg retired after suffering an engine problem early on for Audi. A misjudgement into the narrow chicane saw Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar crash after being disqualified from qualifying for a technical nonconformity. 

The F1 landscape looks very different to how it was previously and with three weeks to Canada, the order may change drastically again.