Kimi Antonelli secured his ninth victory of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, winning by 13.078 seconds. The Mercedes driver executed a one-stop strategy, utilizing one set of C3 medium tires and one set of C2 hard tires. This approach contrasted with many rivals who opted for a two-stop race.
The decisive period of the race occurred after Antonelli’s pit stop, a six-lap sequence where he closed almost seven seconds on his competitors. This performance allowed Mercedes to capitalize on their tire strategy.
Antonelli started on the C3 medium compound, while Max Verstappen began on the softer C4 tires. Despite the softer compound advantage for Verstappen, Antonelli maintained his lead from pole position.
Charles Leclerc initially challenged Verstappen for second place on the opening lap, which allowed Antonelli to establish a 2.365-second lead. This early cushion was crucial for a driver on a harder starting tire.
Mercedes confirmed that Antonelli had no new soft tires available, making the fresh medium compound the practical alternative to starting on hards. Pirelli’s tire selection for Austin included the C2 as hard, C3 as medium, and C4 as soft, a return to a more conventional choice.
Verstappen pitted at the end of lap 13 for another set of softs, followed by Lewis Hamilton on lap 14 and Leclerc on lap 15, both switching to mediums. Antonelli extended his first stint to 24 laps, preserving his medium tires.
Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin stated, ‘The strategy decisions weren’t clear-cut, but we held our nerve, made the right call to stick with the one-stop, and the pit stops were solid.’
Antonelli’s final three laps before his pit stop were consistently near 1:41.1, demonstrating his ability to maintain pace on aging tires. He then fitted C2 hard tires with 32 laps remaining, emerging in fourth position.
The critical six-lap window, from lap 26 through 30, saw Antonelli reduce Verstappen’s lead by 5.277 seconds. His average lap time was over a second faster than Verstappen’s during this period.
Including Verstappen’s pit-entry lap on lap 31, Antonelli’s total recovery reached 6.757 seconds. The middle sector of the Circuit of the Americas accounted for 3.426 seconds of this gain.
The Circuit of the Americas, a 5.513 km track with 20 corners, features a demanding middle sector with high-speed corners and a long back straight. Antonelli described the Mercedes W17 as particularly strong in medium- and high-speed corners.
Verstappen reported striking debris around lap eight, which caused damage to his Red Bull RB22. He also cited ‘engine consistency’ issues, inconsistent engine braking, and gearshifts throughout the weekend.
Red Bull’s strategy also came under scrutiny, with Verstappen admitting the team made incorrect tire choices and was forced into an unfavorable two-stop race.
Pirelli Motorsport Director Dario Marrafuschi noted that the hard compound performed ‘slightly better than anticipated,’ judging the one-stop strategy as the most effective, albeit by a narrow margin.
Antonelli’s race engineer, Peter Bonnington, maintained communication regarding tire management. Antonelli consistently lapped around 1:39.8 during his final stint on hard tires.
Leclerc, who had stopped twice, set the race’s fastest lap of 1:37.976 on lap 42. However, he was unable to close the gap to Antonelli due to traffic and the time lost from an additional pit stop.
Lando Norris, also on a one-stop strategy, finished fifth after extending his hard-tire stint. Oscar Piastri completed a one-stop to finish seventh.
A late Virtual Safety Car for Valtteri Bottas’s stopped Cadillac compressed some gaps but did not prevent Antonelli from securing the win.
Antonelli finished 13.078 seconds ahead of Leclerc, with Verstappen third and Hamilton fourth. Isack Hadjar finished sixth, and George Russell was eighth.
Antonelli now leads the Drivers’ Championship by 123 points over Russell (365 to 242). He requires a ninth-place finish or higher at the upcoming Mexican Grand Prix to secure the title.
Mercedes also extended its lead in the Constructors’ Championship, now holding 607 points, 133 points ahead of Ferrari.
Mercedes ran a special blue livery at the United States Grand Prix to highlight its MANUFAKTUR personalization program.
