Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has come out swinging in defense of Kimi Antonelli, taking full responsibility for the young driver's disastrous start in the Miami Grand Prix sprint race. The F1 championship leader saw his race unravel on the opening lap, dropping from second to fourth and continuing a troubling trend that has haunted his 2026 campaign.

Antonelli's lap-one woes have become a recurring headache for the Mercedes camp. Across the first three grands prix and two sprints of the season, the Italian has now lost a staggering 20 positions at race starts. In Miami, he crossed the line in fourth but was later penalized five seconds for exceeding track limits, dropping him to sixth behind teammate George Russell and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

"We knew we were a little out of sync with our upgrades," Wolff told Sky Sports, referencing Mercedes' decision to hold off on major updates until the next round in Montreal. "But we were hoping to hold on in terms of lap times. Obviously, if you have such a bad getaway—which wasn't at all Kimi's fault, it was a glitch on our side—it's difficult."

The Miami sprint marked the first time Mercedes has failed to win a race this season, as McLaren and Ferrari—both armed with significant upgrades—locked out the podium. Lando Norris took the win in a dominant McLaren 1-2 finish, while Charles Leclerc completed the top three for Ferrari.

Antonelli had worked tirelessly during the April break to address his start-line struggles, which had threatened to overshadow an otherwise stellar start to 2026 that included victories in China and Japan. "We've been doing work over the break, and for once I did everything right with the procedures," Antonelli explained. "So we need to check what happened. The grip was very low, probably lower than we expected. After that, I was really frustrated—I didn't even drive well, I made a lot of mistakes."

The 19-year-old acknowledged his track limits penalty as something to avoid but remained focused on the bigger picture. "This weekend has been more difficult, but it was expected with everyone bringing big upgrades. We've just got to try to maximize the result and focus on qualifying."

Despite the setback, Antonelli still holds a seven-point lead over Russell in the championship standings, with Leclerc trailing by 20 points. As the F1 circus heads to Montreal, all eyes will be on whether Mercedes can bounce back and whether Antonelli can finally shake his first-lap demons.