Antonelli Dominates in Texas and Is One Step Away From the Title

Kimi Antonelli once again demonstrated why he is the great protagonist of the 2026 Formula 1 season. The Mercedes driver imposed himself at the United States Grand Prix, held at the Circuit of the Americas, with a solid performance that allowed him to control the race and cross the finish line with more than 16 seconds of advantage. Charles Leclerc finished second and Max Verstappen completed the podium after an intense battle in the final stretch. With this result, the Italian achieved his ninth victory of the championship and extended his advantage to 123 points over George Russell, his only rival with mathematical possibilities of disputing the title.

The Austin race began with a good start from Antonelli, who conserved the first position without giving opportunities to his pursuers. Behind, Leclerc reacted quickly and managed to overtake Verstappen, placing himself in a favorable position to try to follow the Mercedes' pace. However, the first meters also left incidents that conditioned several drivers.

Arvid Lindblad closed Carlos Sainz during the start and caused the Spaniard to impact against the wall. The remains of the incident reached Franco Colapinto's Alpine and damaged his car, complicating his race from the first moments. On the second lap, race direction deployed the Virtual Safety Car to allow the cleaning of the debris that had remained at turn 11.

The start also left other situations under investigation. George Russell was investigated for overtaking after leaving the track limits and received a five-second penalty. Gabriel Bortoleto also remained under investigation for a similar maneuver, although he finally did not receive a sanction for that incident. The Brazilian had already arrived in Austin with one of the most important penalties of the season and of history, he accumulated 80 positions of sanction for changes in his car and had to start from the last place. Colapinto, for his part, had received a ten-position penalty for the change of the electronic control unit.

Once the race resumed, Antonelli began to build his advantage, while Verstappen tried to recover ground. On lap 14, Red Bull bet on an aggressive strategy with the Dutchman: instead of changing to a different compound, he put soft tires back on to look for a competitive second stint. The decision meant assuming an important risk, because it forced the team to manage the wear and calculate with precision the moment of the next stop.

The race also had an episode between Oliver Bearman and Pierre Gasly. The Haas driver was investigated for a touch with the Frenchman and received a ten-second penalty. Later, on lap 26, Bearman ended up retiring, joining a list of incidents that was beginning to grow as the competition advanced.

From lap 27, Verstappen and Hadjar began to show performance problems and lost speed considerably. The situation opened an opportunity for Mercedes. Antonelli took advantage of the moment and recovered the first position on lap 32, consolidating the dominance that he would maintain until the end. The Italian found a pace much superior to that of his rivals and was able to manage the distance without being forced to defend himself from direct attacks.

Not everything was perfect for the leader. On lap 36, Antonelli went off track in a dangerous maneuver that could have compromised his race. However, he managed to continue without losing control of the situation. One lap later, Colapinto had to retire his Alpine and became another of the Grand Prix's retirements. The damage suffered in the start incident had conditioned his performance and finally he could not complete the test.

The central part of the race passed with few variations in the first positions. Antonelli maintained a consistent pace and showed an excellent tire management, while Norris also managed to sustain a competitive speed. In a relatively linear race, the pit strategy began to acquire greater importance to define the final positions.

Ferrari made a key decision on lap 39, when it called Lewis Hamilton to put hard tires on him. That compound became one of the great references of the race, the drivers who used it managed to maintain a competitive performance and take advantage of its durability. The choice, however, was not enough to return Hamilton to the fight for the podium.

The excitement arrived in the last ten laps, when Norris, Verstappen and Leclerc began to dispute the escort positions. The battle had its most outstanding moment on lap 47. Verstappen, compromised by Leclerc's pressure, executed a maneuver of great precision to overtake Norris and prevent the Monegasque from finding space to overtake him. The Dutchman took advantage of his experience in a limit situation, although two laps later Leclerc finally managed to overtake him and consolidate a great performance.

The Ferrari driver finished second after a very competitive race, while Verstappen had to settle for third position. The fight between the two made evident the Dutchman's ability to defend himself under pressure and Leclerc's insistence to look for an opportunity until the end.

On lap 51 the last retirement of the race occurred. Valtteri Bottas advanced slowly on track until he was out of competition, which caused a yellow flag and a new Virtual Safety Car. The neutralization altered the closing, although it did not modify the result of the first three.

Antonelli crossed the finish line as winner with more than 16 seconds of advantage and added his ninth victory of the season. His performance once again confirmed the superiority that he has shown during a good part of the championship, both for speed and for regularity. Leclerc and Verstappen completed a podium that had a much tighter fight than the difference that the Italian managed to establish at the front.

The result leaves Antonelli with a 123-point advantage over Russell when five races remain. The championship could be defined in Mexico, the Italian would have the possibility of being crowned if he scores the necessary points and his teammate does not manage to close the difference. Russell is the only driver who keeps mathematical options, but he needs to win the remaining races and hope that Antonelli practically stops scoring. The situation is extremely favorable for the leader, who already has one hand on the trophy.

After Austin, Formula 1 will travel to Mexico to contest the next date. Antonelli will arrive with the opportunity to get even closer to the consecration, while his rivals will try to prolong the definition. In Texas, the Italian not only achieved another victory, he took a decisive step towards the world title.