Kimi Antonelli did everything he could. The title still isn’t his, yet.
The Mercedes driver won the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by more than 15 seconds. But results elsewhere denied him the chance to clinch his first Formula 1 world championship in Texas.
The Math That Didn’t Quite Work
Antonelli arrived in Austin with four races left and slim hopes of wrapping up the crown. He needed to win, George Russell had to finish ninth or lower, and Lewis Hamilton had to take fifth or lower. He did his part. Russell nearly did his, finishing eighth. Hamilton did not, finishing fourth, which kept the championship alive.
So the party moves to Mexico City. Antonelli leads Russell by a whopping 123 points, with Hamilton a point further back. A ninth-place finish or better seals the title, no matter what his rivals do.
The job started Saturday, when Antonelli soared to a magnificent pole. At the start, he blasted off the line and left Max Verstappen behind. Leclerc, meanwhile, jumped both Verstappen and Isack Hadjar before Verstappen retook second. By the end of the first lap, Antonelli was already 2.4 seconds clear.
Russell’s afternoon was complicated early. He was investigated for leaving the track and staying ahead of Oscar Piastri, with whom he banged wheels on the rejoin, and he was handed a five-second penalty. He served it on Lap 24 and rejoined in net eighth.
The Strategy Call
Verstappen pitted first on Lap 14, followed by Hamilton and Leclerc. Antonelli, who started on the more durable mediums, stayed out. He pitted a lap after Russell and emerged third, on much fresher tires than those ahead. When Verstappen made his second stop with 25 laps remaining, Antonelli charged past Leclerc to lead again and never looked back.
Behind him, the action was fierce. Hamilton, needing to gain two places to keep Antonelli from the trophy, dispatched Hadjar and then caught Lando Norris, whose one-stop strategy had worked well. Verstappen and Leclerc reeled the reigning champion in on Lap 47, and Hamilton moved up to fourth on the next lap. Leclerc finished second, Verstappen completed the podium, and Norris took fifth.
“It was the result we needed,” said Antonelli. “The whole team deserve it so much.” He also credited the one-stop call, saying, “Really happy we made it stick.”
On the title, he added: “We are very close. We try to finish on a high, and hopefully we can clinch it very soon.”
He leaped into the arms of his mechanics for the ninth time this season. Mexico City could make it a tenth, and a championship.
