Kimi Antonelli continued his blistering start to the season with a dominant Miami Grand Prix victory, his third straight win, prompting praise from 1996 world champion Damon Hill who called the performance something special and said he was almost stunned by how the 19‑year‑old has coped this year. After four races Antonelli leads the championship by 20 points over Mercedes team‑mate George Russell, a turnaround that has underlined the Italian’s rapid ascent.
Antonelli has already rewritten record books in his second F1 season. He became the youngest pole winner and the youngest leader of the championship, and joined Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher as only the third driver to take his first three pole positions in a row. His streak of three consecutive wins places him alongside Damon Hill and Mika Hakkinen as drivers who claimed victories in their first three races, a group composed entirely of world champions.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has been central to Antonelli’s path, signing him from karting at age 11 and guiding his development. Wolff defended the decision to accelerate Antonelli into Formula 1 after just two years of senior racing, praising his composure and analytic approach — his ability to process mistakes, put them away and move on. Wolff described Miami as perhaps Antonelli’s best race so far, likening it to the confidence he showed in karting and Formula 4, but he cautioned against the mounting pressure from media, sponsors and a fervent Italian public. Wolff stressed the need to keep expectations in check so a single error does not derail a long-term career.
Russell, who began the year as a favourite, has suffered a run of setbacks that have opened the door for his team‑mate. A technical issue in China likely cost him pole there, and a safety car in Japan helped hand Antonelli another victory that might have gone to Russell or Oscar Piastri. In Miami Russell qualified fifth behind upgraded Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari cars, while Antonelli took pole. Despite another poor launch — his sixth shaky start in a row — Antonelli remained composed, fought back through the field and seized the lead from Lando Norris during the pit‑stop phase.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said a string of small events combined to hand Mercedes the advantage: Antonelli produced a huge first lap after his stop, Norris made errors on his in‑lap and then suffered a slow service, allowing Mercedes to emerge ahead and hold position. Russell conceded his pace in Miami was poor, admitted he has struggled with the circuit’s low‑grip surface and maintained perspective about the championship, noting there are still 18 races left and he wants to return to the top step.
Hill argued that a top driver must perform across all tracks and that Russell now needs to regroup and reassess this new intra‑team dynamic. Wolff pointed to Antonelli’s family support, with his father Marco at the race, as a stabilising influence and warned that Ferrari‑style national adulation must be managed. He urged the team and family to keep Antonelli grounded, saying the priority is to protect a young talent who could have a decade or more of title‑contending racing ahead.
Hill acknowledged earlier fears that early success could lead to overconfidence, but added that Antonelli’s Miami performance gives him every right to be confident. For now the narrative is clear: a teenager with rare poise has seized momentum, and the rest of the field — including his experienced team‑mate — must respond.