Lando Norris eased to victory in the Miami Grand Prix sprint to claim his first win of the season.
The world champion started from pole and was never under threat as he took the chequered flag almost four seconds ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who started second, again paid the price for a poor start to cross the line in fourth, before he was hit by a five-second penalty for track limits to finish sixth.
The Italian’s early lead in the standings was therefore cut to seven points by finishing two places behind Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
Norris is now 42 points adrift of leader Antonelli, having not started the Chinese Grand Prix due to a mechanical issue.
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton enjoyed a ding-dong battle, with the Dutchman coming out on top as they finished sixth and seventh, Verstappen promoted one place by Antonelli’s penalty.
“It was a good race, nice to be back on the top step, even if it is just a sprint,” Norris said.
“Massive job from the team, bringing the upgrades. Happy to get it done for the team, it was hot out there, it was sweaty.
“Perfect way to start the weekend. Probably the first weekend all year that I have not had any dramas, touch wood.”
Mercedes had won every race this season, both sprint and full, but McLaren arrived in Miami with an upgraded package which has brought them back into the fight.
Norris broke Mercedes’ grip on qualifying in 2026 by landing sprint pole on Friday evening as McLaren took a big step forward at the track where the 26-year-old landed his first F1 win in 2024.
Antonelli and Russell have struggled with their starts so far this season but hoped small tweaks had improved Mercedes’ getaways.
But that did not prove the case for the Italian who was again sluggish as the lights went out and Piastri and Leclerc jumped ahead of him.
Antonelli fended off Russell as Hamilton and Verstappen banged wheels through the opening corners.
Hamilton got past the Red Bull before the opening lap had ended to claim sixth, with Verstappen losing two places to run seventh.
There was little further action for the first seven laps but it burst into life as Russell dived past Antonelli into the final corner and the title protagonists continued their fight across the rest of the lap.
The Italian won the battle to reclaim fourth and Hamilton and Verstappen also resumed their tussle.
Verstappen got past the seven-time champion into turn 11 as both cars ran off the track, with Red Bull telling him to give the place back but the Dutchman got the job done cleanly on lap 10 to take sixth.
Out front, Norris was untroubled as he maintained a healthy margin to Piastri – who fended off late pressure from Leclerc from secure a McLaren one-two.
Leclerc was critical of 19-year-old Antonelli on the radio, saying the Italian is “bad wheel-to-wheel”.
The Monegasque admitted post-race his comments were “harsh” but added: “We have had our moments with Kimi in the past and I hope this calms down a bit.
“He is the only Italian driver on the grid, against Ferrari, and I really like Kimi. Sometimes it is too close for comfort and not really needed.”
