Antonelli resists Norris challenge to win entertaining Miami GP

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli won a third grand prix in succession after breaking a spirited challenge from McLaren's Lando Norris in a Miami Formula 1 race in which fears of a disruptive rain shower never materialised.

This was nevertheless an entertaining race and while the main drama played out behind the leading duo in the closing laps, their fight for victory was tense but intriguing as sprint race winner Norris stalked the Mercedes of Antonelli.

There was little to choose between Antonelli and Norris throughout - both drivers led the race - but the outcome ultimately hinged on the pitstop phase.

Once both had cleared early race leader Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Norris led Antonelli - whom he'd got ahead of by passing just before a lap-six safety car - and steadily built a cushion up to 2.4s.

But as the threat of rain decreased mid-race, Mercedes opted to pit Antonelli on lap 26 of 57 and while that brought him out behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, he did have a small stretch of clear track ahead.

McLaren responded by bringing Norris in a lap later and did a good job to service Norris, who missed his marks slightly entering his pitbox, in 2.8s and send him out just ahead of the Mercedes.

But Antonelli had his tyres up to temperature by this point and he struck immediately, passing Norris through the Esses as they closed in on the out-of-sequence Verstappen.

The Red Bull driver had an eventful race - he spun while flooring the throttle out of Turn 2 at the start while fighting for the lead, then went aggressive on strategy by pitting for hards under the early safety car - and while he did keep the pair behind briefly, which allowed Norris to attack Antonelli into the first corner on lap 29, they both passed him on the same lap and quickly pulled clear.

Norris spent multiple laps within a second of Antonelli and hopes of a squabble escalated when Antonelli reported a problem with his paddleshifters, though he slowly began to pull clear as his lead increased to two seconds in the final 15 laps.

And the fight was effectively called off in the closing laps when Norris was told to be wary of a problem McLaren had spotted with his rear wing flap.

Antonelli therefore took his third win in succession - having started all three races from pole position - and now has a lead of 20 points over Mercedes team-mate George Russell in the drivers' championship.

The second McLaren of Oscar Piastri ended up snatching the final podium position on the penultimate lap by passing Leclerc into the Turn 17 hairpin, with Leclerc then spinning and glancing the wall on the outside of Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap.

Leclerc - who'd dropped out of the lead fight with a slow early stop that meant he emerged behind Russell - sustained suspension damage in that contact and had to nurse his car to the finish, but not before surrendering more places.

Russell looked by far the less-at-ease Mercedes driver throughout the Miami weekend and complained while running a muted sixth that "I'm just four-wheel sliding everywhere, it's awful."

But he was handed a reprieve by passing Verstappen after a late scrap in which he picked up front-wing endplate damage, and then passed Leclerc at the hairpin on the last lap - with Leclerc also making contact with Russell mid-corner there.

Verstappen joined that squabble on the run to the finish and also passed Leclerc, despite being on 51-lap-old hards, though Verstappen does have an investigation hanging over him for crossing the line at the pit exit after his early stop.

Ferrari therefore managed only sixth and seventh, with Lewis Hamilton nine seconds off Leclerc at the finish having incurred damage in a clash with Alpine's Franco Colapinto on the opening lap.

Both drivers were able to continue after that, with Colapinto equalling his best finish in F1 in eighth to cap an impressive weekend in the sole remaining Alpine.

Team-mate Pierre Gasly's car ended up propped up on one side in the barrier at the Turn 17 hairpin after being tapped into a roll by Liam Lawson while they squabbled for 10th in one of two incidents that brought out the early safety car.

Isack Hadjar's car was the other one stranded as he took too much kerb at the complex before the back straight, broke his steering, and skated over the kerb into the barrier on the outside - where he proceeded to pound his Red Bull car with his fists in frustration.

Williams got both drivers into the points, with Carlos Sainz taking his second ninth-place finish of the season and Alex Albon got off the mark for 2026 in 10th.

Result

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
Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) DNF
Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) DNF
Pierre Gasly (Alpine) DNF
Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) DNF