One stat to highlight Kimi Antonelli’s hot start to the 2026 F1 season
Kimi Antonelli’s hot start to the 2026 F1 season has him both in elite company, and in a class by himself
May 3, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli (12) reacts after winning the Crypto. com Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Kimi Antonelli is off to a scorching start to the 2026 Formula 1 season, of that there is no doubt.
The young Mercedes driver stands atop the Drivers’ Championship standings with 100 points, 20 points clear of teammate George Russell and another 41 points ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who sits in third with 59 points. In just his second season, Antonelli began the year with a P2 at the Australian Grand Prix, and followed that with his first three Grand Prix victories. After taking the Chinese Grand Prix, Antonelli notched wins in both the Japanese Grand Prix as well as the Miami Grand Prix last weekend.
With those three wins, Antonelli not only joined some elite company, but he made a little Formula 1 history of his own. In addition to those three consecutive wins — the first three of his career — Antonelli was on pole position for each of those, with his pole for the Chinese Grand Prix the first Grand Prix pole of his young career. As pointed out by none other than Will Buxton , who in addition to his duties broadcasting IndyCar with FOX Sports maintains an eye on F1 through the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive , that put Antonelli in elite company.
As Buxton noted, the first drivers in F1 history to take their first three poles consecutively? Antonelli, Ayrton Senna, and Michael Schumacher. The drivers in F1 history to take their first three wins in consecutive fashion?