FIA finalises Miami GP results, upholds Antonelli's victory after post‑race penalties

Formula 1 had one of those messy Sundays in Miami where the flag fell, the order looked settled, and then the paperwork kept moving. The big thing that changed after the race wasn’t the winner — Kimi Antonelli still got that. It was everything behind him. Once the FIA published the final classification, Antonelli’s victory stood, Charles Leclerc was officially dumped to eighth by a 20-second penalty, and Max Verstappen also lost time after a pit-exit infringement. (fia.com) ### What actually got finalized? The FIA’s final race classification for the 2026 Miami Grand Prix confirmed Antonelli first, Lando Norris second, Oscar Piastri third, George Russell fourth, Franco Colapinto fifth, Lewis Hamilton sixth, Max Verstappen seventh, and Leclerc eighth. That order mattered because the chequered flag sequence was not the same as the final result once the stewards finished their post-race reviews. (fia.com) ### Why was Antonelli’s win never really in danger? Because none of the investigations touched him. Antonelli had already taken his third straight victory on the road, and the later rulings only changed the positions behind. Mercedes therefore got the clean version of a chaotic race — a win that stayed a win — while rivals lost places after the fact. (fia.com)ctory-of-2026-183809644.html)) ### What did Leclerc do wrong? Leclerc’s race came apart on the final lap. After a spin and contact with the wall, he kept going with damage and was investigated for several possible offences. The penalty that stuck was for leaving the track multiple times without a justifiable reason. The stewards issued a drive-through, but because the race had already ended, that automatically converted into 20 seconds added to his time. (formula1.com) ### Why is that such a huge drop? Because 20 seconds in modern F1 is massive. Leclerc had been classified fourth on the road, but the added time dropped him behind Russell, Colapinto, Hamilton, and Verstappen, all the way to eighth. It’s the kind of penalty that doesn’t just nick a few points — it rewrites the whole shape of the result. (formula1.com) ### What happened with Verstappen? Verstappen was also penalized, though on a much smaller scale. He received 5 seconds for crossing the white line at pit exit. That was enough to move him down the final order, but it didn’t create the same shock as Leclerc’s demotion because the sanction was narrower and the time loss was much smaller. (fia.com)uffle? Russell moved up to fourth in the final classification. Colapinto was bumped to fifth, which stood as his best F1 finish, and Hamilton gained sixth. Basically, Ferrari’s collapse became everyone else’s opportunity. In a race decided partly in the stewarding room, clean finishing laps suddenly counted for a lot. (fia.com)atter for the championship? Antonelli left Miami with 100 points and a 20-point lead over Russell in the drivers’ standings, while Mercedes reached 180 in the constructors’ table. Ferrari, by contrast, lost a much bigger haul than it expected after showing promising pace earlier in the weekend. So the final classification didn’t just tidy up the record — it widened the gap between a team in control and one still wasting strong positions. (formula1.com) ### Bottom line? Miami ended with Antonelli looking even stronger than he did at the flag. He won cleanly, Mercedes banked the points, and the FIA’s final ruling turned the real drama into Ferrari’s self-inflicted slide. (fia.com)