Kimi Antonelli secured his ninth victory of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the United States Grand Prix held at the Circuit of the Americas. This result places him within two points of the Drivers’ World Championship title.
The Italian driver delivered a dominant performance on Sunday, October 25, leading the majority of the laps. Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari, with Max Verstappen completing the podium in third.
Antonelli expressed satisfaction with the outcome, highlighting the team’s effort and the effectiveness of their new package. He attributed the victory to a perfect execution of a one-stop strategy.
“It was the result we needed. To be fair, the whole team deserved it so much. All this time, putting so much work into bringing this new package and finally seeing the result is very pleasant. It was also perfect execution from strategy to call the one-stop, and yeah, I’m really happy that we made the stick. And today was a great team effort.”
Regarding his championship position, Antonelli acknowledged the proximity to the title. He stated the team’s intention to finish the season strongly and clinch the championship soon.
Charles Leclerc’s second-place finish came after a late charge for victory. Ferrari opted for a two-stop strategy, which allowed Leclerc to battle back through the field.
“It was quite a good race. Unfortunately, we came short of the victory, which is eventually our target. But at the end of the day, it was a positive race. We had a good pace. The first stint was a little bit more difficult. Kimi went for a one-stop, which was not really on our cards to be honest today.”
Leclerc also noted enjoyable battles with Lando Norris and Max Verstappen during the race. His pass on Verstappen was described as tricky, requiring careful battery management.
Max Verstappen finished third, a result that was insufficient to keep him in the championship hunt against Antonelli. Only Lewis Hamilton and George Russell now retain a mathematical chance of denying Antonelli the title.
Verstappen cited a lack of overall pace and potentially incorrect tyre choices as factors for his performance. He acknowledged some fortune with a late Virtual Safety Car period.
“I think our overall pace was not good enough, and then probably also the tyres that we had available were probably not the right ones. So it’s something that we have to understand because I think the last few races it was always working well for us. So for whatever reason it didn’t work out here, but we still managed to get on the podium. Maybe a little bit lucky with the VSC at the end, but I take it.”
The full results for the 2026 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas are as follows: 1. Kimi Antonelli, 2. Charles Leclerc, 3. Max Verstappen, 4. Lando Norris, 5. George Russell, 6. Lewis Hamilton, 7. Sergio Pérez, 8. Fernando Alonso, 9. Oscar Piastri, 10. Carlos Sainz.
The championship battle now focuses on Antonelli, with Hamilton and Russell as the remaining contenders. The next event on the calendar is the Mexican Grand Prix.
