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05/03 14:11 CDT Kimi Antonelli wins the Miami Grand Prix for his third straight
F1 victory
Kimi Antonelli wins the Miami Grand Prix for his third straight F1 victory
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) --- Kimi Antonelli made history as the first driver to
win his first three Formula 1 races from the pole when the 19-year-old Mercedes
driver won the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday.
It was the third consecutive victory for Antonelli, the current points leader
who is proving early this season to be a legitimate championship contender.
"It is just the beginning, the road is still long, but we're working super
hard," Antonelli said. "The team is doing an incredible job and without them I
wouldn't be here. I'm going to enjoy this one and then get back to work."
The Italian and teammate George Russell have won the first four races of this
season for Mercedes and all four poles to date. They were blocked from the
podium in Saturday's sprint race, which was a 1-2 finish for Lando Norris and
Oscar Piastri of McLaren in the only thing the Mercedes drivers have not won
this season.
"Kimi, that was very, very impressive. You know I like to complain, but there
was nothing to complain about today," Mercedes boss Toto Wolff told his young
driver. "Very good."
Antonelli holds a 20-point lead over Russell in the championship standings.
Antonelli started from the pole but had a slick start on a damp surface at the
Miami International Autodrome. Threats of heavy rain led F1 to move up the
start of the race by three hours, and there was an early morning thunderstorm
with lightning strikes directly over the Hard Rock Stadium, but it cleared by
the time the event began.
Still, the first 25 laps were attacked by the drivers as if the rain could
return at any moment, and that led to early chaos, even for Antonelli.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari had a spectacular start from third and surged to the
lead when Antonelli went wide off course trying to defend. A split-second
later, Max Verstappen spun trying to hold off Leclerc when the two cars made
contact.
The contact caused Verstappen, who started a season-best second, to plummet to
ninth after the spin.
Antonelli recovered and reclaimed the lead on the fifth lap, and the leaders
briefly swapped positions as Leclerc moved back to the front before reigning
world champion Norris took over on Lap 14.
Verstappen worked his way through the field and briefly took the lead as others
pitted, but Antonelli beat Norris off pit lane and reclaimed the lead for good
once everything cycled out.
Norris finished second, 3.2 seconds behind Antonelli.
"A mixed bag, really. We just got undercut (in the pits). There's no excuses
other than that," Norris said. "We should have boxxed first. Kimi did a good
job. Hats off to Merc and Kimi. They drove a good race."
Leclerc was poised to finish third until Oscar Piastri of McLaren passed him on
the final lap. Leclerc spun and settled for sixth.
Russell was fourth and Verstappen finished a season-best fifth for Red Bull.
Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari was seventh.
Cadillac, in its first race in the United States, had an unimpressive weekend
on the track even as it splashed its way through Miami with appearances and
events. Sergio Perez finished 16th and Valtteri Bottas was 18th --- the last
car to finish in the 22-driver field.
Messy start Isack Hadjar had been disqualified after qualifying and started last, but his race lasted five laps before he drove his Red Bull into the wall. Hadjar was openly angry at the result as he pounded his helmet before climbing from his car and angrily stomping away. Seconds later, Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson made contact that caused Gasly's car to do a full rollover. The Frenchman's car ended stuck with its rear tires atop a barrier and he climbed from the half-suspended BMW on his own.
Up next The Canadian Grand Prix is next for F1 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on May 24. That date was traditionally held by the Monaco Grand Prix but a tweak to the schedule shifted it to Canada, and F1 will no longer be the opener for what had traditionally been the most prolific day in motorsports. The F1 race typically opened the morning ahead of the Indianapolis 500 and then NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600. Because the race is in Canada and not Monaco, it has a late afternoon start time and will follow the Indy 500 and end during the NASCAR race. ___ AP Auto Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/formula-one
Messy start Isack Hadjar had been disqualified after qualifying and started last, but his race lasted five laps before he drove his Red Bull into the wall. Hadjar was openly angry at the result as he pounded his helmet before climbing from his car and angrily stomping away. Seconds later, Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson made contact that caused Gasly's car to do a full rollover. The Frenchman's car ended stuck with its rear tires atop a barrier and he climbed from the half-suspended BMW on his own.
Up next The Canadian Grand Prix is next for F1 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on May 24. That date was traditionally held by the Monaco Grand Prix but a tweak to the schedule shifted it to Canada, and F1 will no longer be the opener for what had traditionally been the most prolific day in motorsports. The F1 race typically opened the morning ahead of the Indianapolis 500 and then NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600. Because the race is in Canada and not Monaco, it has a late afternoon start time and will follow the Indy 500 and end during the NASCAR race. ___ AP Auto Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/formula-one
