Lando Norris believes McLaren missed out on a first Grand Prix win in 2026 by losing to Kimi Antonelli.
Norris had a nearly two-second lead over Antonelli at Sunday’s only pit stop stage of the race, but Mercedes pitted its drivers first, allowing him to lap on fresher tires than Norris.
When Norris pitted, he moved just ahead of Antonelli, but the Italian teenager had more momentum and took the net lead until turn four. If he maintains this position, he will complete a hat-trick of wins and extend his lead in the drivers’ championship to 20 points over George Russell.
Norris finished three seconds behind Antonelli and said: “Why didn’t I win? I should have given the players the win.”
He added after the race: “We were just undercut. There’s no other excuse. We were undercut, we should have boxed first. You did a good job. Hats off to Merc and to you. They ran a good race.”
“It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get the win here in Miami. I think we had a chance to win today, but I wasn’t on pace to pass him in the end so I’ll hold on. But overall it’s been a positive weekend.”
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Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are looking back on their positive performance in Miami, where they were both able to reach the podium.
McLaren brought a significant upgrade package to Miami compared to Mercedes, and Norris showed speed from the off, turning sprint pole into victory.
He only qualified fourth for Sunday’s race, but passed Charles Leclerc and Antonelli in the first half of the race to take the lead.
Norris admits that Antonelli might have had the pace to overtake him even if McLaren had the right strategy, but wants to understand why the team did not act more aggressively.
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Oscar Piastri, Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris share hilarious reactions after watching Miami Grand Prix highlight reel
“I think I have to be honest and say I should have boxed sooner. I shouldn’t have waited,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“He was pretty fast at that point in the race. I told the team that my pace wasn’t good enough compared to him at that point, but we didn’t seem to do much about it.”
“We need to look at things. We could have fought for the win more. I don’t know if his pace was good, but today his pace was better than ours. Maybe he could have still passed me, but we could have done more to protect the win.”
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Kimi Antonelli reflects on the chaotic Miami Grand Prix. The Italian lost the lead in the opening laps but then regained it and won his third race of the season.
“We had a 100 percent chance to win,” team principal Andrea Stella said.
“We were being chased by cars that were a little faster than us and at the same time we were also monitoring the weather, but Kimi’s out lap when he pitted was really great. We couldn’t match the performance on the in-lap and probably lost a little bit of time on the run.”
“We could have done better, but I’m very happy. We took all the positives from this weekend. We’re there. We have some new things coming up for the next race, so it’s going to be a very exciting time.”
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At the Miami Grand Prix Sprint, Lando Norris crossed the finish line and won, with Oscar Piastri in second place.
Stella: We must never forget where we come from
The result meant McLaren dropped further to Mercedes in the constructors’ championship, with Oscar Piastri third and George Russell fourth, leaving the Silver Arrows 68 points ahead of Ferrari and 86 points ahead of McLaren.
McLaren lost a lot of points in China as neither driver could even start the race, but they became more competitive in the third race in Japan and looked like they had the best car alongside Mercedes in Miami.
“We don’t have to forget where we came from. We came from a relatively difficult start to the season and we reacted to that,” Stella said.
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Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri discuss what happened after both McLarens failed to start the Chinese Grand Prix due to electrical issues
“We’ve always said internally that we know what we’re capable of, regardless of where we start, so I think we’ve proven that. I really appreciate the team’s hard work that led us to deliver all the upgrades to different areas of the car that make us more competitive.”
“I think Mercedes still has a little bit of an advantage over us, but it’s good to be there and the championship is very long.”
F1 then heads to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix and another sprint weekend. Watch Sky Sports F1 live from 22nd to 24th May. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
