Mercedes "will be redoubling their efforts" to extend their winning streak in Canada

Mercedes left the Miami Grand Prix with another commanding result, as Andrea Kimi Antonelli secured his third consecutive Formula 1 victory and George Russell battled through a chaotic afternoon to finish fourth.

Despite arriving in Florida expecting a tougher challenge due to rivals’ major upgrade packages, the team executed a sharp strategic race that kept them ahead in both the Grand Prix and the early‑season development battle.

Antonelli’s win was hard‑earned. A lock‑up into Turn 1 cost him the lead at the start, and the opening laps became a fierce three‑way fight between the Italian, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.

Once Norris moved ahead, Mercedes made the decisive call: they brought Antonelli in early to attempt the undercut. The strategy worked flawlessly, allowing him to emerge in position to retake the lead and control the race from there.

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes‑Benz Motorsport, praised both the execution and the determination shown by the young race winner.

“That was a fascinating and exciting race in Miami today. We knew coming into this weekend that our competitors were bringing large upgrade packages.

"We therefore knew we were likely to be a little on the back foot and face a real fight if we wanted to be in with a chance of winning. It wasn’t easy for us at all this weekend, but we made some great strategic decisions, and that helped Kimi take the victory.”

Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin echoed that sentiment, highlighting the team’s recovery after a difficult start to the weekend.

“Congratulations to Kimi on his third win of the season and the whole team on our fourth to start this campaign. After a tough Friday, everyone has rallied together to bounce back, and it is testament to those efforts that we come away from Miami with another P1 trophy.

"It was certainly a hard-fought win; strategically, the team made the right decisions and with some swift work in the pit lane, that helped Kimi get ahead of Norris and George ahead of Leclerc. Kimi showed good pace to keep the McLaren at bay and take a well-deserved win.”

George Russell’s race was far more turbulent. Starting deeper in the pack, he relied on an early pit stop to trigger an undercut that initially vaulted him ahead of Leclerc. Although he later lost the position, Russell chased the Ferrari down in the closing laps.

The final phase was messy: he made contact with Max Verstappen while battling for position, then clipped Leclerc as both fought on worn tyres, crossing the line with sparks flying from a damaged front‑wing endplate.

Wolff acknowledged Russell’s struggles but praised his determination: “It was a tougher race on George’s side of the garage. He’s not a big fan of this circuit and hasn’t been as happy as Kimi in the car this weekend.

"He’s a real fighter though and that showed as he still managed to get good points by coming home in P4. I am sure he will bounce back strongly next time out in Canada.”

Shovlin added that the team will work to understand why Russell lacked confidence in the car: “For George, whilst he has said that he underperformed this weekend, we will work hard in the coming days to understand why we weren’t able to get his car into a better window for him. We know that George has much more pace than he was able to show here in Miami and he will come back stronger in Canada.”

Both Wolff and Shovlin stressed that the 2026 season is shaping up to be a fierce development race, with multiple teams capable of challenging for wins. Mercedes believe they must continue pushing aggressively to stay ahead.

Wolff made the stakes clear: “We have seen this weekend that the season will be a true development race. We need to work hard as a team to continue to progress, not stand still, and bring performance to the track.

"We’ve had a solid start to the year but that can change very quickly. We won’t be easing up, and we’re excited for the challenge ahead.”

Shovlin echoed the urgency, noting how much performance rivals brought to Miami. “Coming into this weekend, we knew that our competitors would close the gap to us, but it has been eye-opening to see just how much performance they were able to bring.

"We now have two weeks before we head to Canada, and we will be redoubling our efforts to head there with a chance of making it five wins in-a-row to start 2026.”