After a break of several weeks, Formula 1 returned to action in Miami and once again it was Kimi Antonelli who claimed victory in a Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver secured his third successive win, stepping onto the top step of the podium today in Miami ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

The race was brought forward by three hours due to adverse weather forecasts for the originally scheduled start time of the Grand Prix. From the start, at 13:00 local time, the cars delivered plenty of action, with overtaking already in the opening laps. In the early stages, incidents involving Isack Hadjar and Pierre Gasly prompted the deployment of the Safety Car. The neutralisation was exploited by Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas, who brought forward their pit stops.

The Red Bull driver, after a difficult start, managed to rejoin the fight for the podium by switching from Medium tyres to a set of Hards on lap six. The Cadillac driver instead opted for Softs on the same lap, before stopping again on lap 21 to move onto Mediums.

Isack Hadjar was the only driver to start from the pit lane on Hard tyres, while the rest of the grid lined up on Mediums. Only the Aston Martin drivers mirrored Bottas’ strategy, choosing Softs at the tyre change. With the exception of Bottas, Alonso and Stroll, all the others therefore switched to Hards. Strategies were almost exclusively one-stop, apart from Stroll and Bottas, who made two visits to the pit lane.

In the championship battle, Antonelli extends his advantage over his rivals even further: the nineteen-year-old now leads the standings with 100 points, compared to George Russell’s 76.

DARIO MARRAFUSCHI – PIRELLI MOTORSPORT DIRECTOR

The race was very straightforward from a strategic point of view, despite the uncertainty over possible rain remaining right up to the last moment. The only real variable was the Safety Car on lap six, which allowed some drivers, including Verstappen, to pit early and differentiate themselves from the rest of the field. In the Dutchman’s case, this seems to have paid some dividends.

Beyond that, all drivers on the grid opted for the flexibility of starting on the Medium, with the majority replacing it within the window we had anticipated. The lower temperatures compared to previous days further reduced tyre degradation. A clear example was Verstappen’s final stint of 51 laps on the Hard, completed without any need to manage the pace. The same trio of compounds will be used at the next round in Montreal in three weeks’ time.