Credit : Formula 1's X
AUSTIN — Kimi Antonelli won the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas on Sunday (October 25, local time), a commanding drive that leaves the Mercedes driver just two points away from sealing the 2026 Formula 1 world championship.
Formula 1 announced the result on its official X account, saying Antonelli “triumphed at the United States Grand Prix and took another step towards clinching the Drivers’ Championship”. It was the Italian’s ninth Grand Prix victory of the season. A later post from the sport put it more simply: “Two points in it to seal the Title for Kimi.”
According to the official results, Antonelli completed the 56 laps in 1:35:16.650 and crossed the line 13.078 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third, 17.485 seconds behind the winner, with Lewis Hamilton fourth for Ferrari. Lando Norris finished fifth for McLaren, ahead of Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Oscar Piastri. George Russell came home eighth in the second Mercedes, while Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly took the last points.
The FIA said Antonelli made a clean start from pole position and kept the lead into Turn 1 while Leclerc and Verstappen swapped places behind him. Formula 1’s race report said an excellent opening lap, together with a poor start for Verstappen, gave the Italian an early lead that he never lost. By Lap 10 he was almost three seconds clear.
Strategy decided the afternoon. Pirelli said Antonelli was one of the drivers on a single stop, running the medium tyre before switching to the hard compound for the rest of the race, while Leclerc and Verstappen both stopped twice. A late charge lifted Leclerc to second, his second runner-up finish in a row, after Verstappen had passed Norris at the start of Lap 47. Two Virtual Safety Car periods, the second after Valtteri Bottas stopped his Cadillac, did nothing to threaten the leader.
Leclerc also had extra rewards from the weekend. Formula 1 said he was voted Driver of the Day in Austin “by a whisker” and set the race’s fastest lap on his way to second place.
The win lifts Antonelli to 365 points in the drivers’ standings, 123 clear of team-mate Russell on 242. Hamilton is third on 241, Verstappen fourth on 236 and Leclerc fifth on 233. BBC Sport reported that Antonelli will be crowned champion at the Mexico City Grand Prix next weekend as long as he does not lose more than 23 points to Russell or more than 24 to Hamilton. If neither of them wins in Mexico, he will be champion wherever he finishes.
The constructors’ fight is also tight. Formula 1 said Red Bull Racing and McLaren leave Austin tied on 355 points each, behind leaders Mercedes on 607 and Ferrari on 474.
The 20-year-old went to Texas with his first chance of the season to clinch the crown, but needed a win combined with poor results for Russell and Hamilton. Hamilton’s fourth place kept the decision open for at least one more race. If Antonelli finishes the job, he will become the youngest world champion in the sport’s history, beating the record Sebastian Vettel set in 2010 at 23 years and 134 days.
BBC Sport said the victory was Antonelli’s first since the Spanish Grand Prix last month. Formula 1 has already turned its attention to the next round, posting “Mexico City awaits!” as teams head south for another race week.
The full race report is available on Formula1.com, and Formula 1 shared the result on X.
https://x.com/F1/status/2114492954156863943
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