Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Miami

Image source, Getty Images

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli held off McLaren's Lando Norris in a race-long battle to win the Miami Grand Prix and take a commanding championship lead.

The 19-year-old Italian's third win in a row moves him 20 points - not far from a clear win - ahead of team-mate George Russell, who finished fourth on Sunday, behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

Antonelli prevailed in a gripping race, initially staging a three-car fight also including Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, before the race distilled down to a tussle between the Mercedes and Norris.

The long-threatened rain, which had caused the race start to be brought forward by three hours, never materialised, apart from a few spots mid-race, and the grand prix ran its distance in dry conditions.

Read the full report here

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Can anyone stop teenage sensation Kimi Antonelli? The Italian has triumphed from pole position in China, Japan and Miami, and will head to Canada with 20 championship points to play with over Mercedes team-mate George Russell.

After the threats of thunderstorms and the race being brought forward by three hours, the Florida weather was on its best behaviour for the full 57 laps, so no wet-weather experience still for these new era of Formula 1 cars.

Thanks for your company, folks. I think that was a good grand prix to resume this season.

We'll all be twiddling our thumbs for three weeks now, waiting for racing in Montreal to get under way. When it does, come and join us from 22-24 May.

Oh, and it's a sprint weekend again!

See you soon!

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Mercedes' race winner Kimi Antonelli, speaking to Sky Sports: "It was key, the undercut. The out lap was very strong and the team picked the right moment [for the pit stop] because I came out and had no traffic. I was able to push cleanly so that allowed me then to make the move at the end. Very happy with that."

On whether he is surprising himself with how he is driving: "Definitely, I am getting stronger and stronger every time. More in control of the situation. I still think that sometimes I could remain a bit more calm. I was a bit stressed when I had downshift issues and upshift, I was very stressed. I should have stayed calm but overall it was a strong race and I am happy that we brought it home."

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Max Verstappen, speaking to Sky Sports, after finishing fifth in Miami: "I lost the rear [at the start] and tried to minimise the time loss. Early on, the hard tyre didn’t work for us, it was tough. We dropped quite heavily.

"Maybe I could’ve been in the place Oscar finished if we did enough. It’s always easy to say that afterwards. Unfortunately we are still lacking a bit, we’ll be better.

"I don’t know how much more pace there is. It was tough but don't think I could've fought for the win. We have improved a lot this weekend but still lack a bit for sure there's more pace to unlock."

Ian Fergusson
BBC weather forecaster

Just how close was this to changing the race scenario and strategy??

This close... phew!!

Image source, Tomorrow.io

Image source, Getty Images

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who dropped out of the podium places and finished sixth, speaking to Sky Sports: "I pushed very hard. In the second to last lap, I though it was a good idea to kind of let Oscar [Piastri] go. For me to get the overtake, I knew it was going to be very difficult to stay in front otherwise and it was a very poor decision.

"In the space of four corners I put a very strong race in the bin, so I'm very frustrated about that."

On having to go to the stewards after the race for leaving the track too many times and driving in an unsafe condition on his last lap: "I don't know what will be the decision. I did my best to try and make the corners first of all.

"It was probably a lot more difficult than what it looked from the outside."

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Lewis Hamilton, speaking to Sky Sports, after finishing seventh: "Obviously not a good weekend, P7 in both races, just stuck in no man’s land. And today with the damage, there was nothing I could do. Really unfortunate because the team worked so hard. We come away with a few points, but yeah, we move on.

"Not a good weekend at all but with the damage nothing I could do but we have to move on from here and was unlucky with Max, then Franco hit me and I lost a lot of performance from there."

Mercedes are 68 points clear of second-placed Ferrari in the constructors' championship, with McLaren in third and Red Bull in fourth after the sprint and main grand prix.

Franco Colapinto's points has lifted Alpine above Haas into fifth spot, and Williams have got some points on the board also thanks to Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon finishing in the top 10.

1. Mercedes - 180

2. Ferrari - 112

3. McLaren - 94

4. Red Bull - 30

5. Alpine - 21

6. Haas - 18

7. Racing Bulls - 14

8. Williams - 5

9. Audi - 2

10. Cadillac - 0

11. Aston Martin - 0

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Mercedes' George Russell, speaking to Sky Sports, after finishing fourth: "It felt OK in those early laps, the hard tyre was nowhere. I've got some ideas. The last 10 [laps] were much more competitive. I made some changes, some similar to what Kimi's been using all weekend, [and] it was a bit better. This place is always a tough one for me."

On team-mate Kimi Antonelli: "He's a fantastic driver and been exceptionally quick since day one. You don't win all the championships as a youngster if you don't have the speed.

"I have the confidence in myself and I've been there. It's been a tricky run, we'll reassess things over the next couple of weeks."

Mercedes' boss Toto Wolff, speaking to Sky Sports, on George Russell and inter-team battles: "George is so experienced by now. Throughout the weekend we've talked that this is a bit of a bogey track for him and that is absolutely understood. There is nothing that is going to be in the back of our heads when we go to Montreal.

"George is a killer, what makes him so good is that he never stops fighting and attacking. I've seen him throughout his career, in junior formula, karting. He is going for this, he is not going to leave a stone unturned, I have no doubt.

"I think George is going to fight for points throughout the season."

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, speaking to Sky Sports, on race winner Kimi Antonelli: "I hope that he can continue this positive slope. Most important is to not get carried away, we have a good car, hopefully the upgrades work in the next race. But, he is a fierce competitor and his team-mate, who wasn't that happy with the track this weekend. It's just important to keep both feet on the ground."

On how promising Mercedes' form is with only a few upgrades in Miami: "Sometimes upgrades don't correlate with the stopwatch so need to prove that out and I hope that we can. It is going to be a development race this season. How much can you bring? Are you limited by the cost cap? Many things play a role."

On Antonelli's wins this season and leading the race: "Leading when someone is putting pressure from behind, particularly at the beginning of the stint with Norris and then sustaining this pressure and being able to drive away, it is really a great character trait among the many. We are talking about a lot of success in the future."

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Kimi Antonelli, at the tender age of 19 and in only his second season in Formula 1, is 20 points better off than George Russell in the title fight after four rounds of racing.

Charles Leclerc stays in third place but fourth-placed Lando Norris is not far behind now after his sprint victory and runner-up spot in Miami.

Max Verstappen has gained places in the championship and sits seventh, putting some daylight between himself and Ollie Bearman and Pierre Gasly.

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 100pts

2. George Russell (Mercedes) - 80

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 63

4. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 51

5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 49

6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 43

7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 26

8. Oliver Bearman (Haas) - 17

9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 16

10. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 10

Chris: That was simply brilliant. What a race, what a contest!

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After the Miami Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri, who finished third, said: "It's not been the most straightforward weekend, qualifying yesterday was a bit messy for both of us, but the pace seemed more encouraging again today.

"I had to make a few overtakes, obviously the end of the race was a pretty late charge, but just very, very tricky around here, especially in these conditions.

"Thanks to the team, clearly we're a step closer in performance once again, it's nice to see. This weekend we showed that if we get track position we can hang on to things well... hopefully in Canada we will take another step forward, so I'm excited for the future."

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World champion Lando Norris, who started fourth and finished second: "Mixed bag. We got undercut, no excuses other than that, we should've boxed first.

"Kimi did a god job, hats off to Mercedes and Kimi. They drove a good race. I have to be happy, as a team we have to be happy. I'm gutted to miss out on a win. Here in Miami, I think it was possible. We'll take it on the chin; it's still been a positive weekend altogether.

"Things have improved, some things are still the same, today was still about who could make the least mistakes, who could push in the correct areas.

"If you guys enjoyed it, I'm happy. It was tough, you have to be tactical with how you're using the battery. You can get caught up using the wrong running of things. I did a good job and the team did a good job all weekend. I'm proud of everyone. Progress."

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Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes race engineer, Pete Bonnington, speaking to 5 Live: "It is pretty special. It wasn't that easy. McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull have stepped forward. A little bit more challenging - he did throw a couple of curve balls at us. We managed to avoid the track limit one and got an average start. Overcame all that and when he had it under control, he took it away."

On the championship: "Not thinking about that."

On what Antonelli needs to improve: "We need to get on top of the starts, that is our Achilles heel. We'll just focus on the opportunities, not get ahead of ourselves and focus on that."

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Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who wins in Miami and extends his lead in the championship to 20 points: "The start was not as bad as yesterday, it was a little bit better. I didn't expect Charles to brake that early on, to avoid him I locked up. I was lucky with what happened in Turn Two, I then did a little mistake with the energy management, trying to overtake Charles and then I lost a place to Lando but then the pace was strong.

"I was able to stay close and then the team did a great strategy, we did a massive undercut and then we managed to bring it home, even though it was not easy."

On becoming the first driver to win his first three races from pole position and making history: "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."

Whoa, that's a bold statement, Tony. Do you agree?

Let us know your thoughts on how good you think Kimi Antonelli is by using the 'Get Involved' button on the live page.

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Tony: Antonelli will be as good, if not better than Verstappen, Schumacher, Hamilton and Senna. In 50 years of watching Formula 1, I've never seen such natural talent.

Champagne momentpublished at 20:08 BST

20:08 BST

Kimi Antonelli takes to the podium and soaks up the applause from the crowds inside the Miami circuit. Is it water in his champagne bottle? Probably. He's only a young pup.

The Italian has entered the Formula 1 record books today as the first driver to convert his first three pole positions into race victories.

Antonelli will also arrive in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix in three weeks' time with a 20-point advantage over Mercedes team-mate George Russell in the drivers' championship.

Image source, Reuters