Antonelli wins United States Grand Prix but must wait for title

Kimi Antonelli won the United States Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday to stand on the brink of becoming Formula One’s youngest ever champion in Mexico next weekend.

The 20-year-old Italian did all he could to put the championship out of reach of his rivals in Texas, but Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes team-mate George Russell did just enough to delay the inevitable with fourth and eighth places respectively.

Antonelli now needs to score only two points — a ninth place — in Mexico to be sure of the title, Reuters reported.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished second in Sunday’s race at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas, 13.078 seconds behind the winner, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen third, a further 4.4 seconds back. Hamilton finished fourth, 18.515 seconds down, and Lando Norris was fifth for McLaren.

The victory extends Antonelli’s championship lead to 123 points over Russell, with five races remaining. With 125 points still available, a ninth-place finish or better in Mexico City next Sunday would settle the title in his favour regardless of what his rivals do.

Sources: Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/sports/formula1/antonelli-wins-us-grand-prix-must-wait-title-2026-10-25/ ; PlanetF1, https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-results-united-states-grand-prix-2026-race ; RaceFans, https://www.racefans.net/2026/10/25/2026-united-states-grand-prix-race-result-and-championship-points/