Antonelli wins United States GP, but F1 title must wait

Kimi Antonelli turned pole into a commanding victory at the Circuit of the Americas, but his first chance to clinch the drivers’ title ended without a crown.

To seal the title, Antonelli needed to win while George Russell finished ninth or lower and Lewis Hamilton fifth or lower. Antonelli won, but Russell came home eighth and Hamilton fourth, keeping both mathematically in contention. Russell was also given a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage by leaving the circuit on the opening lap.

Antonelli held the lead from pole on medium tyres. Verstappen, on softs, was expected to have an advantage on the run to the first corner, but Leclerc was the driver who made the move: he passed the Red Bull at Turn 3. Leclerc fell back to third before lap one ended, and Antonelli was 2.5 seconds clear of Verstappen after five laps.

The strategy split came early. Verstappen stopped at the start of lap 14 for a two-stop plan; Mercedes kept Antonelli out, while Hamilton pitted a lap later. Antonelli made his only stop on lap 24, switching to hard tyres. After reporting on lap 30 that his car was undriveable, Verstappen stopped again on lap 31; Red Bull told him there was an engine-mapping problem. The second stop dropped him to fifth behind Norris and gave Leclerc a brief spell in the lead. Antonelli passed the Ferrari at Turn 12 on lap 32 to retake the lead.

With 13 laps remaining, Antonelli comfortably led Norris. Ten laps from the finish, Verstappen and Leclerc were both within a second of the McLaren. They passed Norris on lap 47; Leclerc then took second from Verstappen at Turn 12 two laps later, and Hamilton also overtook Norris. A Virtual Safety Car was deployed on lap 52 after Valtteri Bottas came to a halt, but it did not prevent Antonelli from winning. Leclerc and Verstappen completed the podium, with Hamilton fourth, Norris fifth and Russell eighth. Antonelli’s next chance to clinch the title comes at the Mexico City Grand Prix.