---
title: "Four things we learned from the United States GP as Antonelli closes on F1 title"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2026/10/26/four-things-learned-united-states-gp-antonelli-f1-title/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Gary Gowers"
section: "F1 News"
published: "2026-10-26T09:36:23Z"
modified: "2026-10-26T09:36:24Z"
---

# Four things we learned from the United States GP as Antonelli closes on F1 title

**Kimi Antonelli arrived in Austin with an outside chance of becoming world champion and left needing only two more points to finish the job.**

His ninth victory of the season was the main story of the United States Grand Prix, but there was plenty beneath it. George Russell could not explain why he was so far away in the other Mercedes, Ferrari produced another encouraging weekend and a strategic split gave a clearer picture of how Antonelli won the race.

Here are four things we learned from the latest round of the [F1](https://readmotorsport.com/latest-f1-news/) season.

## Antonelli is two points from the title

Antonelli did everything required of him in Austin. He took pole after Ferrari had led all three practice sessions, kept the lead at the start and made a one-stop strategy work to win by 13.078 seconds.

What he could not control was what happened behind him. Russell needed to finish ninth or lower and Lewis Hamilton fifth or lower for the championship to be settled, but they came home eighth and fourth respectively.

Antonelli therefore leaves Austin on 365 points, 123 ahead of Russell and 124 clear of Hamilton. Only 125 remain available across the final five Grands Prix.

The calculation for Mexico is much less complicated. Antonelli needs two points, meaning ninth place would make him world champion regardless of anything Russell or Hamilton does.

Austin also strengthened the sense that the championship is reaching its natural conclusion rather than simply being decided by arithmetic. Antonelli has now won nine races this season, and this was a weekend in which Mercedes did not initially appear to have the quickest car.

Our [United States GP race report](https://readmotorsport.com/) has the full finishing order and gaps from Austin.

## Russell has a problem Mercedes cannot yet explain

The difference between the two Mercedes cars was stark. Antonelli won from pole; Russell started sixth and finished eighth, 54.303 seconds behind his team-mate.

His five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage while fighting Oscar Piastri on the first lap made matters worse, but Russell did not blame the result on that. He said afterwards that his pace was not good enough and admitted he was unsure why.

There may be a clue in Mercedes’ wider assessment of the car. Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin said the set-up window has become a little harder to hit since the team’s latest update.

That does not explain Russell’s Austin weekend by itself, and Mercedes are not suggesting it does. His second stint was stronger, but once he caught Piastri he could not get past and spent the rest of the race behind the McLaren.

For a driver who remains second in the championship, Mexico cannot come quickly enough. Hamilton is now only one point behind him.

## Ferrari leave Austin with reasons for optimism

Ferrari’s weekend was unusual in that disappointment and encouragement could reasonably be taken from the same result.

Leclerc topped FP1 and FP2 before Hamilton led final practice. Neither could match Antonelli when qualifying reached Q3, yet they recovered to finish second and fourth on Sunday.

Leclerc’s assessment afterwards was particularly interesting. He said upgrades introduced over the past three or four races have taken the car in a direction he prefers and given him greater confidence.

That follows the [new floor and bodywork Ferrari brought to Austin](https://readmotorsport.com/2026/10/17/ferrari-f1-upgrade-austin-new-floor-sidepods/). There are no major upgrades expected over the remaining races, so Ferrari now have to extract more from what they already have.

Hamilton showed why there is still work to do. He finished only 1.030 seconds behind Verstappen but said the balance was his biggest problem, particularly a lack of front end compared with Leclerc.

So Austin did not prove Ferrari have suddenly found an answer to Mercedes. It did provide another podium for Leclerc, a strong haul from Hamilton and more evidence that the recent development direction has helped.

## Mercedes held their nerve on strategy

Verstappen stopped after 14 laps and took another set of soft tyres, committing Red Bull to a two-stop race. Ferrari also ran Leclerc on two stops.

Mercedes did not follow them. Antonelli remained on his mediums until lap 24, switched to the hard tyre and ran to the finish.

It was a call Mercedes had to commit to without knowing for certain how the hard would perform over such a long stint. The team said afterwards that the strategy choices were not clear-cut, but Antonelli was able to look after the tyres while retaining enough pace to stay comfortably ahead.

Leclerc did not believe Ferrari would necessarily have beaten Mercedes by copying the one-stop. He felt Antonelli’s advantage was sufficient for the Mercedes to win either way, which is an important qualification when assessing the strategy.

McLaren offered another comparison. Norris also ran one stop and briefly occupied second place, but his older tyres left him vulnerable late on, and he slipped behind Leclerc, Verstappen and Hamilton to finish fifth.

Mercedes therefore deserve credit for the call, but strategy alone did not win Antonelli the Grand Prix. They had a driver with the pace to make it work, and a car that could carry the hard tyre to the finish without giving the advantage away.

Austin leaves Mercedes with two very different questions. One is why Russell was so far from Antonelli in identical machinery; the other is now largely mathematical, with their 20-year-old championship leader needing two points in Mexico.

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