Antonelli dominates United States GP from pole to move to brink of F1 title at 20

Kimi Antonelli moved to the brink of a maiden Formula 1 world title after a commanding victory at the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, defeating Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen to claim his ninth win of the 2026 season.

Starting from pole, the 20-year-old Mercedes driver executed a clean one-stop strategy, converting a narrow early lead into a controlled race win and leaving Austin needing only one more strong result to become F1’s youngest ever world champion. That opportunity arrives at next weekend’s Mexico Grand Prix.

Antonelli held his lead off the line as Verstappen suffered a poor getaway, leaving the Red Bull driver exposed to Leclerc, who picked off Isack Hadjar before sweeping past Verstappen through the Esses. Lewis Hamilton, starting on used softs, also worked past Hadjar, while George Russell was handed a five-second time penalty for going off track while defending on lap one. Further back, Oscar Piastri was instructed to let Lando Norris through on lap eight.

At the front, Antonelli built a three-second cushion over Verstappen, prompting Red Bull to gamble on an early second set of soft tyres on lap 14, switching the Dutchman to a two-stop race. Mercedes refused to react, keeping Antonelli out and committing to a single stop. Hamilton pitted for mediums, followed by Leclerc and the two McLarens, leaving Antonelli, Hadjar and Russell temporarily at the head of the field before their own stops.

Antonelli’s sole pitstop on lap 25 saw him move from mediums to hard tyres, bypassing softs entirely. Verstappen’s two-stop gamble ultimately backfired when he began suffering engine braking issues, describing his car as “undriveable”, and was forced into a second stop on lap 32 for mediums. That dropped him to fifth, 18 seconds adrift of Antonelli.

Leclerc and Hamilton, both still running, posed a theoretical threat on the harder compound, but Verstappen remained Antonelli’s most credible challenger. The two Ferraris switched to hard tyres in the final third of the race, which dropped them behind Verstappen. To reach Antonelli, however, Verstappen first had to find a way past Norris, who was also running a one-stop strategy. That battle allowed Leclerc to close on fresher rubber, setting up a tense finale behind the dominant race leader.

Antonelli crossed the line to seal a ninth victory of the season, a result that leaves him on the cusp of a title that would rewrite the record books.