Antonelli wins United States GP but made to wait for world title — SkimNews
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- Kimi Antonelli won the United States Grand Prix by 13 seconds over Charles Leclerc for his ninth 2026 victory, starting from his first pole position in eight races since July's Belgian Grand Prix.
- Kimi Antonelli moved to a maximum of two points away from the 2026 Drivers' Championship, 123 points clear of George Russell and 124 clear of Lewis Hamilton; a top-nine finish in Mexico or neither rival winning will secure the title with four rounds to spare.
- Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari after passing Max Verstappen at Turn 12 with seven laps to go, completing a soft-medium-medium tyre strategy that also saw him repass Lando Norris late.
- George Russell finished eighth after a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage by running off track while battling Oscar Piastri on lap one; the stop dropped him behind Piastri, and he called his race pace “rubbish.”
- Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, one second behind Verstappen, while Lando Norris took fifth and Isack Hadjar sixth; Hamilton's fourth and Russell's eighth kept both title rivals mathematically in contention.
- Mercedes backed a one-stop plan for Antonelli: he started on medium tyres while rivals had softs, pitted for hards on lap 24, and retook the lead from Leclerc on lap 32 before resisting the closing charge.
Why it matters: Antonelli's 123-point lead over Russell leaves only 125 points in play, so a top-nine Mexico finish—or neither Russell nor Hamilton winning—clinches the title with four rounds to spare. That puts 20-year-old Antonelli on the verge of F1 history while leaving Hamilton and Russell with sharply narrowed routes.
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