Kimi Antonelli converted pole into a one-stop victory at the United States Grand Prix, finishing 13.078 seconds clear of Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen took third, and Antonelli, 123 points clear of George Russell, can still be crowned champion in Mexico City.
Austin, Texas: Kimi Antonelli had the pole, the pace and a different plan from the rest of the front runners. By the end of 56 laps at the Circuit of the Americas, the Mercedes driver had taken the chequered flag in 1:35:16.650, and the only thing he could not take on Sunday was the world championship itself.
Antonelli keeps the lead, then takes it back
Antonelli started on pole on medium tyres, the only leader to choose them, and led the opening lap. Leclerc passed Verstappen through the Esses on that first lap, but Verstappen retook the place before the lap was out. Red Bull brought Verstappen in on lap 13 for soft tyres, committing him to a two-stop race.
Mercedes went the other way. On lap 24 Antonelli pitted for hard tyres and a one-stop strategy that would last to the flag. He rejoined in fourth, but on lap 32 he passed Leclerc to take the lead back and was never headed again.
Leclerc closes, but not enough
Ferrari and McLaren generally ran two stops, and Leclerc’s final stint was a charge. He passed Lando Norris and then Verstappen and closed on the leader, but he could not reel Antonelli in, finishing 13.078 seconds adrift. Verstappen, the winner in Singapore last time out, took third, 17.485 seconds behind. Lewis Hamilton was fourth, 18.515 seconds off the lead, and Norris fifth.
Isack Hadjar was sixth for Red Bull and Oscar Piastri seventh for McLaren. George Russell, Antonelli’s team-mate and nearest rival, finished eighth after a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage by going off track while battling Piastri on lap one. Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly took ninth and tenth. Valtteri Bottas, Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman did not finish.
The title, one race away
The permutations did not fall Antonelli’s way in Austin. Russell’s eighth place and Hamilton’s fourth kept the championship alive for another round. But the margin is formidable: Antonelli leads Russell by 123 points and Hamilton by 124, and he can be crowned champion at the next race in Mexico City. At 20, he would become the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history.
United States Grand Prix result: 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) +1:19.183; 10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1:27.516.
