New York [US], May 4: Championsip leader Kimi Antonelli overcame a suboptimal start to win his third consecutive Formula One race this season at the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Mercedes driver started from pole position, but had a slow reaction once the lights went out and was overtaken by the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.
But throughout the race, the Italian fought back and retook first place for good on lap 29.
Antonelli struggled with his rear tyres, but managed to hold off defending champion Lando Norris in the McLaren.
"The start was not as bad as yesterday, it was a bit better," he said referring to Saturday's sprint race, in which he started in second, but didn't get away particularly well and lost positions. He eventually finished fourth, but was demoted to sixth after a penalty.
"The team did a great strategy. We did a massive undercut and we managed to bring it home even though it was not easy." Antonelli became the first driver to convert his first three pole positions into wins.
"This is just the beginning. The road is still long. We are working super hard and the team is doing an incredible job," he said.
Norris, who won the sprint race on Saturday, finished in second, claiming his first podium at a Grand Prix this year. Team-mate Oscar Piastri clinched third place after overtaking Leclerc in the final lap.
The race Antonelli's slow start left him sandwiched between Leclerc and Verstappen. He then locked up, allowing Leclerc to take the lead, while Verstappen spun and lost several positions.
The Italian had dropped to third by lap six, when the safety car was deployed after Isack Hadjar crashed his Red Bull into the wall and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly had the same fate after contact with the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson. The three of them abandoned the race.
Norris took the lead from Leclerc after the safety car left the track as Antonelli remained third.
But the Italian executed a perfect pit stop plan to stay ahead of Norris after the later pitted for fresh tyres on lap 29.
He complained about struggling with the rear tyres, with Norris following close but the title holder still couldn't make a move and had to settle for second.
"I'm gutted to miss out on a win here in Miami, I think it was possible today," Norris said.
"We just got undercut - no excuses other than that. We got undercut, we should have boxed first. Kimi did a good job. Hat's off to Mercedes and Kimi, they drove a good race."
Behind the two of them, Piastri was fiercely chasing Leclerc and his hard work paid off in the final lap when he finally passed the Ferrari car.
Shortly after the overtake, Leclerc spun. He managed to keep the car out of the wall, but lost positions to George Russell and Verstappen.
"It's not been the most straightforward of weekends. I had to make a few overtakes at the end of the race. It was a pretty late charge, but it's very tricky around here, especially in these conditions, so thanks to the team," Piastri said This was the first F1 race since the Japanese GP on March 29. The season was forced into an unplanned break after races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were cancelled due to the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
There was speculation whether the Miami race would also be cancelled due to the threat of heavy rain and thunderstorms, but F1 bosses and governing body FIA decide to move the start time forward by three hours.
Source: Qatar Tribune