Formula 1 today: Antonelli wins in Austin

Andrea Kimi Antonelli has won the United States GP at the Circuit of the Americas. The Mercedes driver started from pole position and claimed his ninth win of the season after 56 laps. Charles Leclerc finished second in the Ferrari and also set the fastest lap of the race. Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull.

According to formula1.com and Autosport, strategy was decisive: Antonelli started on medium tyres, stopped only once and brought the hard tyres home to the finish. Many rivals, Ferrari among them, stopped twice. According to formula1.com, Leclerc only passed Verstappen in the closing stages, securing second place.

Behind them, Lewis Hamilton crossed the line fourth and Lando Norris fifth. According to formula1.com, Norris lost a possible podium finish as his tyres faded. The remaining points went to Isack Hadjar, Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly. According to formula1.com, Valtteri Bottas triggered a Virtual Safety Car when he stopped on track. It made little difference to the gap at the front. You can find all the results under 2026 results.

The win in Austin extends Antonelli's lead in the drivers' championship even further. He now has 365 points, ahead of Russell on 242 and Hamilton on 241. That puts Antonelli 123 points clear of his teammate and 124 ahead of Hamilton.

The title was already possible in Austin. For that to happen, however, Russell would have had to finish no higher than ninth and Hamilton no higher than fifth, and that did not happen. According to Autosport, two points at the next race will be enough for Antonelli to secure the title. At 20, he would become the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history. In the constructors' standings, Mercedes lead with 607 points ahead of Ferrari on 474. Red Bull and McLaren are level on 355 points each. You can find the full standings under 2026 standings.

The stewards handed George Russell a 5-second time penalty. On the opening lap he defended against Piastri at Turn 12, went off the track, rejoined ahead of him and kept the position. According to RaceFans, the penalty guidelines would normally call for 10 seconds for this. However, the stewards halved the penalty because the incident happened on the first lap and Piastri was mainly in an attacking position because Russell had been putting pressure on Isack Hadjar beforehand. Russell served the penalty during his pit stop and finished eighth.

Oliver Bearman received 10 seconds for a collision with Pierre Gasly. According to RaceFans, he tried to pass Gasly on the inside at Turn 13. The stewards held him wholly to blame because he was not far enough alongside Gasly at the apex to be entitled to the space. Bearman said he was surprised by the decision and defended his move. After he had served the penalty, the Haas F1 Team retired his damaged car.

Round 19 follows as soon as next weekend: the Mexico City GP at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. The first free practice session begins on Friday, 30 October, at 19:30 German time. Qualifying starts on Saturday at 22:00, and the race on Sunday, 1 November, at 21:00. You can find all the dates in the 2026 calendar.