Austin: Antonelli wins again, and the championship closes

10/26/26 October, 26

Homme de dos en t-shirt Kimi Antonelli au bord de la piste, une monoplace passe en vitesse derrière lui

Formula 1 · Read 5 min

Sunday 25 October, Circuit of the Americas. Round eighteen of twenty-three, fifty-six laps, and a race that never changed hands. Kimi Antonelli started from pole, led, stopped once and won by thirteen seconds. It is his ninth victory of the season, and the most significant: two of his rivals have just been knocked out of the championship.

An uneventful race, which is rare here

Pole first, hailed by his own team principal as a miracle lap. Then a clean start, the lead held, and a one stop strategy: mediums to the end of lap twenty-four, then hards to the flag. Two virtual neutralisations, one early for debris, one late when Valtteri Bottas stopped at the side of the track, changed nothing.

Behind him, Charles Leclerc finishes second at 13.078s, Max Verstappen third at 17.485s. The rest of his pieces are in the Antonelli collection, and the whole grid in the Formula 1 range.

The number
Nine wins in eighteen races. A driver who wins every other race is not up for debate, he is counted.

Verstappen and Leclerc are out, mathematically

That is the real result of this Sunday, and it comes down to a subtraction. Five races remain, so 125 points are still available. Verstappen is 129 points behind, Leclerc 132. Neither can catch Antonelli now, even by winning everything.

Two candidates are left, and they are his closest rivals in the standings: George Russell, his team mate, 123 points behind, and Lewis Hamilton 124 behind. Two gaps smaller than 125, so two survivors on paper, but they would need the leader to collapse completely.

For the two eliminated, the season becomes a matter of pride. Leclerc has just taken his best result in weeks, and Verstappen finished third in a car he described himself as undriveable.

Back of a white Kimi Antonelli F1 t-shirt — The name that goes with the title, if the last five races look like the first eighteen.

What happened behind

Verstappen lost two places at the start to both Ferraris, took second back before the end of lap one, then a front wing problem ruined his race. Red Bull asked Isack Hadjar to let him through.

Hamilton finishes fourth at 18.515s, just behind his team mate, after a wheel to wheel fight at the start. His pieces are in the Lewis Hamilton collection.

Russell took a five second penalty for wheel contact with Oscar Piastri while overtaking, served at his stop. He finishes eighth, behind Piastri seventh and Hadjar sixth. Lando Norris is fifth, Liam Lawson ninth, Pierre Gasly tenth.

Three retirements: Bottas, Franco Colapinto and Ollie Bearman, the latter with damage after contact.

The standings after Austin

Drivers: Antonelli 365 points, Russell 242, Hamilton 241, Verstappen 236, Leclerc 233, Norris 211.

Constructors: Mercedes 607, Ferrari 474, then Red Bull and McLaren exactly level on 355 points each. Five races to separate them, and it is the only duel still genuinely open at the top.

Next round: Mexico, from 30 October to 1 November.

9Antonelli wins in 18 races

123Points of championship lead

5Races left, 125 points

What it changes in the wardrobe

A winning driver changes what people want to wear, and the catalogue has not kept pace with the season. The Antonelli collection holds four pieces where Leclerc's holds thirty-two. That is the gap between an established career and a season that has just turned.

If you follow the championship rather than a team, the choice is simple this year. If you follow a car, nothing changes: the Formula 1 canvases tell layouts and rivalries, not standings.

Three names that came out of this Sunday

The winner, the runner up, and the man who saved a podium with a broken car.

Back of a white Kimi Antonelli F1 sweatshirt

Kimi Antonelli SweatshirtNine wins this season

Back of a white Charles Leclerc Signature t-shirt

Charles Leclerc T-shirtSecond at Austin

Back of a white Max Verstappen t-shirt with the number 01

Max Verstappen T-shirtThird, broken car

The driversFormula 1 t-shirtsThe whole grid in cotton. The seasonFormula 1 sweatshirtsThe same names, warmer. On the wristWatchesEleven dials shaped like a wheel. For the wallFormula 1 canvasesThe layouts and the rivalries of the grid.

Frequently asked questions

Who won the 2026 United States Grand Prix?

Kimi Antonelli, from pole, ahead of Charles Leclerc by 13.078s and Max Verstappen by 17.485s. It is his ninth win of the season.

Is Antonelli world champion?

Not yet. He leads by 123 points with five races to run, so 125 points still available. Only George Russell and Lewis Hamilton can still catch him mathematically.

Why can Verstappen and Leclerc no longer win the title?

Verstappen is 129 points behind and Leclerc 132, while only 125 points remain over the last five races. Even winning everything, they cannot come back.

How do the constructors stand?

Mercedes lead on 607 points ahead of Ferrari on 474. Red Bull and McLaren are exactly level on 355 points each.

Which race comes next?

The Mexico City Grand Prix, from 30 October to 1 November 2026.

Antonelli does not have the title yet, but he has cut the list of men who can take it from him down to two, one of them his own team mate. Five races left to finish the job. The pole, the single stop, the subtraction.

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