Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli dropped from fourth to sixth in the Miami Grand Prix sprint race following a five-second track limits penalty. A botched start saw him fall from second to fourth, drawing criticism from Jenson Button and Charles Leclerc. Antonelli retains a seven-point championship lead over teammate George Russell.
In Saturday's 19-lap sprint race at the Miami Grand Prix, Lando Norris claimed victory for McLaren in a 1-2 finish with Oscar Piastri, while Charles Leclerc took third for Ferrari. Kimi Antonelli, starting second, suffered wheelspin at the launch, dropping to fourth behind Piastri and Leclerc. He crossed the line in fourth but received a five-second penalty for repeated track limits violations, demoting him to sixth and handing fourth to George Russell and fifth to Max Verstappen. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff attributed the poor start to a team glitch, not Antonelli's error. Wolff told Sky Sports, “It was a glitch on our side—it's difficult.” Antonelli, who worked on starts during the April break, said, “On my side for once I did everything right with the procedures, so we need to check what happened. The grip was very low... I got track limits which is something that I need to avoid.” 2009 F1 champion Jenson Button called the penalty a “silly mistake” on Sky Sports F1, noting it cost Antonelli three points to his title rival Russell. “It was an easy fourth position for him, and he’s just lost three points to his biggest title rival,” Button said. Charles Leclerc, battling Antonelli early, criticized his wheel-to-wheel racing as “so bad,” saying, “He moved under braking, it's unbelievable. We're going to crash.” Leclerc later reflected, “I was being a bit harsh maybe, with the adrenaline... I hope this calms down a little bit going ahead.” Antonelli entered Miami leading the drivers' championship after wins in China and Japan, arriving with a nine-point edge over Russell. The sprint outcome narrowed that to seven points, with Leclerc third, 20 points behind. Mercedes struggled without major updates, unlike rivals McLaren and Ferrari.
