Kimi Antonelli continued his remarkable surge toward his maiden Formula One world title by claiming a commanding victory at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. The 20-year-old Mercedes talent leveraged his pole position start to cross the finish line in 1:35:16.650, finishing 13.078 seconds ahead of runner-up Charles Leclerc. Antonelli was happy to agree with the boss.
This win marks Antonelli’s ninth victory of the season. While the championship is not yet mathematically secured with five races remaining, he has extended his lead over teammate George Russell to 123 points. Russell must secure a win at the upcoming Mexico City Grand Prix to keep his title hopes alive; otherwise, the trophy will belong to the young Italian in what has been a dominant second campaign. Wolff, reminded that Antonelli has had some special wins already this season, including at his home Italian Grand Prix from the back of the grid as well as Monaco and Spa, accepted that sometimes he struggled to remember past races. So of course it was incredibly special coming from the back,” he added, we were just super quick. “But it was also a track where it was relatively easy to overtake, and we were so quick.
The race was defined by a bold strategic choice from the Mercedes pit wall. While most of the field opted for a two-stop strategy during the 56-lap event, Antonelli stretched his first stint, pitting only once on Lap 25. He maintained the lead for the remainder of the race, a decision he credited as a supreme team effort. “It was a perfect way to end the weekend; it was an incredible team effort, especially from strategy to believe in me and go for one stop,” Antonelli remarked. While others chose to pit twice during the 56-lap race, Antonelli held on until Lap 25 to pit and did not visit the pit lane again. And, yeah, it was a really great team effort, and they all deserve this result today.
Reflecting on the achievement, Antonelli noted, “I’m aware securing the championship is close, but the mindset doesn’t change. I want to finish the season on a high, to go into 2027 with high hopes.”
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished third, 17.485 seconds off the pace, though the four-time champion has been mathematically eliminated from title contention this year. Verstappen expressed frustration with his car’s performance, noting, “Our overall pace was not good enough, and the tyres we had available were not the right ones. We still managed to get on the podium, maybe a bit lucky with the Virtual Safety Car at the end.” After rattling off every championship from 2021 to 2024, Verstappen has been mathematically eliminated from this year’s chase and will go two years without a world title.
The late-race drama was triggered on Lap 52 when Valtteri Bottas’s Cadillac stalled on track, necessitating a Virtual Safety Car period that lasted until the penultimate lap, effectively sealing Antonelli’s lead. In the constructors’ standings, Mercedes extended its advantage over Ferrari to 133 points, holding 607 to Ferrari’s 474.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff lauded the performance as the standout drive of Antonelli’s career. “On Kimi’s side, the main headline is that for me, that is the best race that he’s delivered so far,” Wolff stated, highlighting how the driver managed the race despite starting on inferior tires. “The race of a champion who isn’t the champion yet, but exceptional. I think he’s outperformed the car. His driving style just glues with the car.” “Getting off the start with the inferior tyre and then controlling it [the race] at all times.
While Wolff recalled previous highlights like the victory at Monza, he insisted the Austin win was superior in terms of technical execution and preparation. Antonelli echoed this sentiment, suggesting that while the Monza win was special due to the back-of-the-grid start, the execution in Austin was more complete.
“This one probably, in terms of execution, was better. The way we built the performance throughout the weekend was very good,” the driver said. Antonelli is currently undefeated on American soil this season, having won in Miami, with the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix still ahead on the calendar. According to he is now 2-for-2 in the United, This season, with the Las Vegas Grand Prix still to come in November.
