Kimi Antonelli took the flag in Miami to win his third straight Grand Prix, extend his championship lead, and achieve something no driver in Formula 1’s 76-year history had done before. The record had eluded every one of the 781 drivers who have taken to the grid, including some of the greatest the sport has seen.

Saturday saw the Italian teenager equal Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher by securing his third straight pole. Sunday proved he could achieve a level of perfection that both icons fell short of, cementing a unique place in the sport’s history.

Senna got his first three poles in consecutive races in 1985, topping qualification at Portugal, San Marino, and Monaco. He only won in Monaco, and did not finish in Portugal and San Marino. The Brazilian did get classified as a finisher in San Marino, as he had completed 90% of the race before his fuel ran out. Schumacher achieved the feat in 1994 with poles in Monaco, Spain, and Canada. While he took the flag in Monaco and Canada, the German finished 24.166 seconds behind Hill at the Circuit de Catalunya. Neither man managed a fourth straight pole.

Senna missed out in 1985 by just +0.289 seconds to Elio de Angelis. Nine years later, Schumacher missed out, qualifying +0.425 behind Damon Hill at Magny-Cours.

Unlike the legends before him, Antonelli converted all three poles into victories, crossing the line to complete a perfect trifecta as he crossed the line in a time of 1:33:19.271 ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

The win saw Antonelli become the first Mercedes driver since Lewis Hamilton to win three straight Grand Prix. The British driver’s wins came towards the end of the 2021 season in Brazil, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. 

Kimi Antonelli overcame a bad start in his Miami GP win

Miami was not a lights-to-flag race or one similar to Antonelli’s maiden win in Shanghai. It was similar to the win in Suzuka, as the teenager dropped the lead at the start. He locked up early in the race and lost the lead to Charles Leclerc. 

Antonelli passed Charles Leclerc on the final corners of lap 4 to regain the lead, before losing it a lap later. He fell to third behind Lando Norris on the same lap. 23 laps later, he regained and held the lead until the checkered flag to make history. In doing so, he also became the first Italian since Alberto Ascari to win three straight Grand Prix. 

After the win, Antonelli remained grounded and opted to focus on aspects he needed to improve.

He said, “The start was not as bad as yesterday – it was a little bit better! I didn’t expect Charles to brake that early, so to avoid him I locked up. I was a bit lucky with what happened [with Verstappen] in Turn 2. I did a little mistake with the energy management, trying to overtake Charles, then I lost a place to Lando, but then the pace was strong and I was able to stay close. Then the team did a great strategy; we did a massive undercut, and we managed to bring it home.”

The Italian already holds the record for most F1 wins as a teenager, having clinched it in Japan last month to overtake Verstappen. Now, with eight races left before Antonelli turns 20, he will look to add to his three F1 wins as a teenager.

Antonelli’s third straight win also brought an end to an unwanted streak at the venue. In four previous Miami GP editions, no driver had won the race from the front row. This ended on May 3, 2026.  

Now, an extremely confident Antonelli will head into the three-week break ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.

Antonelli can surpass four former world champions in Canada

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve gives Antonelli the chance to eclipse Senna and Schumacher by securing a fourth straight pole. A victory would also move him past the three-race winning streaks of both Damon Hill and Mika Hakkinen

Damon Hill won three straight in his second F1 season (Hungary, Belgium, and Italy) before finishing third in Portugal despite starting from pole. Hakkinen’s run was more striking for how close it came to four. 

After finally winning his first race in the 1997 season finale at Jerez, he won the opening two races of 1998. In Argentina, he led for 14 laps through the pit stop window before finishing second.

For a driver rewriting record books, Kimi Antonelli seems to have little interest in the history he’s making. All eyes will be on Montreal to see if the rookie phenom can continue his assault on the record books.