Amarenalytics Talks F1 - 2026 Miami Grand Prix

📊 Amarenalytics talks Formula 1 🏁 🏎️

Let's review the fourth race of the season, the 2026 Miami Grand Prix.

🏆 Antonelli Dominates Miami as Mercedes Extends Championship Lead

Kimi Antonelli converted pole position into a commanding victory at the 2026 Miami Grand Prix, with McLaren's Lando Norris taking second and Oscar Piastri completing the podium in third. The result marks Antonelli's fourth consecutive race win, cementing his position as the championship frontrunner.

The race was marred by four mechanical DNFs: Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson retired from points-scoring positions, while Isack Hadjar and Nico Hulkenberg failed to finish from the midfield. Most significantly, Charles Leclerc dropped from P3 on the grid to P8 at the finish, scoring just 4 points, a devastating result for Ferrari's championship hopes.

Mercedes now lead the Constructors' Championship with 180 points, holding a commanding 70-point gap over Ferrari in second place with 110 points. McLaren sit third with 94 points.

In the drivers' standings, Kimi Antonelli leads with 100 points. George Russell sits second with 80 points, while Charles Leclerc is third with 59 points. Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris are tied for fourth with 51 points each.

👏 The Good

Kimi ANTONELLI (P1 → P1) — Pole to victory. The Mercedes teenager is simply untouchable right now. A dominant lights-to-flag performance in Miami to extend his championship lead. Four races in, and the Italian rookie is the story of the 2026 season.

Lando NORRIS (P1 → P2) — Lando starts from pole but can't hold off Antonelli, finishing second. 18 points is a strong haul, but starting from pole and finishing second will sting for McLaren.

Oscar PIASTRI (P3 → P3) — Oscar holds his grid position exactly and finishes on the podium. Consistent, but no ground gained.

George RUSSELL (P5 → P4) — George moves up one spot from his grid position to score 12 points. Solid, composed, but George needs a win in Canada. 

Franco COLAPINTO (P8 → P7) — Franco gains one spot and scores 6 points for Alpine. A clean, measured drive from the Argentine. Alpine will take that.

Carlos SAINZ (P13 → P9) — Carlos gains four positions from deep in the midfield to snatch 2 points for Williams. A strong recovery drive from the Spaniard.

Alexander ALBON (P15 → P10) — Five positions gained from P15 to snatch the final championship point. A brilliant drive from Alex, Williams score a point from both cars this weekend.

Oliver BEARMAN (P12 → P11) — Ollie gains one spot and finishes just outside the points. A clean race from the Haas youngster.

Esteban OCON (P14 → P13) — Esteban gains one spot. Quiet but forward progress for Haas.

Arvid LINDBLAD (P16 → P14) — Two positions gained for the Racing Bulls rookie. Steady.

🤔 The Unremarkable

Max VERSTAPPEN (P2 → P5) — Max drops three places from a front-row start to finish fifth. Red Bull are nowhere near the pace of the top three teams. 

Lewis HAMILTON (P6 → P6) — Lewis holds his grid position exactly. Ferrari will want more from him, but 8 points is 8 points.

Gabriel BORTOLETO (P11 → P12) — Gabriel drops one spot from a decent grid position. A frustrating afternoon for the Audi rookie who will feel he had more to give.

Sergio PEREZ (P17 → P16) — Checo gains one spot. Cadillac remain scoreless but at least both cars finished.

Valtteri BOTTAS (P19 → P18) — Valtteri gains one spot. Another quiet afternoon for the Finn.

😬 The Ugly

Charles LECLERC (P3 → P8) — Charles drops five positions from P3 on the grid to finish eighth. A nightmare race for the Monégasque. From a potential podium to P8 and just 4 points is a big swing in his championship hopes.

Nico HULKENBERG (P10 → DNF) — Nico retires from a promising P10 grid slot. Audi lost what could have been a points finish, a painful retirement for the German.

Isack HADJAR (P9 → DNF) — Isack retires from P9 on the grid. Red Bull's second car failed to score again, a double blow for the Milton Keynes outfit alongside Verstappen's poor result.

Pierre GASLY (P9 → DNF) — Pierre retires from P9. Alpine lost a guaranteed points finish,  especially painful given Colapinto's P7 showed the car had the pace.

Liam LAWSON (P11 → DNF) — Liam retires from P11. Racing Bulls failed to score from either car, with Lindblad's P14 the only classified result. A miserable afternoon for the Faenza team.

Fernando ALONSO (P17 → P15) — Fernando gains two spots. Still pointless this season, pretty ugly situation given everyone’s expectations from Aston.

Lance STROLL (P18 → P17) — Lance gains one spot. Aston Martin at least have both cars classified, but they are nowhere near where they should be.

Episode 5 will cover the Canadian Grand Prix 🏁 🏎️

Credits:

Omni and Hawkfry Group for providing the business intelligence platform.

OpenF1 (openf1.org) team for creating and maintaining an awesome open source API.

(The F1 logo, FORMULA 1, F1, FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, GRAND PRIX and related marks are all trade marks of Formula 1 Licensing BV, a Formula 1 company.)