Kimi Antonelli won the US Grand Prix from pole position to move within touching distance of the F1 world championship, but George Russell and Lewis Hamilton did enough to keep the title race alive.
The Mercedes driver won by 13.078 seconds from Charles Leclerc after making a one-stop strategy work at the Circuit of The Americas. Max Verstappen finished third, with Hamilton fourth and Lando Norris fifth.
Antonelli now leads Russell by 123 points with 125 still available. The championship therefore moves on to the Mexico City Grand Prix, where the Mercedes driver will have another opportunity to secure his first world title.
Antonelli controls race from pole
Antonelli kept the lead into Turn One, while Leclerc passed Verstappen during the opening exchanges. Verstappen recovered second place before the end of the first lap, but by lap 10 Antonelli had opened a gap of almost three seconds.
Red Bull went aggressive with Verstappen’s strategy, bringing him in on lap 14 for soft tyres and committing him to two stops. Mercedes left Antonelli out on his mediums until the end of lap 24 before switching him to the hard compound for the remainder of the race.
That left Verstappen with fresher tyres later on but another stop to make. Antonelli regained the lead after the strategies played out and was able to pull clear, despite a lock-up at Turn 12 during an encounter with backmarker Carlos Sainz.
Leclerc beats Verstappen to second
The fight behind Antonelli remained open much longer. Verstappen passed Norris for a podium position on lap 47, but Leclerc also cleared the McLaren before overtaking the Red Bull to take second place.
Hamilton followed Leclerc past Norris to finish fourth as the McLaren driver’s older tyres faded. Isack Hadjar was sixth in the second Red Bull, ahead of Oscar Piastri and Russell.
Russell’s afternoon had been compromised on the opening lap when he was given a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage while fighting Piastri. He eventually finished eighth, with Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly completing the points positions.
United States GP 2026 results
| Pos | Driver | Team | 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 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | +34.373s |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +52.674s |
| 8 | George Russell | Mercedes | +54.303s |
| 9 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +1:19.183 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1:27.516 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | +1:34.945 |
| 12 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +1 lap |
| 13 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | +1 lap |
| 14 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | +1 lap |
| 15 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +1 lap |
| 16 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +1 lap |
| 17 | Alex Albon | Williams | +1 lap |
| 18 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | +1 lap |
| 19 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | +1 lap |
| NC | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | Retired |
| NC | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | Retired |
| NC | Oliver Bearman | Haas | Retired |
The closing laps were briefly interrupted by a Virtual Safety Car after Bottas stopped his Cadillac, but Antonelli’s advantage was already comfortable. He took the chequered flag for his ninth victory of the season, leaving Austin with 365 points and the championship still unfinished by the narrowest of margins.
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