The Miami Grand Prix was held for the fifth time at the Miami International Autodrome. The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, originally scheduled before Miami, had been cancelled following the outbreak of the Iran war, creating a gap in the calendar that was used to introduce mid-season changes to the power unit technical regulations. Those changes principally increased the super-clipping limit from 340 bhp to 470 bhp, reducing the need for drivers to lift and coast on straights. Going into the weekend, Antonelli led the Drivers' Championship with 72 points over teammate George Russell by nine points, with Charles Leclerc third a further 14 points back. Mercedes led the Constructors' Championship with 135 points from Ferrari on 90 points and McLaren on 90 points.
The sprint format meant only a single 90-minute free practice session was held on 1 May, extended from the usual 60 minutes to account for the new power unit changes. Charles Leclerc topped the session ahead of Max Verstappen and Piastri. McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull Racing all arrived with notable upgrade packages; Mercedes had fewer major changes after dominating the opening rounds.
In sprint qualifying, Norris took the first sprint pole position of the season for McLaren, ending Mercedes' unbroken run of poles and sprint poles since the championship began. Antonelli was second with Piastri third, splitting the McLarens. Both Cadillac drivers — Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas — failed to advance beyond SQ1 on their home Grand Prix weekend. Alexander Albon was classified 19th after his SQ1 lap time was deleted for track-limits violations.
Norris led every lap of the 19-lap sprint to take McLaren's first victory of the 2026 season, with Piastri second and Leclerc third. Antonelli received a post-race five-second time penalty for repeated track-limits infringements, dropping from fourth to sixth. Gabriel Bortoleto was subsequently disqualified after his Audi was found to have breached engine intake air pressure regulations. Hülkenberg's Audi failed to start the sprint after stopping on the way to the grid with smoke and flames from the rear.
Grand Prix qualifying on 2 May was contested in hot conditions. Antonelli produced a lap of 1 minute 27.798 seconds in Q3 — the fastest lap of the entire weekend to that point — to take pole by 0.166 seconds over Verstappen. Leclerc qualified third and Norris fourth, with Russell fifth and Hamilton sixth. Antonelli's pole was his third consecutive Grand Prix pole and continued Mercedes' run; he became only the third driver, after Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, to claim the first three Grand Prix pole positions of his Formula One career at consecutive events. Isack Hadjar was disqualified from qualifying after sections of his Red Bull's floorboard protruded 2 mm outside the permitted volume; he was allowed to race but required to start from the pit lane after his team modified the car under parc fermé conditions.
The race start was moved forward by three hours from 16:00 to 13:00 local time because of the threat of heavy rainstorms later in the afternoon. All drivers started on medium tyres except Hadjar, who used hard tyres from the pit lane. At the start, Antonelli locked up into Turn 1 while Verstappen also locked up, made contact with Leclerc, and spun to the back of the field. Leclerc led from Antonelli and the two McLarens. Further back, Hamilton and Franco Colapinto made contact at Turn 11, damaging Hamilton's Ferrari.
The lead changed hands in the opening laps. Antonelli overtook Leclerc at Turn 17 on lap 4, but Leclerc retook the position on lap 5. Norris then moved ahead of Antonelli before a safety car period on lap 8 following two incidents: Hadjar hit the wall at the Turn 14 chicane, and Lawson's Racing Bulls went into anti-stall while he attempted to pass Gasly, launching Gasly's car into the barriers. Verstappen pitted under the safety car for hard tyres, falling to 16th on a long strategy.
When racing resumed on lap 11, Norris retained the lead. After the pit cycle, Mercedes undercut McLaren when Antonelli pitted on lap 27 and Norris on lap 28, with Antonelli emerging just ahead. Norris closed to within one second of Antonelli in the second stint, with Antonelli reporting a possible gearbox issue. Behind them, Leclerc ran third but was dropped by a slow 3.7-second pit stop. Verstappen proved vulnerable in the closing laps on old hard tyres; Leclerc passed him on lap 47 and Piastri followed on lap 48. Russell and Verstappen made minor contact fighting for position, leaving Russell with front-wing damage. On the final lap, Leclerc spun and hit the wall, continuing but sustaining damage that forced him off track on several occasions and allowed Russell and Verstappen through.
Antonelli held off Norris by 3.264 seconds at the chequered flag, claiming his third consecutive Grand Prix victory. Piastri finished third for McLaren after passing the damaged Leclerc late in the race. Verstappen received a five-second penalty for crossing the pit exit line but retained his position. Leclerc received a drive-through penalty converted to twenty seconds for repeatedly leaving the track without justification, dropping from sixth to eighth. The final top ten was Antonelli, Norris, Piastri, Russell, Verstappen, Hamilton, Colapinto, Leclerc, Carlos Sainz Jr., and Alexander Albon.
Antonelli's victory extended his championship lead and made him the third driver — after Damon Hill and Mika Häkkinen — to win the first three Grands Prix of his Formula One career in consecutive races. McLaren's double podium signalled a competitive return to form following their Miami upgrade package, described by multiple outlets as evidence that Mercedes's rivals had closed the gap opened in the season's opening rounds.
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