Antonelli wins Austin, extends F1 lead

Kimi Antonelli claimed his ninth Formula One victory of the season at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, on Sunday. The 20-year-old Italian converted his pole position into a win at the Circuit of the Americas, finishing with a time of 1:35:16.650.

Antonelli crossed the line 13.078 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc of Monaco. Max Verstappen, the four-time world champion from Red Bull Racing, finished third, 17.485 seconds behind the leader. Verstappen is now mathematically eliminated from the title race and will finish his second consecutive season without a world title.

The result expanded Antonelli’s lead in the drivers’ championship to 123 points. He holds the advantage over his Mercedes teammate, George Russell of Great Britain. With five races remaining in the calendar, Russell must win the next event in Mexico City to stay in contention. If he fails to take the win, the championship will belong to Antonelli.

Mercedes employed a one-stop strategy for Antonelli during the 56-lap race. While many competitors pitted twice, Antonelli stayed out until Lap 25 for his only stop. The team’s decision proved decisive in securing the margin of victory.

A Virtual Safety Car was deployed on Lap 52 after Valtteri Bottas’s Cadillac stopped on the track. The safety car lasted until the penultimate lap, a period by which the gap to Antonelli had become too large for any driver to close.

Antonelli credited his team for the tactical choice. “It was a perfect way to end the weekend; it was an incredible team effort, especially from strategy to believe in me and go for one stop,” he said. He acknowledged that the championship is close but maintained that his mindset remains unchanged. “I want to finish the season on a high, to go into 2027 with high hopes,” Antonelli added.

Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team boss, described the performance as Antonelli’s best of the season. “The race of a champion who isn’t the champion yet, but exceptional,” Wolff said. Wolff noted that Antonelli overperformed the car, citing the driver’s style as the key factor in controlling the race despite starting with the inferior tire.

Wolff compared the Austin performance to Antonelli’s victories at Monza and Monaco. While he conceded that those wins were special, he stated that the execution in Texas was superior. “But the headline, this is the best, we can keep,” Wolff said.

Antonelli agreed with his boss’s assessment. He highlighted the team’s ability to build performance throughout the weekend. “Definitely, Monza was a super special one, and one that I will remember forever. But, you know, this one probably, in terms of execution, was better,” Antonelli said. He noted that overtaking was easier at Monza, making the Austin result a stronger display of consistency.

In the constructors’ championship, Mercedes widened its lead over Ferrari to 133 points. Mercedes holds 607 points, while Ferrari has 474. Antonelli has now won twice in the United States this season, with the Las Vegas Grand Prix scheduled for November.