Kimi Antonelli is on an absolute tear. The 18-year-old Mercedes phenom made it three Grand Prix victories in a row on Sunday in Miami, extending his championship lead and proving that his recent dominance is no fluke. Just two races after securing his first career win, Antonelli now has three—and he's doing it with the poise of a seasoned veteran.
But it wasn't smooth sailing from the start. In what's becoming a familiar script, Antonelli struggled off the line, losing the lead to Charles Leclerc, who shot forward from the second row. Max Verstappen also had a sluggish start, and things only got worse for the Dutchman when he spun in the opening corners, dropping him far down the order.
Antonelli wasn't rattled. By lap four, he was glued to Leclerc's rear wing, sizing up a pass through the esses. He made his move at Turn 18, and while Leclerc briefly fought back—letting Antonelli by to save energy for a counterattack—the young Italian stayed composed. Leclerc reclaimed the lead the very next lap in the same corner, setting up a thrilling early battle.
Lando Norris, fresh off a sprint win in Miami, joined the fray on lap six, snatching second place from Leclerc at Turn 1. But just as the race was heating up, the safety car was deployed. Two separate midfield incidents caused chaos. Isack Hadjar, who had fought his way up from a pit-lane start, clipped the apex and slammed into the wall, ending his race. Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson tangled at the Turn 17 hairpin, with Gasly's Alpine spinning completely and briefly lifting onto its halo. Both drivers were battling for 10th.
Under the safety car, Verstappen made a bold call—pitting from eighth to switch to hard tires for a grueling 45-lap second stint. It was a high-risk, high-reward strategy that would test even his legendary endurance.
The race restarted on lap 12 with Leclerc still ahead, but Norris wasted no time. On lap 13, he powered past Leclerc on the front straight, taking the lead at the very spot where he claimed his first-ever Grand Prix win. The McLaren driver looked poised to back up his sprint victory with a main event triumph.
As for the weather that had forced the race to start three hours early? It never truly arrived. Aside from a few stray droplets, the rain and lightning stayed away, allowing most teams to settle on a one-stop strategy. Verstappen's early gamble under the safety car was the outlier, as the rest of the front-runners pitted between laps 22 and 28.
With three straight wins and a growing lead in the championship, Antonelli is proving that Mercedes' future is in very good hands. And for fans watching at home, it's the kind of story that makes you want to pull on your favorite race-day gear and follow every lap.