Four rounds in, three wins for Andrea Kimi Antonelli , who took pole in Miami, led lights-to-flag and finished 3.264s clear of Lando Norris . A different second place this time - the McLaren upgrade that’s been promised for two months finally turned up - and a Sunday that almost reset the championship narrative. Almost.
The race
Antonelli converted from pole again, but Miami was the first weekend where the front wasn’t a Mercedes 1-2: George Russell qualified fifth after a Q3 mistake at the stadium chicane, and the Saturday sprint hadn’t been kind either - he started Sunday fifth on the grid and finished fourth. The story behind Antonelli was Max Verstappen , who qualified an eye-catching second and led the opening stint when Antonelli pitted, only for the Red Bull’s race pace to fade once the tyres came back. He finished fifth.
McLaren took fastest lap (Norris, 1:31.869 on lap 35) and the bigger half of the podium. Oscar Piastri took third from P7. Two podiums in two weekends - five rounds ago this team had finished a combined P19 in Shanghai and looked nothing like the testing favourites the paddock had them as. Miami is the inflection point or it’s a one-off; the next round will tell.
Charles Leclerc had a difficult day. P3 on the grid, P8 at the flag - Ferrari haven’t yet had a weekend in 2026 where both cars finished ahead of both McLarens, and the trend lines crossing matters. Lewis Hamilton took P6, his fifth top-six finish from four races - the consistency he was hired for, even if the headline result hasn’t come.
The DNFs
- Nico Hülkenberg - lap 19, Audi power unit
- Liam Lawson - lap 24, hydraulics on the RB
- Pierre Gasly - lap 38, gearbox after a slow first stint
- Isack Hadjar - lap 41, contact with Gabriel Bortoleto at the stadium section, the kind of incident that books a stewards’ room visit Sunday evening but nothing more
The championship
Constructors: Mercedes 160, Ferrari 89, McLaren 71, Red Bull 26.
The gap from Antonelli to Russell is now 26 points. The gap from Antonelli to Max Verstappen is 71. The 2025 title fight went to the final round; the 2026 one might be over by July.
Canada in three weeks. Sprint format, Wall of Champions, and the first European-time-zone weekend of the season.