Kimi Antonelli Rallies to Win Miami Grand Prix: How the Chaotic Race Unfolded

The 19-year-old’s poor start opened the door for the defending world champion Lando Norris. Plus, multiple early crashes shook up the midfield.

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli got off to a poor start but rallied into to win his third straight race. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

MIAMI — For the fifth straight year, the Miami Grand Prix brought one of the most action-packed weekends to the Formula One calendar.

Spectacle is everywhere in South Florida, as celebrities have descended upon Hard Rock Stadium and Miami Gardens to watch the first American race of the 2026 season. And the product on the track delivered the most thorough weekend of the year thus far.

Kimi Antonelli, 19, arrived to Miami as the championship leader and he showed why by winning his third straight race. However, the rest of the field seems to have caught up to Mercedes, as Lando Norris challenged Antonelli throughout the afternoon and won Saturday’s sprint race for the second year in a row. Max Verstappen posted his best qualifying result of the season thus far but fell to fifth place after an early pit stop left him with severly worn tires in the closing stages of the race.

Here’s how the Miami Grand Prix, which also avoided significant weather after an earlier start time, unfolded.

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