Kimi Antonelli warned his rivals that “this is just the beginning” after making history with a third successive Formula 1 win at the Miami Grand Prix, converting his opening three pole positions into victories.

The Mercedes driver overcame a messy start and early setbacks to take control of the race, underlining his growing authority at the front of the championship.

Antonelli summed up his third F1 victory: “The start was not as bad as yesterday, it was a bit better. I didn’t expect Charles to brake that early, so to avoid him I locked up. I was a bit lucky with what happened in Turn 2, then I did a little mistake with the energy management, trying to overtake Charles, then I lost a place to Lando.

“Then the pace was strong. I was able to stay close. The team did a great strategy. We did a massive undercut and we managed to bring it home even though it was not easy. This is just the beginning. The road is still long. We are working super hard and the team is doing an incredible job.

“Without them, I wouldn’t be here, so thanks to them and my family. I’m going to enjoy this one then get back to work," added Antonelli who now leads the 2026 F1 Drivers' standings, by 20 points over teammate George Russell.

Russell: That was a tough afternoon

The Briton endured a more difficult race and admitted Mercedes’ performance was uneven across stints: “That was a tough afternoon for us out there,. The early laps felt OK and I thought that we were in the fight, but my pace wasn’t strong on the Hard compound.

“We did make some changes near the end of the final stint which helped but this place has never been my favourite, and it showed. We gained a couple of positions at the end at least so the result was potentially better than it could have been.

“Kimi did a great job and showed that the car could challenge for victory. Congratulations to him; it’s more great points for the team.”

Russell added that attention now shifts quickly to the next phase of the season. “I am looking forward to going to Canada for the next race. It’s a circuit I like and have gone well at in the past.

"From Montreal onwards, we have seven races in a short period of time up until the summer break. Those will be really important for us so I’m looking forward to getting back in the groove," added Russell

Wolff: Most important is not to be carried away

Team principal Toto Wolff urged caution despite the momentum Antoinelli has found with this historic run of wins: “I hope he can continue on this positive slope. Most important is not to be carried away.

“We have a good car. Hopefully the upgrades work at the next race but he’s a fierce competitor and his team mate also, who wasn’t happy with the track this weekend. Just important to keep both feet on the track.”

“Sometimes upgrades don’t correlate with the stopwatch, so we need to prove that out. I hope we can. And this is going to be a development race this season. How much can you bring? Are you limited by the cost cap? All of these things will play a role," predcited Wolff.

Trackside chief Andrew Shovlin added: Coming into this weekend, we knew that our competitors would close the gap to us, but it has been eye-opening to see just how much performance they were able to bring.

"We now have two weeks before we head to Canada, and we will be redoubling our efforts to head there with a chance of making it five wins in-a-row to start 2026."

The Miami result extends Antonelli’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship after 4 rounds, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri closest in pursuit, while Mercedes strengthen their position at the top of the Constructors’ standings ahead of McLaren.