F1 news: Miami GP takeaways - Kimi Antonelli extends championship lead, Red Bull improves with upgrades, Ferrari’s forgettable race, and more

It’s three in a row for Kimi Antonelli as he takes the chequered flag in Miami, surviving the threat from McLaren's improved pace.

Here, Sports News Blitz writer Mosaddek Abu discusses the takeaways from an eventful Miami Grand Prix.

Kimi Antonelli continues to position himself as the title favourite

Three wins in a row for the 19-year-old Italian, as Kimi Antonelli converted a third pole position into a third race victory. 

Antonelli didn't get the greatest start off the line, as he locked up and conceded the lead to Charles Leclerc and then would battle with Lando Norris and Leclerc for a few laps, going back and forth. 

It was on Lap 29 that Antonelli re-took the lead, overtaking Max Verstappen. It became a two-horse race at the front of the field, between the young Italian and Norris, the current world champion, who struggled to find a way past Antonelli's dirty air, as the 19-year-old survived for a third consecutive race win. 

The talk at the start of the season was about whether George Russell could take advantage of being in a strong car, but how quickly that has changed to talk about how Antonelli has positioned himself as the favourite for this year's world championship. 

He's winning on tracks he has less experience with than his teammate, Russell. It was his second year on the Miami circuit. At the 2025 Grand Prix, he finished sixth. 

In 2026, he claimed victory and converted all three of his first pole positions into wins. 

He's opened up a 20-point gap at the top of the WDC (World Drivers Championship), continuing to be the youngest driver to lead the Championship and now the favourite to win it. 

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Max Verstappen and Red Bull are back in the top four fight

Before the five-week break, it had been a tough start to the season for Verstappen and Red Bull, having been stuck amongst the midfield and the 4x WDC. 

Battling for places such as 6th, 7th, and 8th isn't what Verstappen had planned going into 2026, so Miami was a big weekend, with Red Bull, along with most teams bringing upgrades.

Despite Verstappen missing out on a race win this weekend, he was back exactly where he would want to be, battling amongst the top four, going close for a race win, albeit his start had compromised his race going forward after he locked up.

 After a cheap pit stop under the Safety Car, and gradually making his way through the midfield, he saw himself battling at the front of the grid, but missed out on a podium place due to his tyres being much older compared to Leclerc's. 

But it's worth saying that Verstappen was back in the mix this weekend, with the Red Bull powertrain also making a big jump from what it was five weeks ago in Japan. 

Bruising weekend for Ferrari 

Ferrari was another team that brought upgrades this weekend and was in the fight throughout. 

The race starts with the Ferrari proving to be the one to get Leclerc into the lead going into turn one. He has control of the lead until a safety-car period disrupts his race, and he eventually loses to Norris. 

The Monegasque did recover to P3, but couldn't keep the threat of Oscar Piastri behind him for long and dropped down to P4, until he spun on the final lap as he tapped the wall and finished in P6. 

At one point in this race, he was in the fight for a podium spot, but a slow stop dropped him back into P12, with him expressing his displeasure on team radio, saying, "Next time you make a decision, please speak with me, I am here as well. 

Then, burnt-out tyres had seen him drop further back, undoing the hard work of him picking through the pack and getting himself as high as P4 after Piastri had overtaken him on the penultimate lap. 

Meanwhile, his team-mate Lewis Hamilton started P6 on the grid. 

Still, he made contact with Franco Colapinto on the opening lap, which compromised his race going forward, as the 7X world champion couldn't attack due to damage to his car, and a slow pit stop dropped him to P7, where he'd ultimately finish. 

To make matters worse, after the race, Leclerc received a 20-second time penalty for repeatedly exceeding track limits. 

What was supposed to be a promising weekend for the Scuderia turned into a brutal restart after spending five weeks reworking and tweaking the car, having the most upgrades of any team in Miami this weekend, and ultimately leaving with P6 and P8.

Unfortunate incidents, disruption, and slow pit stops are the theme of their weekend, as what could have been a positive race turned out to be a disappointing one. 

Mercedes is still the team to beat despite rivals bringing upgrades

The Silver Arrows still hold the advantage despite the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren all bringing upgrades. 

Norris did win the sprint on Saturday, but Antonelli took pole position in qualifying for the Grand Prix and converted that to a race win, fending off the threat of the McLaren's.

Mercedes was the only team among the top four that did not bring any major upgrades; the Silver Arrows brought only minor tailpipe and brake upgrades to Florida, and more or less the same car they had in Suzuka five weeks ago.

Only McLaren came close to them, but even then Norris couldn't close the gap on Antonelli, and Piastri had to battle with Russell for a couple of laps. 

The margin to Mercedes isn't as high as it was before the hiatus, as the race had six different leaders. 

We had yo-yo fighting with Leclerc, Norris and Antonelli. Verstappen was the race leader at one stage, but in the end Antonelli took the chequered flag. 

The advantage still belongs with the Silver Arrows, who continue to dominate this early part of the 2026 season. 

Franco Colapinto is the best of the rest in the midfield battle 

Another great weekend for Colapinto and Alpine, who were unfortunate to see Pierre Gasly retire but managed to see their Argentine driver come home in P8. 

Outside of the early incident with Hamilton, he managed to be as high as P4 on the grid at one point until a pit stop on lap 32 saw him drop down into P8, but the pit strategy paid off for him, as there wasn't a challenge for him when he dropped down into eighth place.

A strong weekend for the Argentine, having managed to get into Q3 for the first time in an Alpine, making for his best result in the session with P8 and then finishing initially in P8, but after Leclerc's penalty, he moved up a place and finished in P7. 

No shortage of errors for the 22-year-old, who ran a clean race. Having the best performance out of the drivers in the midfield. 

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