Antonelli wins US GP but title decider moves to Mexico
Kimi Antonelli won the United States Grand Prix from pole at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin. It was his ninth win of 2026, but the title will not be settled until the next round in Mexico City. The result below follows the official formula1.com record of Sunday's race.
Race result: Antonelli wins, Leclerc passes Verstappen
Antonelli took the win over 56 laps in 1:35:16.650. Charles Leclerc finished second, 13.078s back, and Max Verstappen third, 17.485s back. Leclerc passed Verstappen late in the race for second. Lewis Hamilton was fourth (+18.515s) and Lando Norris fifth (+30.521s).
| Pos | Driver | Time / gap |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 6-10 | Isack Hadjar, Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Liam Lawson, Pierre Gasly | In that order (gaps not given in the source) |
Antonelli called the one-stop strategy "perfect execution" and said it was "the result we needed".
Russell's five-second penalty, and Red Bull's "everything went wrong"
George Russell started sixth and finished eighth. The official site says he was given a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage over Oscar Piastri on the opening lap, and served it at his only pit stop. The same site's race report describes the incident as wheel-to-wheel contact, so the wording differs. Russell called it "a very bad day" and said he did not "really know why".
Red Bull said Verstappen had a poor launch and lost out to Leclerc, and blamed power unit inconsistency and a slow pit stop for third place. Hadjar, who qualified third, dropped to fifth with a clutch problem at the start. At his stop he was left on the wrong engine map, which caused a throttle problem and cost him a podium, and he finished sixth. "Everything went wrong," he said. There were short Virtual Safety Cars, but no full Safety Car. Bottas (Cadillac), Colapinto (Alpine) and Bearman (Haas) retired.
Title decision moves to Mexico
Antonelli has 365 points, 123 clear of second-placed Russell, with 125 still available. Hamilton, fourth in Austin, is third and one point behind Russell. According to the official site, Antonelli becomes the youngest World Champion in F1 history at the Mexico City GP (30 October to 1 November) if he loses no more than 23 points to Russell and no more than 24 to Hamilton. One report put him two points short of the title after this win, which has to be read alongside the conditions in the other report. "We're very close but we'll try to finish on a high, and hopefully we can clinch it very soon," Antonelli said.