Kimi Antonelli has tightened his grip on the 2026 Drivers' Championship after a commanding performance at a chaotic Miami Grand Prix. The young Mercedes star faced a challenging Saturday Sprint, recovering to sixth after a poor start and a track-limits penalty. However, he bounced back brilliantly on Sunday, converting pole position into a decisive race win.
This strong points haul extended Antonelli's championship lead over teammate George Russell, who endured a difficult weekend and finished fourth. With Mercedes continuing to set the pace at the front, the Silver Arrows leave Florida with their early-season momentum fully intact, adding another historic chapter to their legacy.
McLaren emerged as the weekend's biggest movers, showing dramatic improvement after a wave of upgrades. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri executed a flawless Sprint on Saturday, securing a dominant 1-2 finish that ended Mercedes' winning streak. They carried that blistering pace into Sunday, with Norris finishing second and Piastri joining him on the podium alongside the championship leader. This massive points haul has catapulted both drivers up the individual leaderboard and established McLaren as a serious threat in the constructors' championship.
Ferrari, meanwhile, experienced a frustrating weekend as their advantage for second place in the constructors' standings slipped away thanks to McLaren's resurgence. While Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton consistently finished in the points across both events, the Scuderia lacked the outright pace to challenge the top three on Sunday.
Max Verstappen quietly accumulated points in the midfield, finishing fifth for Red Bull. Further down the pack, valuable finishes from Alpine's Franco Colapinto and Williams' Carlos Sainz provided subtle but important points ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.
The championship battle is heating up, and with Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari all in the mix, the 2026 season is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in recent memory. Stay tuned for more action as the grid heads north to Canada.