F1 Miami GP: Lando Norris wins sprint in McLaren 1-2

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Antonelli did fight back though, trying to force his way past Leclerc into Turns eight and 11 yet the Ferrari driver held firm and took a dim view: “Kimi is so bad at wheel-to-wheel, I feel like we’re going to crash.”

In typical 2026 style that battle would have kept going in ‘yo-yo’ fashion, but changes were made for Miami with the super clipping limit increased to 350kW to decrease the reliance on energy management.

So, instead of keeping with Leclerc, Antonelli actually fell back and was overtaken by team-mate Russell on lap eight at Turn 17, though the Italian regained fourth the following tour.

That was at Turn 11, just seconds before Verstappen overtook Hamilton over the white lines at corner exit.

The Red Bull driver therefore handed sixth back to the seven-time world champion, before finally completing a ‘legal’ move on Hamilton at Turn 17 during lap 10.

By this point, these were the only wheel-to-wheel battles happening, as the top three had streaked clear with a comfortable Norris 2.7s ahead of Piastri who led Leclerc by 1.3s.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

The Ferrari driver subsequently tried to close on Piastri but it was too little, too late, particularly when he went deep at Turn 11 on the penultimate lap. This meant that, in typical sprint race style, drivers largely maintained position across the final tours.

Norris therefore completed a controlled win from pole ahead of Piastri and Leclerc, while Antonelli crossed the line in fourth and 2.5s behind the Monegasque.

The 19-year-old, however, was handed a post-race five-second penalty for track limit infringements, dropping him to sixth behind fourth-placed Russell and Verstappen in fifth.

Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly respectively completed the points positions, the Frenchman continuing a strong start to 2026 for Alpine.

As a result of the penalty, Antonelli’s championship lead over Russell has dropped to seven points, while Leclerc remains third ahead of Hamilton and fifth-placed Norris.

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