Antonelli takes third straight win as Mercedes keeps control of F1 title race

Kimi Antonelli is turning Formula One’s youth movement into a championship charge.

The 19-year-old Mercedes driver claimed his third straight career victory in Miami and left the United States with a 20-point lead in the drivers’ championship. The result made him the youngest championship leader in F1 history and the first Italian to win three races in a row since Alberto Ascari in 1952.

Antonelli’s latest win also answered a growing question inside the paddock. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff had long described him as a generational talent, but not everyone accepted the hype. After Miami, the doubts became harder to defend.

The Italian converted another pole position into victory, despite another poor start that has already become a recurring part of his young career. He came under pressure from McLaren world champion Lando Norris but held on for a win that strengthened his reputation and lifted expectations among Italian racing fans.

His rise has also changed the picture inside Mercedes. George Russell, his teammate and the winner of the season opener, entered the year as a strong title contender. But Antonelli has since taken control of the championship race while Mercedes continues to lead the constructors’ standings.

Wolff said Antonelli’s progress has exceeded expectations.

“It’s astounding, these few races,” Wolff said. “I don’t think anyone expected this. He has monetised on it every single weekend and it’s special.”

Mercedes now heads to Montreal with confidence and a major upgrade package planned for Canada. The team remains the benchmark despite new parts from McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull, plus tweaks to the regulations.

Antonelli’s rapid climb comes after Wolff fast-tracked him into Mercedes in 2024, even before the teenager had passed his regular road car driving test. That decision drew questions at the time. His current form has turned it into one of the boldest calls in recent F1 memory.

Wolff said the team can manage Antonelli’s rise inside Mercedes, but admitted the bigger challenge may come from the attention in Italy. He compared Antonelli’s growing popularity to that of tennis star Jannik Sinner.

“The easiest bit is making sure that he keeps both feet on the ground within the team,” Wolff said. “The bigger problem is the Italian public.”

The Miami race also showed that Mercedes still has the pace to resist the rest of the grid. The race featured several overtaking battles tied to battery deployment and energy recovery, with drivers again dealing with big speed differences on track.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who finished third, said the closing speeds remained difficult to manage.

“It’s still pretty crazy, to be honest,” Piastri said. “The closing speeds are huge and trying to anticipate that as a defending driver is incredibly tough.”

Wolff defended the racing spectacle against criticism that the new style of overtaking looked artificial.

“Anyone who complains after that race should hide,” he said. “Honestly, it was a great advert for F1.”

Away from Mercedes, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said the sport could still face more changes. He raised the possibility of a return to V8 engines, discussed multi-team ownership in F1, and mentioned a paddock return for former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

For now, the spotlight belongs to Antonelli. Three wins, a championship lead and a growing Italian following have turned him from Mercedes’ teenage gamble into Formula One’s newest headline act.

George Russell put Mercedes on top again in Shanghai after taking pole for the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race, with teammate Kimi Antonelli completing a front-row lockout. Russell set a 1:31.520 lap in Sprint Qualifying, while Antonelli went 0.289 seconds slower to seal second place. Lando Norris placed third for McLaren, with Lewis Hamilton fourth for Ferrari.

The result gave Mercedes another strong statement after its winning start to the 2026 season in Australia. Russell said the car felt “amazing” and added that it had been “a real joy to drive,” pointing to the team’s momentum from Melbourne into a very different track in Shanghai. Formula 1’s official results also showed Oscar Piastri fifth and Charles Leclerc sixth behind Hamilton and Norris.

Antonelli, still in only the early stage of his Formula 1 career, said the pace was there but admitted he did not fully put the lap together on soft tires. Even so, his lap was enough to help Mercedes lock out the front row for Saturday’s 19-lap sprint, putting the team in prime position to collect more points.

McLaren stayed close enough to remain a threat. Norris said he was pleased to finish ahead of both Ferraris after they had looked strong through much of Friday. Piastri backed him up in fifth, which gives McLaren two cars inside the top five for the short race.

Ferrari, meanwhile, remained in the mix but could not match Mercedes over one lap. Hamilton said the car felt good overall but pointed to straight-line speed as one area where Ferrari was still losing ground. Leclerc ended up sixth, keeping both Ferraris on the first three rows.

Red Bull had a far rougher session. Max Verstappen could manage only eighth, with Isack Hadjar down in 10th, while Oliver Bearman split the two Red Bulls in ninth for Haas. Earlier in the day, Russell had already set the pace in the weekend’s only practice session, again ahead of Antonelli, which underlined Mercedes’ control of Friday running in China.

German carmaker Audi has revealed its first Formula One car ahead of its full factory entry under the sport’s new 2026 rules, laying out a long-term target to fight for titles before the decade ends.

The car, called the Audi R26, was shown in Paris and introduces the brand’s first-ever single-seater. The livery carries a mostly grey finish, with Audi’s four rings highlighted in red on the rear wing. The team said the design aims to stand out visually while keeping a clean and restrained look.

Audi enters Formula One after taking over the Sauber operation, which will run under the Audi name from 2026. The transition keeps continuity on the driver side, with Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto staying on after racing for Sauber last season.

Project head Mattia Binotto said the incoming technical regulations offered the right entry point for the brand, allowing Audi to build its programme around a clean-sheet rule set.

Team principal Jonathan Wheatley described the car as the product of years of work across Audi’s facilities, while stressing that the unveiling marks only the beginning. He said the focus now is on building habits, systems, and a competitive mindset that improve with every race weekend.

Like the rest of the grid, Audi’s new car will not make a public debut straight away. Initial running is scheduled for closed tests next week at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where teams will begin early validation work ahead of the 2026 season.

Audi becomes the latest major manufacturer to commit fully to Formula One, joining the championship at a time when new engine rules and sustainability targets are reshaping the sport’s long-term direction.