Ferrari falls short in Miami GP 2026 as rivals take control: Charles Leclerc P6, Lewis Hamilton P7

Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), George Russell (Mercedes W17), 2026 F1

Miami GP 2026 results: Andrea Kimi Antonelli heads into the race aiming for his third career victory after securing pole position on Saturday, but he faces a serious challenge from Max Verstappen, who arrives with a revised and finally competitive RB22. Ferrari, led by Charles Leclerc, looks to insert itself into the fight at the front, while George Russell, starting further back but highly motivated, is determined to recover positions. The two McLarens also appear in strong form, as highlighted by their dominant one-two finish in the Sprint race.

Before diving into the race summary, it is worth noting the conditions under which the Miami Grand Prix unfolded, as anticipated in our strategic preview. At the start, the air temperature stood at 26°C, with track temperature at 35°C. Humidity was high at 73%, while a light wind of 0.5 m/s blew from the west. For this event, Pirelli supplied the C3 Hard, C4 Medium, and C5 Soft compounds.

Miami GP 2026 race summary

Looking at tyre choices for the opening stint of the 57-lap race, only Isack Hadjar opted for the hard compound, while the rest of the field started on medium tyres.

As the lights went out, chaos erupted immediately. Charles Leclerc swept around the outside of Antonelli, who once again struggled off the line. Max Verstappen briefly found himself ahead but spun on corner exit, dropping down to P9. Leclerc emerged in the lead with Antonelli close behind, while Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri slotted into third and fourth ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who became engaged in an early battle with Franco Colapinto.

By lap 3, Verstappen overtook Liam Lawson, who appeared to yield rather easily in what looked like a team-influenced move. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s car showed signs of floor damage following contact with Colapinto’s Alpine, resulting in a clear loss of downforce and making his race significantly more difficult. Russell, on the other hand, passed Piastri to move into P4.

On lap 5, Antonelli made a clean move past Leclerc, but the Ferrari driver responded immediately, reclaiming the position as the Italian managed his energy deployment.

Lap 6 saw drama continue as Hadjar crashed his RB22 into the wall. Shortly after, Pierre Gasly also hit the barriers at Turn 17 following contact with Lawson, prompting a Safety Car. Just before the neutralization, Norris had already overtaken Antonelli. Verstappen took advantage of the Safety Car to pit for hard tyres, dropping to P16.

The race resumed on lap 11, with Leclerc maintaining control at the restart. Behind him, Piastri passed Russell and nearly lost position to Hamilton. On lap 13, Norris overtook Leclerc, while Antonelli also attempted a move, briefly succeeding before being repassed.

Antonelli finally secured P2 on lap 14 and set his sights on Norris. Leclerc then had to defend from a charging Piastri.

Meanwhile, Verstappen was noted for crossing the white line at pit exit, with a post-race investigation announced. By lap 18, he had climbed back to P8. At the same time, Piastri overtook Leclerc, only for the Ferrari driver to respond once again.

Weather became a growing concern, with multiple team radios warning of incoming rain. Despite this, Russell pitted early for hard tyres, rejoining in P12. Leclerc followed on lap 22 but lost out to Russell due to a powerful undercut. By lap 24, Russell was already up to P9, with Leclerc just behind.

At the front, Norris and Antonelli began to pull away, building a two-second gap between themselves and an eight-second cushion over Piastri, who led Hamilton by four seconds. Verstappen ran fifth ahead of an impressive Colapinto, followed by Carlos Sainz, Russell, Leclerc, and Alex Albon.

On lap 26, Russell overtook Sainz for P7 as light rain began to fall, making the track slippery. Antonelli pitted on lap 27, with Verstappen overtaking Hamilton shortly after. Norris responded by pitting on lap 28 but failed to cover Antonelli, who emerged ahead.

After another round of stops, Piastri briefly led ahead of Verstappen, who then passed the McLaren on lap 30 to take control of the race, delivering an outstanding performance.

Further back, Leclerc overtook Russell for P5 on lap 31. By lap 33, the order was Antonelli, Norris, Verstappen, Leclerc, Russell, Piastri, Hamilton, Colapinto, Sainz, and Albon.

Russell struggled for pace and was overtaken by Piastri on lap 36 after a brief but unsuccessful defense.

At the front, Norris closed in on Antonelli, setting up a battle for the lead. Verstappen, on worn hard tyres, held P3 but began to lose time to Leclerc, who steadily reduced the gap.

With 17 laps to go, Piastri was within four seconds of Leclerc, who himself was closing in on Verstappen. By lap 45, the fight between Leclerc and Verstappen intensified, with Piastri also approaching rapidly.

Leclerc eventually passed Verstappen on lap 47, although the Dutchman fought back immediately. However, the Ferrari driver’s pace proved stronger, forcing Verstappen to concede. Shortly after, Verstappen also lost position to Piastri.

Russell then joined the battle, closing to within one second of Verstappen by lap 54. On lap 55, slight contact between the two resulted in front wing damage for Russell, but he still managed to complete the overtake.

On the final lap, Piastri overtook Leclerc, whose Ferrari was suffering from rear wing damage. Leclerc spun but managed to continue, eventually finishing in P6.

At the front, Antonelli secured his third consecutive victory, strengthening his position in the championship. He finished ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.