Antonelli Wins US Grand Prix as Title Party Waits for Mexico

Kimi Antonelli did everything he could at the United States Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver converted pole position into a commanding victory at Circuit of the Americas on 25 October, crossing the line 13.078 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Max Verstappen third for Red Bull. It was Antonelli’s ninth Grand Prix win of 2026. The only thing missing was the championship itself, because George Russell recovered to eighth place and kept the title fight mathematically open.

Formula 1 had set out the clinch scenario before the race: Antonelli needed to win, with Russell ninth or lower and Lewis Hamilton outside the top four. Antonelli held up his part. Russell, who served a five-second penalty, still finished eighth, and Hamilton came through to fourth. The celebration was therefore postponed, but the gap at the top grew again.

How the race unfolded

Antonelli made a strong launch from pole on medium tyres, the same choice as Mercedes team-mate Russell and both McLarens. Most of the field, including the Red Bulls, started on softs. Leclerc jumped Verstappen for second at the start and Hamilton went side by side before settling for fourth, but Verstappen reclaimed second before the end of the opening lap. A brief virtual safety car followed to clear debris, and Antonelli led by around two seconds once racing resumed.

Mercedes then ran a one-stop strategy. Silverstone’s report said Antonelli made his only stop on lap 24, switching from mediums to hards. Ferrari’s two-stop approach with Hamilton and Leclerc, and Piastri’s similar plan, never threatened the leader. Antonelli survived a lock-up at Turn 12 when Carlos Sainz was slow to move aside while being lapped, and a late virtual safety car for Valtteri Bottas’s stopped Cadillac had little effect on his advantage.

• 1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 1:35:16.650
• 2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – +13.078s
• 3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – +17.485s
• 4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – +18.515s
• 5. Lando Norris (McLaren) – +30.521s
• 6. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) – +34.373s
• 7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – +52.674s
• 8. George Russell (Mercedes) – +54.303s
• 9. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – +79.183s
• 10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – +87.516s

Russell’s penalty and the fight behind

Russell’s afternoon was shaped by the opening lap. Defending against Oscar Piastri, he ran off track at Turn 12 and the stewards handed him a five-second time penalty for banging wheels with the McLaren. He was unrepentant. “I was on the inside, he was overtaking on the outside. That’s his risk,” Russell said in comments reported by Formula 1. He served the penalty at his lap 22 stop and recovered to eighth, which was exactly enough to deny his team-mate the title on the day.

Further up, Lando Norris tried a long first stint and even ran second for a time, but the one-stop plan left him struggling on worn hard tyres. Verstappen passed him on lap 47, Leclerc followed, and Hamilton then passed Norris on lap 51 to take fourth. Isack Hadjar finished sixth for Red Bull after being asked to let Verstappen through earlier in the race.

Haas had a messy afternoon. Oliver Bearman made contact with Pierre Gasly, collected a 10-second penalty, and retired with damage after 24 laps. His radio reaction, “are you kidding me?”, summed up the mood. Bottas and Franco Colapinto also failed to finish. Arvid Lindblad recovered from a grid penalty to 12th, one place outside the points.

The championship picture after Austin

Antonelli went into the weekend with a 102-point lead over Russell. Adding 25 points against Russell’s four takes that margin to 123. The standings published by F1-Fansite after the race show Antonelli on 365 points, Russell on 242 and Hamilton one point further back on 241. Mercedes lead the constructors’ table on 607 points from Ferrari on 474 and Red Bull on 355.

• Antonelli: 365 points, nine Grand Prix wins in 2026.
• Russell: 242 points after finishing eighth in Austin.
• Hamilton: 241 points, one behind Russell in the fight for second.
• Five rounds remain, starting with Mexico City from 30 October to 1 November.

Antonelli was measured afterwards. “It was the result we needed,” he said. The win also answered Red Bull’s October revival. Verstappen had won in Sepang and Singapore earlier in the month, and Mercedes needed a response in Texas. It got one.

Analysis: a champion in waiting

What stood out in Austin was not raw speed alone but control. Antonelli took pole in gusty conditions on Saturday, managed the start, ran a longer first stint than most of his rivals and did not panic when Ferrari tried an alternative strategy. That is the profile of a driver who understands the championship situation and races accordingly.

For Russell, eighth place keeps the arithmetic alive but little else. A 123-point deficit with five Grands Prix left is effectively a hope that his team-mate stops scoring altogether. The more realistic fight now is for second place, where Russell and Hamilton are separated by a single point and where Leclerc and Verstappen are also building late-season momentum.

The constructors’ picture also tilted further towards Brackley. Antonelli’s win and Russell’s four points added 29 to Mercedes’ total, while Ferrari scored 30 through Leclerc and Hamilton but remains well over 100 points behind. Red Bull collected 23 from Verstappen and Hadjar. With five rounds left, Mercedes’ lead is large enough that the teams’ title looks like a matter of when rather than if.

Strategy was the other lesson from Austin. Mercedes and McLaren both chose mediums for the start, but only Mercedes made the one-stop plan work. Norris’s attempt to run long on the hard tyre left him exposed in the final stint, while Ferrari’s two-stop approach produced pace without the track position to use it. Antonelli’s team found the balance between those extremes, and that made the difference between a narrow win and a comfortable one.

For viewers in Malaysia, the Austin race started at 3pm local time, which meant a 4am Monday start in Malaysia. Mexico City offers the next opportunity for Antonelli to complete the job, and on this evidence he will arrive there as the clear favourite to become Formula 1’s youngest world champion.