AUSTIN, Texas — Kimi Antonelli won the United States Grand Prix on Sunday with a dominant lights-to-flag drive, putting him on the verge of becoming the 2026 Formula One world champion.
Antonelli, the 20-year-old Italian Mercedes driver, failed to clinch the title in Texas, but he has increased his already considerable lead and is set to make history as F1’s youngest champion in his second season.
He has a great opportunity to clinch the title at the Mexico race next Sunday.
With five races remaining, Antonelli is 123 points ahead of his closest rival, with a maximum of 125 points up for grabs. The race in Austin marked his ninth victory of the season.
There were boos at the podium as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, presented the winner’s trophy to Antonelli. The boos turned to cheers as Antonelli hoisted him up.
“It was the result we needed,” Antonelli said in a post-race interview. “We are very close, but yes, we are trying to finish strong and hopefully we can finish it very soon.”
Behind Antonelli, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished second and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished third. Neither is in contention for the title. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton finished fourth. And George Russell, also with Mercedes, finished eighth, barely staying in mathematical contention in the standings.
Even before the Austin race, Russell and Hamilton both talked about Antonelli winning the title in 2026 as a question of when, not if.
Antonelli said after the race that he did not expect to be in such a strong position to close out the title campaign.
“Of course I was surprised,” he said in response to a question from NBC News during his press conference. “So far, this season is of course not over yet. There are still a few races where, you know, you just want to do well, you still want to try to fight for wins. (It) would be nice to finish on a good note. But definitely, looking at the season, there are still things to work on, to improve.”
Antonelli would break a record set by 23-year-old Sebastian Vettel, who took the trophy in a decisive thriller in the final race of the 2010 F1 season. Antonelli was 4 years old at the time and he joked that he remembered playing with Hot Wheels.
He will become the first Italian to win the world championship since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
F1 officials counted 467,000 spectators this weekend.
It was a masterful drive from Antonelli, who proved once again why he is aiming for a world championship. He started on the first Sunday and spun away as Verstappen battled with the two Ferraris in the opening laps.
Antonelli stopped on lap 25 of 56 for his one and only stop to change tires. Both Leclerc and Verstappen pursued two-stop strategies to try to catch him, but were unable to do so. Leclerc overtook Verstappen on the final stint of the race.
And it was another weekend where Russell, 28, was a step behind his younger teammate and rival when it counted. Russell qualified sixth and held this position in the early stages of the race. But on lap 9, he received a five-second penalty for “leaving the track and taking an advantage”, which cost him positions and ultimately dropped him to eighth place.
Russell is locked in a tight fight for second place in the championship, and he said he still wants to finish the season strong.
“As long as we win the constructors’ championship, that’s the main thing for the team,” he said. “Obviously, I would like to finish best of the best. But P2, P3, P5 are not champions.”
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