Updated 18:50 2 May 2026 GMT+1Published 18:45 2 May 2026 GMT+1

Kimi Antonelli speaks out as Miami rule breach ends in penalty

The Mercedes driver made a costly error.

Luke Davies

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has voiced his frustration after being relegated to sixth place despite finishing fourth during the Miami Sprint.

Antonelli finished behind the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc continued his positive start to 2026 in third.

Despite finishing fourth, Antonelli was demoted to sixth after the 19-lap race, receiving a five-second penalty due to several track limits infringements. His Mercedes team-mate George Russell was promoted to fourth.

Max Verstappen secured fifth, while Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly completed the top eight.

After the Sprint, a jubilant Norris stood on top of his car, greeting the Miami crowd, with the reigning world champion describing the victory as a “perfect result” for McLaren.

Meanwhile, Russell admitted that he had been “struggling all day”, even praising the pace of rivals McLaren and Ferrari.

"Not much happier," he said. "I struggle on this track, it's very low grip. The car is sliding, I'm two places forward but not much happier. The improvements from Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull are daunting."

Despite finishing P3, Leclerc was visibly annoyed with himself, while also saying his team’s upgrades “worked well”.

Leclerc said: "The upgrades worked well, so thanks to the team for their massive work. I am satisfied with that, I am not satisfied with P3. But McLaren have done a big step forward.

"Hopefully we can start higher on Sunday and make our life a bit easier."

Antonelli, who remains the championship leader seven points ahead of team-mate Russell, admitted that his errors frustrated him.

The Italian said: "We have been doing work over the break and, on my side, for once, I did everything right with the procedures, so we need to check what happened. The grip was very low, probably lower than we expected.

"After that, I was frustrated, I didn't even drive well, I made a lot of mistakes, I got track limits, which is something I need to avoid. This weekend has been more difficult, but it was expected with everyone bringing big upgrades. We have just got to maximise the results — now we focus on qualifying."

The drivers will return to action in qualifying later on Saturday before Sunday’s race.