Mohammed Ben Sulayem President of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) pours water on the head of Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli of Italy after Antonelli won the Miami Formula One Grand Prix auto race, Sunday, May 3, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — 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.”

Langdon claims NHRA title

ADEL, Ga. — Shawn Langdon won the Top Fuel division in the 41st annual NHRA Southern Nationals at South Georgia Motorsports Park on Sunday.

Jordan Vandergriff won the Funny Car division, Dallas Glenn won Pro Stock, and Matt Smith won Pro Stock Motorcycle.