Miami, FL
Winners and losers from F1’s eventful Miami Grand Prix
F1’s decision to bring the Miami start time forward by three hours ultimately made no difference, as the expected thunderstorms hit the track in the early hours of Sunday morning but then swerved Miami Garden in the afternoon.
As it was, Miami didn’t need the weather gods to serve up an absorbing display. And while it is too early to judge the recent round of energy management tweaks, on the surface Miami provided an entertaining mix of management tactics and driver-centred wheel-to-wheel skills.
Winner: Kimi Antonelli
With every passing week, young Kimi Antonelli is convincing more and more sceptics about whether he is really ready to take the title fight all the way in what is only his sophomore F1 season as a teenager.
There is no doubt that Antonelli is still a raw diamond rather than a polished product. But he has paired his obvious talent and speed with more maturity this year and has not flinched when the pressure is on, as evidenced by the various wheel-to-wheel battles for the lead in Miami.
Antonelli has spent the April break working on some of those chinks in his armour, like his start difficulties, though a lot of the burden is on Mercedes to simplify its procedures too, with Toto Wolff calling the team’s struggles across both cars “unacceptable” as the competition closes in on Mercedes.
But having won his last three grands prix from pole, it’s hard to argue with Antonelli being every bit the title contender that team-mate George Russell is.
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images
It’s too early to be talking about Red Bull’s second seat curse, not after Hadjar’s impressive start to his Red Bull tenure in Melbourne, but on a weekend Max Verstappen was firing on all cylinders Hadjar has found it much harder to keep up with the mercurial Dutchman.
Hadjar was of course desperately unlucky for his car’s floor to just be outside legal parameters in qualifying, relegating him to the back of the grid. But he was a second off Verstappen in sprint qualifying and eight tenths on Saturday, looking much more like a 2019-2025 spec second Red Bull driver that the team is hoping to have solved. His clumsy crash in the early stages of the race was entirely avoidable, too.
Has the improved Red Bull simply allowed Verstappen to push much harder and bring out the best in him, leaving Hadjar in the dust? Or does Hadjar need more time to get on top of the heavily revised RB22? Red Bull will be hoping it is the latter, with team boss Laurent Mekies playing down any concerns.
“I don’t think we are worried,” he said. “In terms of driving and in terms of rhythm, he still hasn’t got into the right rhythm. I think he would have been strong in the race, and it was strong for the little he could have shown.”
Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Zak Brown, McLaren
A 1-2 in the sprint and a 2-3 in the grand prix? McLaren would have bitten your hand off for a double podium berth after unsuccessfully chasing Mercedes over the first three rounds of the 2026 campaign.
But a first tranche of upgrades to the MCL40, at its historically happy hunting ground around the Hard Rock Stadium, has dramatically changed the outlook of the 2026 season. Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were legitimate contenders this weekend, even if they were helped by Mercedes getting its deployment strategy wrong over the sprint event, rowing it back to a more normal set-up for qualifying and the race.
The end result is that on pure speed McLaren reckons Mercedes still has the slight edge, and the Silver Arrows are introducing their first batch of upgrades in Canada. But McLaren isn’t done upgrading either, with sources suggesting its own Montreal package amounts to around 40 percent of its total car overhaul across both rounds. Watch this space.
There was little enjoyment to be derived from Sunday’s race for Lewis Hamilton, as he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when Verstappen spun ahead of him at the start and then suffered aero damage after a glancing blow from Franco Colapinto.
Hamilton estimated the time loss at half a second and it dropped him into no man’s land for the remainder of the afternoon while his team-mate Charles Leclerc was having all the fun ahead of him, mixing it up with Russell and Piastri.
Leclerc also suffered a disappointing end to his afternoon courtesy of his last-lap spin, which cost him a certain podium, and he did exceedingly well not to suffer a huge accident that would have cost him a lot more than that. But with a car that refused to turn right any longer, Leclerc decided to redraw some of Miami’s chicanes, which cost him a deserved 20-second penalty.
Winner: Franco Colapinto
Colapinto has come in for quite a bit of flak since replacing Jack Doohan at Alpine exactly 12 months ago, not in the least from his own boss Flavio Briatore. But armed with Alpine’s latest aero upgrades and a slightly lighter chassis, Colapinto appears to cut a more confident figure aboard the A526 and that has translated into getting the better of experienced team-mate Pierre Gasly over Miami’s two qualifying sessions, something which hasn’t happened too often.
Colapinto delayed his only pitstop until past the halfway point, propelling up as high as fourth at one point, and Leclerc’s post-race penalty eventually netted him a best-ever points finish in seventh.
Fresh from his Buenos Aires demo run that was attended by an estimated 600,000 Argentinians, it has been a pretty good fortnight for Lionel Messi’s favourite F1 driver. Messi’s children were all sporting Mercedes gear, so perhaps they are harder to convince.
Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Photo by: Kym Illman / Getty Images
Audi has made a commendable start as a works team from a performance point of view, even if the German manufacturer’s first F1 power unit needs a bit more juice. But its endless list of reliability issues is seriously hurting any chance of keeping up in the midfield, with Nico Hulkenberg completing a grand total of seven laps across both Miami races and Gabriel Bortoleto’s weekend derailed in qualifying.
Audi has always said it is playing the long game, so we won’t judge it too harshly after four race weekends, but the team needs to be able to nail down cleaner weekends if it wants to make progress on the performance side of things and build up some semblance of momentum.
“It was a proper character building weekend,” Hulkenberg said afterwards. “We’ve had some promising signs and the pace in the car is not bad, but obviously we need to be able to finish sessions and get the cars out there. Yeah, just a lot of headwind this weekend, kind of need to regroup, reset now, take it on the chin.
Alexander Albon, Williams
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
Williams had been one of the more disappointing stories of the 2026 season thus far, but rebounded with a first pass of upgrades by taking a double points finish with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon. Finishing a pitstop behind Colapinto’s Alpine is not a result that merits a victory parade around Grove’s high street, but it’s a first step as the team fights to both add aero performance and sheds weight off its cars, something which will take time and which can’t be done at once in a cost cap world.
Sainz summed it up best afterwards: “It’s not where we want to be, even if it feels for everyone a bit of a relief. Getting two cars in the points on merit is definitely a good step, but we need to keep pushing because it’s still not where we expected to be at the end of last year.”
Photos from Miami GP – Sunday
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
Streaming the Miami GP in the UK
Sky Sports and Now TV
Mercedes star Kimi Antonelli will be looking to make it a hat-trick of wins as the Formula One season resumes on Sunday with the Miami Grand Prix.
Antonelli is nine points ahead of his second-placed teammate George Russell, following back-to-back wins at the Chinese and Japanese GPs.
Sunday’s race marks the fifth Miami GP after being added to the F1 calendar back in 2022, and comes at a crucial time for the sport. Last month’s scheduled Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were canceled due to the war in Iran.
The Miami Grand Prix takes place at the Hard Rock Stadium complex in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Sunday, May 3, at 4 p.m. ET. That makes it a 1 p.m. PT start, while for viewers in the UK it’s 9 p.m. BST. Meanwhile, Australian F1 fans are looking at a 6 a.m. AEST start on Monday morning.
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli is the youngest ever driver to lead the F1 Drivers’ Championship at the age of 19.
Livestream the Miami Grand Prix in the US
F1 racing has a new home on Apple TV, with the 2026 season launching its five-year broadcast run for US viewers. There are ways to stream the events with a paid subscription or for free.
It’s worth noting that if you’ve recently bought a new Apple device and haven’t previously subscribed to the streaming platform, you can take advantage of a three-month free trial within 90 days of purchase.
If you’re not lucky enough to have bought a new Apple gadget during that time frame, there are two other free options for those new to Apple TV. The platform also offers a seven-day free trial to new subscribers through its dedicated app and the Apple TV channel on Prime Video. Finally, Apple’s subscription bundle, Apple One, will also get you a 30-day free trial of its TV streaming service.
Apple TV Plus currently costs $13 per month in the US for the standalone, ad-free streaming service. It’s also available as part of the Apple One bundle, which starts at $20 per month and includes Apple Music, Apple Arcade and iCloud Plus.
How to livestream the Miami Grand Prix in the UK
The Miami GP is available in the UK on Sky Sports. Sky Sports will include the practice rounds and qualifying. If you already have Sky Sports as part of your TV package, you can stream the race via its app. Cord-cutters can watch Sky TV with unlimited Sky Sports on a Now TV membership.
Sky subsidiary Now offers streaming access to Sky Sports channels with a Now Sports membership.
You can get a day of access for £15, or sign up to a monthly plan from £35 a month right now.
Livestream the Miami Grand Prix in Canada
F1 fans can watch the Miami GP on TSN and its streaming service, TSN Plus. Existing TSN cable subscribers can also watch at no extra charge using their TV provider’s account login details.
TSN Plus is a streaming service that costs CA$8 a month and also offers coverage of PGA Tour Live golf, NFL games, F1, NASCAR and the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments.
Livestream the Miami Grand Prix in Australia
The Miami Grand Prix can be watched Down Under on Fox Sports via Foxtel. If you’re not a Fox subscriber, your best option is to sign up for the streaming service Kayo Sports.
A Kayo Sports subscription starts at AU$25 a month and lets you stream on one screen, while its Premium tier costs AU$35 a month for simultaneous viewing on up to three devices.
The service gives you access to a wide range of sports, including F1, NRL, NFL, NHL and MLB, and there are no lock-in contracts.
Better still, if you’re a new customer, you can take advantage of a one-week Kayo Sports free trial.
Formula One 2026 full schedule
You can visit the Formula One website for additional details on the schedule, but here’s a current snapshot of when each main race takes place this season. Practice rounds are excluded.
F1 race day schedule
Date
Grand Prix
Start time (ET)
May 3
Miami Grand Prix
4 p.m.
May 24
Canadian Grand Prix
4 p.m.
June 7
Monaco Grand Prix
9 a.m.
June 14
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix
9 a.m.
June 28
Austrian Grand Prix
9 a.m.
July 5
British Grand Prix
10 a.m.
July 19
Belgian Grand Prix
9 a.m.
July 26
Hungarian Grand Prix
9 a.m.
Aug. 23
Dutch Grand Prix
9 a.m.
Sept. 6
Italian Grand Prix
9 a.m.
Sept. 13
Spanish Grand Prix
9 a.m.
Sept. 26
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
7 a.m.
Oct. 11
Singapore Grand Prix
8 a.m.
Oct. 25
United States Grand Prix
4 p.m.
Nov. 1
Mexican Grand Prix
3 p.m.
Nov. 8
Brazilian Grand Prix
12 p.m.
Nov. 21
Las Vegas Grand Prix
11 p.m.
Nov. 29
Qatar Grand Prix
11 a.m.
Dec. 6
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
8 a.m.
Formula 1 is back after an unexpected one-month hiatus because of the war in the Middle East, and somehow the series has reconvened in Miami, right where we were and not where we were, if that makes sense.
It may not, but I’ll explain.
Through the first three races, there were two clear-cut top teams: Mercedes and Ferrari. Mercedes’ driver Kimi Antonelli had also won two straight Grand Prix coming into Miami, and is the current championship leader.
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Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli comes into the Miami Grand Prix as the championship leader. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
However, teams brought a considerable number of upgrades — plus the FIA and F1 have tuned the regulations a little after some team feedback — and suddenly, we’ve got more teams battling toward the front.
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This was noticeable in Saturday morning’s Sprint, which featured a McLaren 1-2, led by reigning world champion Lando Norris.
But the bigger shakeup came in qualifying.
While the Silver Arrows’ 19-year-old superstar took pole by around a tenth and a half, what was surprising was that he was battling Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Red Bull had massive struggles through the first three rounds of the season and, even to Verstappen’s surprise during his post-session interview, was battling for pole.
Even wilder, there are four different teams represented on the first two rows of the grid: Mercedes with Antonelli on pole, Red Bull with Verstappen in P2, Ferrari with Charles Leclerc in P3 and McLaren with Norris in P4.
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli (centre) with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (left) and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc after Miami Grand Prix qualifying. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
Now, all eyes are going to be on the start of what is expected to be a wet race.
Starts have been the Achilles’ heel for Mercedes, and especially Antonelli this season, something that was seen on Saturday morning during the Sprint.
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Fortunately for him, Verstappen’s starts haven’t been much better, but unfortunately, starting right behind Antonelli is Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, and the Scuderia’s cars have been absolute missiles off the line all season long (really since preseason testing).
So even with the short run into Turn 1 at the Miami International Autodrome, which is just under 200 meters, I think we’re going to see Leclerc jump at least one, maybe both, of the cars on the front row.
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli celebrates taking pole for the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
Maybe the wet weather can reduce that Ferrari advantage when the lights go out, but even if it does, Antonelli has Verstappen — a wet-weather fiend — alongside him.
Antonelli’s best chance of his third-straight Grand Prix will be best if he can get off the line cleanly and keep the lead out of Turn 1, but no matter what, this is shaping up to be the biggest challenge of his championship campaign so far.
Lando Norris will start the 2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix Sprint from pole position.
A dominant effort in SQ3 landed the reigning world champion his first pole of the season, beating Kimi Antonelli to P1, with the world championship leader starting on the front-row.
Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc slot in behind, with the third row being Max Verstappen and George Russell, with Lewis Hamilton seventh.
Elsewhere, Aston Martin was required to request permission to race in the Sprint after both cars failed to set a time in SQ1.
Alex Albon ended the session in 14th, but was demoted five spots in strange circumstances after the session.
The FIA found he had breached track limits during SQ1 – but the infringement was missed in real time, meaning he advanced into SQ2. By the time the stewards were notified, he had already taken to the track for the second segment.
Check out the full grid for the 2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix Sprint below!
NOTE: Grid remains provisional until officially confirmed by the FIA.
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