Kimi Antonelli climbed out of his Mercedes at the Hard Rock Stadium, stood on the nose of the car and his legs were shaking. He had just become the first driver in Formula 1 history to convert three consecutive pole positions into three consecutive race wins, and his body had very nearly given out in the process.
With 20 laps remaining and Lando Norris less than two seconds behind him, Antonelli later admitted he was screaming internally for it to be over. He kept going. Toto Wolff called it his best win. Looking at what he had to manage across 57 laps of Miami’s semi-permanent street circuit, it is hard to argue.
Dianne Bortoletto and Ciara Gillan from Formula Live Pulse break down the full race in this week’s Away We Go Podcast, recorded straight after Sunday’s race. Ciara, who co-hosts the Formula Live Pulse prediction game and covers the sport with access to live telemetry and team radio, brought her usual combination of sharp tactical analysis and honest emotional investment in the result, particularly where Ferrari were concerned.
The race result put Lando Norris second and Oscar Piastri third, with George Russell fourth and Max Verstappen fifth after recovering from a full 360-degree spin on lap one. Verstappen made no contact with the wall or any other car, gathered the Red Bull and immediately began charging. Both Di and Ciara agree he was the most impressive driver on track for much of the afternoon, and that a mistimed strategy call onto the harder compound likely cost him a podium finish, possibly more.
Ferrari arrived in Miami with 11 reported upgrades and left with Charles Leclerc in eighth and Lewis Hamilton in sixth, numbers that look more like a midfield team than a championship contender. Leclerc’s weekend ended in the most painful way possible: a spin on the final lap after pushing too hard, a clipped wall, a limped finish line crossing, and then a 20-second penalty handed down hours after the race for leaving the track and driving a dangerous car. The penalty dropped him to eighth. Di and Ciara both take issue with it, partly on the merits of the charge and partly because the delay in issuing it reflects a stewarding process that cannot keep pace with a live sport.
The Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly incident drew a different kind of scrutiny. Lawson suffered a technical failure and collected Gasly, sending him airborne and into the barrier. The halo did exactly what it was designed to do. Lawson received no penalty, with the stewards attributing it to a mechanical issue. Ciara notes the contrast with the Leclerc decision without suggesting either was necessarily wrong, just that the inconsistency is hard to explain.
Isack Hadjar retired after going over a kerb and breaking his suspension, and his reaction, captured live and held on by the broadcast cameras for what felt like an uncomfortably long time, became a talking point of its own. Martin Brundle offered the generous read: that this is how Hadjar processes mistakes and that the emotion is turned inward, not outward.
The sprint results saw Norris take pole and the win, with Piastri second and Leclerc third. George Russell was fourth again, continuing a weekend that never found its footing at a circuit he has publicly said does not suit him.
Williams had a quietly positive race with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon both scoring points, ninth and tenth respectively. Alpine continued its strong 2026 showing with Franco Colapinto finishing seventh in the feature race after Leclerc’s penalty. The conversation around Colapinto and the circumstances of Jack Doohan’s departure from the team came up, as it does most weeks, along with Di’s view on the behaviour of a section of his fanbase and Ciara’s more measured defence of the driver himself.
Di also shines a light on Magdalia, a Melbourne singer-songwriter who wrote a Formula 1-inspired track released ahead of the Australian Grand Prix. Worth a listen at officialmagdalia.com.
The predict the podium leaderboard is still tight. If you haven’t played yet, you can join at awaywegopodcast.com/play-along. Canada is next, with two guest episodes landing in the gap.