Kimi Antonelli’s Record-Breaking Start to the 2026 F1 Season: Three Wins, Three Poles in a Row

Miami Gardens, FL, USA — May 3, 2026: Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli (12) celebrates his victory at the Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix at the Miami International Autodrome. Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Antonelli Leads the 2026 F1 Drivers’ Championship

Kimi Antonelli is off to a historic start in the 2026 Formula 1 season. The 18-year-old Mercedes driver tops the Drivers’ Championship standings with 100 points, a 20-point lead over teammate George Russell and 41 points ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who sits in third with 59 points.

Antonelli’s season began with a strong P2 finish at the Australian Grand Prix, followed by his first three Grand Prix victories. After claiming the Chinese Grand Prix, he secured wins at the Japanese Grand Prix and the Miami Grand Prix last weekend.

Making F1 History with Three Consecutive Wins and Poles

Antonelli’s three consecutive wins and poles have placed him in elite company. According to Will Buxton, F1 broadcaster and analyst for FOX Sports and Netflix’s Drive to Survive, this feat is unprecedented in modern F1 history.

Buxton noted that the only drivers in F1 history to achieve their first three consecutive poles were Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Meanwhile, the drivers to win their first three races consecutively include Damon Hill, Mika Häkkinen, and Antonelli.

Every driver on those lists has gone on to win at least one F1 Drivers’ Championship. Senna won titles in 1988, 1990, and 1991; Hill in 1996; Häkkinen in 1998 and 1999; and Schumacher holds a record seven titles, tied with Lewis Hamilton.

However, Antonelli stands apart for converting his first three pole positions into three consecutive wins—a feat Buxton described as “unprecedented in Formula 1 history.”

Antonelli’s Unmatched Record

The list of drivers who have consecutively won their first three F1 races from their first three pole positions contains just one name: Kimi Antonelli.

Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff Admits the Run Was Unexpected

Speaking after Antonelli’s win in Miami, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admitted that even he did not anticipate such a dominant start to the season.

“Yes, absolutely. I often said it last year: bringing an eighteen-year-old into the team would have given us moments of celebration and others where we wanted to tear our hair out over his mistakes,” Wolff said.

“But it was a necessary process to get him to know the team. Helping him is the fact that this is a new generation of cars and that all the drivers are still learning. I expected a good start, but I have to admit: three wins in a row was not something we had expected.”

Antonelli’s historic start has left the F1 world in awe, proving that the next generation of talent is already rewriting the sport’s record books.