Kimi Antonelli won the United States Grand Prix in Austin on Sunday, converting pole position into a ninth victory of the season and moving to within a single result of the world championship.
The Mercedes driver finished 13.078 seconds clear of Charles Leclerc, with Max Verstappen third and Lewis Hamilton fourth. Antonelli can now clinch the title at the Mexico City Grand Prix next weekend by finishing ninth or better, whatever his rivals do.
A Strategy Call Antonelli Made Himself
The race was decided by tyre strategy, and by Antonelli’s willingness to commit to the harder option. He started the 56-lap race on medium tyres while Verstappen and both Ferraris lined up on softs, and a clean opening lap combined with a poor getaway from Verstappen handed him the lead immediately.
Red Bull and Ferrari then committed themselves to two stops, Verstappen pitting on lap 14, Hamilton on lap 15 and Leclerc on lap 16. Mercedes went the other way, stretching Antonelli’s opening stint to lap 25 before fitting hards for the remaining 31 laps.
Antonelli says the decision came from the cockpit. “I called the one stop because I wasn’t sure whether one or two stops was the quickest,” he said. “It was an incredible team effort, especially from strategy, to believe in me and go for one stop.”
The gamble was never seriously threatened. Antonelli rejoined behind the two-stoppers and had the lead back by lap 32, and from there the margin only grew.
Leclerc Takes Second From Verstappen Late
The more interesting battle was behind him. Verstappen lost time at his second stop on lap 32 and reported problems with his gearbox and engine braking, which left him vulnerable through the closing stages.
Leclerc, running a soft-medium-medium strategy, worked his way past Lando Norris and then closed on the Red Bull, passing Verstappen at Turn 12 with seven laps to go to secure second. Norris faded to fifth on ageing tyres, 30.521 seconds adrift.
Leclerc was content without being satisfied. He called it “quite a good race” but noted that Ferrari “came short of the victory” that had been the target.
Isack Hadjar finished sixth and Oscar Piastri seventh, with Liam Lawson ninth and Pierre Gasly tenth.
Russell’s Afternoon Unravels on Lap One
George Russell’s race was effectively ruined before the first lap was complete. He was given a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage by running wide in a wheel-to-wheel battle with Piastri, and the time lost at his pit stop dropped him behind both McLarens.
He came home eighth and was blunt about the car rather than the penalty, describing his race pace as “rubbish.”
There were three retirements. Franco Colapinto and Ollie Bearman both failed to finish, while Valtteri Bottas stopped on track in the Cadillac, triggering a virtual safety car that bunched the field up before the final lap.
What Antonelli Needs in Mexico
Antonelli leaves Austin on 365 points, with Russell second on 242 and Hamilton third on 241. A top-nine finish at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez makes him champion outright.
His nine wins also give him a countback advantage that neither team-mate nor Ferrari rival can overturn even by winning every remaining race, which means he could take the title without scoring at all, provided neither Russell nor Hamilton wins in Mexico.
Should he seal it on 1 November he will be 20 years, two months and seven days old, comfortably the youngest world champion in the sport’s history and well inside Sebastian Vettel’s record of 23 years and 134 days.
Mercedes still have work to do in the constructors’ championship, where Ferrari have cut the deficit to 133 points with 215 still on the table.
The Mindset Doesn’t Change
Antonelli was careful not to treat the title as settled, while making no secret of how close it now is.
“Today was a really important victory for me, for the team, especially after having a couple of difficult races,” he said. “To be back on top feels very good.”
Asked how he would approach Mexico, he said the ideal outcome was obvious. “The best way, the perfect way would be to finish off in style and then enjoy just the rest of the season,” he said. “I’m very well aware that it’s very close, but the mindset doesn’t change.”
He is already looking past this season. “I want to finish the season on a high in order to then go with high hopes into 2027,” he said. “But yeah, we’ll first focus and worry about finishing this well and then we’ll see.”
