Antonelli on Top After Crazy Miami GP
- therookiereporters
- 22 hours ago
- 3 min read
After a month of unexpected break due to the war in the West, Formula 1 has warmed up its tires again at the Miami Grand Prix that took place this weekend.
Upgrades and Technical Changes
The teams took advantage and brought changes to their cars, Ferrari being the team with the most upgrades in number. Red Bull also implemented the Macarena Wing, but slightly adjusted, and Mercedes changed the floor with a better version to create aerodynamics. On the other hand, the Aston Martin team had no elements changed.
A Chaotic Start
The start of the race was full of chaos. Kimi Antonelli started from pole position, but he didn’t have an excellent start, having first place taken by Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen also tried to steal first place, but Kimi blocked him, making the Dutch driver spin 360 degrees. Hamilton and Russell also lost a few positions, but managed to recover them immediately.
Hulkenberg stopped at the pit to change his front wing, and while Leclerc was leading, Verstappen was let through by Lawson into P8. Leclerc tries to distance himself from Antonelli, but the Italian instead gains ground. His teammate, Russell, also advances and overtakes Piastri reaching P4. In the back, Lewis Hamilton’s car shows damage from the contact with Colapinto at the start of the race.
Safety Cars and Early Incidents
During Lap 5 Antonelli and Leclerc start doing yo-yo on the circuit, and behind, Norris is advised to wait for his chance to overtake the two after they have exhausted their battery energy resources. Meanwhile Hadjar had an incident and went into the wall, activating the safety car, being absolutely furious he hit the steering wheel of the car. Verstappen stopped at the pit to put on hard tires, hoping he could benefit from this strategy even though the safety car was triggered early in the race. Two laps later Lawson also went into the wall, retiring from the race.
Race Restart and Shifting Positions
During Lap 14, the safety car was lifted and the green flag announced that the race would resume normally. Leclerc loses even two positions, first Antonelli regains the first position, and then Norris passes Leclerc. In these conditions, Leclerc remained vulnerable for the rest of the race, being hunted by Oscar Piastri who had no problems with the car unlike the Monegasque driver.
Final Laps and Penalties
Verstappen managed to make the most overtakes, finishing in P5 even though he started from P3. Norris did not manage to overtake the Italian driver, Kimi Antonelli, making history, becoming the only driver who started from pole position and won the race, three races in a row. McLaren managed to get a double podium after the first races of this season were unfortunate for the papaya team.
Unfortunately for Leclerc, even in the last lap, his car having problems, he suffered an accident, spinning 360 degrees, losing time and allowing Russell and Verstappen to pass him, ending up in P6. After the race however, he was penalized with 2 positions after leaving the track multiple times in the chicanes. Verstappen also did not go unnoticed. When he entered the pit to change tires, he crossed the white line that separates the pit exit and the track when he rejoined, receiving only a 5-second penalty. Fortunately, Hamilton was about 10 seconds behind Verstappen, which did not change the standings.
Weather Threat and Strategy Calls
This year’s Miami race was almost canceled, but FIA decided to announce the start three hours earlier to avoid a possible tornado in Florida. Race engineers were reluctant with pit calls throughout the race, waiting for the right moment or suggesting an early pit stop for drivers to anticipate the rain that did not come while the Grand Prix was taking place. However, the best strategies were rewarded with a podium.
Article written by Iuliana Mihai © Iuliana Mihai 2026
