Antonelli Wins United States Grand Prix in Austin, Title Fight Goes to Mexico City

Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin on Sunday, October 25, 2026. The Mercedes driver started from pole position, led the 56 lap race home, and recorded his ninth victory of the season at the age of 20.

Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari, 13.078 seconds behind Antonelli. Max Verstappen finished third for Red Bull, 17.485 seconds behind the winner.

The fight behind the winner

Leclerc took second place from Verstappen on lap 49, seven laps from the finish, and held it to the flag. Lewis Hamilton finished fourth for Ferrari, 18.515 seconds behind Antonelli. Lando Norris finished fifth for McLaren, 30.521 seconds behind, after making a one stop strategy work over the 56 laps.

The rest of the points finishers were Isack Hadjar in sixth for Red Bull, Oscar Piastri in seventh for McLaren, George Russell in eighth for Mercedes, Liam Lawson in ninth for Racing Bulls and Pierre Gasly in tenth for Alpine.

Russell received a five second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage while battling Piastri on the first lap. The penalty was part of his race, and he still finished eighth, inside the points. Three drivers did not finish the race: Valtteri Bottas of Cadillac, Franco Colapinto of Alpine and Ollie Bearman of Haas.

Why the title was not decided in Austin

Antonelli arrived in Austin with a chance to clinch the Formula 1 drivers championship, and Orbit Post covered his pole position in its earlier qualifying report. The win on its own was not enough. He needed to win with Russell finishing ninth or lower and Hamilton finishing fifth or lower. Russell finished eighth and Hamilton finished fourth, so both conditions failed and the title fight continues.

The championship now moves to the Mexico City Grand Prix next weekend. If Antonelli clinches the title there, he will become the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history, breaking the record held by Sebastian Vettel. He would be at least 20 years, 2 months and 7 days old.

The standings with five races left

After Austin, Antonelli leads the championship with 365 points. Russell is second with 242 points, Hamilton third with 241, Verstappen fourth with 236, Leclerc fifth with 233 and Norris sixth with 211. Antonelli leads Russell by 123 points. A total of 125 points remain available over the final five races of the season, so the lead is large but the title is not yet settled.

That is the full picture from Austin: a ninth win of the season for Antonelli, a pole to flag victory over 56 laps, Leclerc and Verstappen completing the podium, and a championship that stays open for at least one more weekend because the two drivers closest to him in the required positions finished higher than he needed them to finish.