Lando Norris claimed the first win of his world title defence with an impressive victory in the Miami Sprint in a one-two for much-improved McLaren.
Mercedes' title-leading Kimi Antonelli finished fourth on the road but was relegated to sixth immediately after the 19-lap contest by a five-second penalty for repeat track limits infringements.
Team-mate George Russell had finished directly behind his team-mate in fifth after losing out in an earlier battle over the place on track so took over fourth place in the final classification, trimming Antonelli's world championship lead to seven points in the process ahead of Sunday's full-length Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri held off Ferrari's Charles Leclerc for second in the second McLaren, with Russell eventually fourth and Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who won out after an early duel with Lewis Hamilton, fifth ahead of the demoted Antonelli.
But Norris was untouchable out front as he followed up becoming the first non-Mercedes driver to claim a pole position this season on Friday by ending the Silver Arrows' hitherto perfect Sprint/Grand Prix winning record in 2026 on Saturday.
The tone for the reigning champion's success was set at the start when he comfortably converted pole into the race lead while Antonelli continued his unwanted record of losing places at every race start this year amid a lack of grip as Piastri and Leclerc swept past the lead Mercedes.
Leclerc finished on Piastri's tail in third to continue Ferrari's record of finishing in that place in every Grand Prix and Sprint so far this season, although Hamilton was only seventh after his pace faded following an entertaining early duel with Verstappen.
The long-time rivals brushed wheels in the opening turns before Hamilton got ahead of the Red Bull later around the lap.
But Verstappen appeared to have the superior pace and, after an initial overtake back on lap eight was scuppered when he completed the move by running both wide off track at Turn 11 and had to give the place back, the Dutchman got cleanly ahead next time around and pulled away comfortably from the Ferrari thereafter.
Pierre Gasly took the final point on offer in the Sprint with eighth for Alpine after moving ahead of team-mate Franco Colapinto on the opening lap.
While McLaren will not be getting carried away by their impressive start to the Miami weekend, the introduction of a suite of upgrades onto the MCL40 for the first race back after the sport's enforced April break has so far brought the reigning two-time constructors' champions right back into play at the front of the field.
Norris, who had not finished higher than fourth in the three Grands Prix and one Sprint before the extended break, won the Sprint by 3.8 seconds from Piastri and has appeared in the groove around the Miami International Autodrome all weekend so far.
"Nice to be back on the top step! A good day for us," said the world champion, whose last win in either race format came at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix last November.
"It was hot out there and sweaty. I was pushing, trying to find that balance of pushing and staying relaxed to not make mistakes.
"A good start to the weekend but now I've got to do it all over again."
With only limited points on offer in a short-form Sprint, Norris remains 42 points behind Antonelli at the head of the Drivers' Championship, although that is two points closer to the Italian than he would have been had the Mercedes driver not fallen foul of track limits breaches.
Antonelli racked up four different offences of going off track during the 19-lap race, triggering an automatic five-second sanction.
It capped a frustrating Sprint for Antonelli, even if he was absolved of any blame for another troubled getaway in his car at the lights from the front row.
Antonelli told Your Site F1: "On my side for once, I did everything right with the procedures. We need to check what happened. The grip was very low, probably lower than we expected.
"After that, I was really frustrated and didn't even drive well. I did a lot of mistakes and got track limits, which is something I need to avoid.
"This weekend has been more difficult but it was expected with everyone bringing big upgrades. We just need to maximise the result and now focus on qualifying."
Saturday May 2
6.30pm: Ted's Sprint Notebook
8pm: Miami GP Qualifying build-up*
9pm: MIAMI GP QUALIFYING*
11pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook*
Sunday May 3
5.25pm: F2 Feature Race
7pm: Miami GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
9pm: THE MIAMI GRAND PRIX*
11pm: Miami GP reaction: Chequered Flag*
12am: Ted's Notebook*
*Also on Your Site Main Event
Formula 1 is in Miami for a Sprint weekend as the 2026 season resumes, watch live on Your Site F1 with Sunday's Grand Prix at 9pm.
