Kimi Antonelli Urges Mercedes to 'Keep Raising the Bar' After McLaren's Miami Surge

Kimi Antonelli has urged Mercedes to maintain their relentless development push after McLaren's significant upgrade package at the Miami Grand Prix threatened to upset the front-running order. The 19-year-old scored his third consecutive pole and victory, but saw McLaren take sprint pole and a 1-2 in the sprint race, with Lando Norris pushing him hard in the grand prix.

Why it matters:

Mercedes has started 2026 with three straight wins, but McLaren's rapid progress signals that the championship lead is far from secure. Antonelli's call for continuous improvement underscores the razor-thin margins at the top, where a single upgrade cycle can flip the competitive order.

The details:

• McLaren introduced a major upgrade package in Miami that delivered immediate results: Norris took sprint pole and the team scored a 1-2 in the sprint, with Oscar Piastri second.
• In the grand prix, Norris challenged Antonelli all the way, preventing Mercedes from running away with the race.
• Antonelli acknowledged the shift: "The step they made was very big… we saw how much it flipped compared to the first three races."
• The Mercedes driver also matched historic milestones: first driver to convert his first three poles into victories, and third driver (after Senna and Schumacher) to claim three consecutive poles from career debut. He also achieved three consecutive wins from the start, joining Hill and Häkkinen.

What's next:

Mercedes is bringing more comprehensive upgrades to the next round in Montreal. Antonelli remains focused: "We just got to stay on top of the game." With McLaren closing the gap, the development race is now the defining battle of the 2026 season.