Antonelli Dominates US Grand Prix to Stand on the Brink of F1 Title at 20
Twenty-year-old Kimi Antonelli won his ninth race of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, opening a 123-point championship lead over Mercedes team-mate George Russell with five races remaining.
Twenty-year-old Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli claimed a dominant victory at the 2026 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on Sunday, finishing in 1 hour 35 minutes 16.650 seconds and beating Monaco's Charles Leclerc by 13.078 seconds. Max Verstappen completed the podium in third, finishing 17.485 seconds behind Antonelli. Starting from pole position, Antonelli executed a clean one-stop strategy, pitting on lap 25 of the 56-lap race, securing his ninth race win of the season and his second US victory of 2026. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff described it as "the best race that he has delivered so far." The result extended Antonelli's Drivers' Championship lead over team-mate George Russell to 123 points, with just five races remaining. Russell must win the next race in Mexico City to stay mathematically in contention; otherwise the title goes to Antonelli in only his second full Formula 1 season. Four-time champion Verstappen has already been mathematically eliminated from this year's championship. Mercedes leads the Constructors' Championship with 607 points to Ferrari's 474.
