By Alan Baldwin
MIAMI, May 3 (Reuters) – Italian teenage prodigy Kimi Antonelli won the Miami Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday and wrote his name in the Formula One record books with his third victory in a row from pole position.
The youngest driver ever to lead the championship, at 19 years old, also became the first to take his first three career wins from the top slot on the grid and also the first in five editions of the race to win in Miami from the front row.
“This is just the beginning, the road is still long,” he said after beating McLaren’s world champion Lando Norris by 3.2 seconds at the Hard Rock Stadium to stretch his lead to 20 points after four rounds — all won by Mercedes.
“We are working super hard and the team is doing an incredible job.”
“HOW DID WE NOT WIN THIS?”
Norris, winner of the Saturday sprint, had a three-second lead at one point but lost out after the pitstops when Antonelli came in first for a change of tyres and then got ahead of the Briton who pitted one lap later.
“How did we not win this? We should have won guys,” Norris said over the team radio after the chequered flag.
“We just got undercut — no excuses other than that. We got undercut, we should have boxed (pitted) first,” he explained later.
“Hats off to Merc and Kimi, they drove a good race. I’m gutted to miss out on a win here in Miami, I think it was possible today. But not the pace to get past him in the end, so we take it on the chin.”
Australian Oscar Piastri, last year’s winner, completed the podium for McLaren after a lively finish to the race with Antonelli’s teammate and closest rival George Russell taking fourth.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished fifth after starting on the front row and spinning full circle on the opening lap without collecting anyone or being hit by other cars and dropping to 10th.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was sixth, passed by Russell and Verstappen in the final corners as he wrestled with a damaged car after leading at the start and then hitting the barrier at the end, while teammate Lewis Hamilton finished seventh.
Leclerc faced a post-race investigation for multiple alleged breaches of track limits on the final lap while Verstappen also faced a stewards’ enquiry for crossing the white line at the pitlane exit.
Argentine Franco Colapinto took eighth place for Alpine with Williams scoring a double points finish with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon ninth and 10th.
Antonelli now has 100 points to Russell’s 80 and Leclerc’s 63, with Norris on 51.
The safety car was deployed on lap six after two accidents, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar skidding into the wall and then Alpine’s Pierre Gasly sent cartwheeling off after contact with the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson.
The race was brought forward by three hours after forecasts predicted lightning and thunderstorms and was completed without any weather interruption.
(Reporting by Alan BaldwinEditing by Peter Graff and Toby Davis)
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