Kimi Antonelli wins Miami GP to extend F1 title | Sports News

The nineteen-year-old becomes the first driver in F1 history to convert his first three positions into a win.

The young Italian, Kimi ⁠Antonelli, won the Miami Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday and etched his name into the Formula One record books with his third consecutive victory from the podium.

The youngest driver ever to lead the race, at the age of 19, ⁠Antonelli also became the first to take his first three wins from the top of the grid and the first in five races to win at Miami from the front row.

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“This is just the beginning, the road is still long,” he said after beating McLaren world champion Lando Norris by 3.2 seconds at the Hard Rock Stadium to extend his lead to 20 after four rounds – all won by Mercedes.

“We are working hard and the team is doing an amazing job.”

‘Didn’t we win this?’

Norris, the winner of Saturday’s sprint, had a three-second lead at one point, but lost it after a pit stop when Antonelli came in first to change tyres, then moved ahead of the Briton, who shot one lap later.

“How did we not win this? We should have won, guys,” Norris said on team radio after the flag.

“We are almost disappointed – there are no other reasons than this. We failed, we should have been kicked,” he said afterwards.

“Hats off to Merc and Kimi, they drove a good race. I’m happy to miss the victory here in Miami, I think it was possible today.

Australia’s Oscar Piastri, last year’s winner, finished the race for McLaren with Antonelli’s teammate and close friend George Russell taking fourth.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished fifth after starting on the front row and lapped the opening lap without collecting anyone or getting hit by other cars and dropping to 10th.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was sixth, passing Russell and Verstappen in the final corners as he battled a damaged car after leading at the start and then hitting the barrier at the end, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton finished seventh.

Leclerc faced a championship investigation for a number of speed limit violations in the final while Verstappen also faced stewards’ inquiries for crossing the white line on the way out.

Argentina’s Franco Colapinto took eighth in Alpine while Williams scored two points, with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon ninth and 10th.

Antonelli now has 100 points to Russell’s 80 and Leclerc’s 63, with Norris on 51.

The safety car was deployed for six laps after two crashes: Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar diving into the wall and then Alpine’s Pierre Gasly traveling after a collision with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.

The race was brought forward three hours after lightning and thunder were forecast, and was completed without any adverse weather conditions.