Antonelli wins US Grand Prix, heads to Mexico City one result away from F1 title

Kimi Antonelli crossed the line first at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday for his ninth victory of the 2026 Formula 1 season, but the title did not follow him to the podium. The 20-year-old Mercedes driver fell just short of the mathematical threshold needed to clinch the championship in Austin — and so the sport now travels to Mexico City, where one more strong result could make him the youngest world champion in F1 history.

Antonelli's lights-to-flag win at the US Grand Prix was, by any measure, dominant. He had taken pole on Saturday with a lap of 1min 34.035sec, outpacing Max Verstappen by 0.179sec, and on Sunday he pitted just once — on Lap 25 of 56 — while Leclerc and Verstappen both ran two-stop strategies in an unsuccessful bid to catch him. Charles Leclerc finished second, Verstappen third, and Lewis Hamilton fourth. George Russell, Antonelli's Mercedes teammate and the man closest to him in the standings battle for second place, crossed the line eighth after a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage dropped him from sixth.

It was the result we needed. We're very close, but yeah, we're trying to finish on a high, and hopefully we can finish it very soon.— Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes driver

With five races remaining and a maximum of 125 points still available, Antonelli sits 123 points clear of his nearest rival in the standings. That arithmetic means Mexico City, round 19, is the first realistic opportunity to seal the title.

The record Antonelli is chasing belongs to Sebastian Vettel, who was 23 years and 133 days old when he won his first championship at the final race of the 2010 season. Antonelli was four years old at the time — a detail he acknowledged with a joke about playing with Hot Wheels, according to NBC News. Should he win the title, he would also become the first Italian world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

For sure, I've been surprised. This season so far, of course, is still not over. Still a few races where, you know, just want to do well, want to still try to fight for wins. [It] would be good to finish on a high. But definitely, looking back at the season, there's still things to work on, to improve.— Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes driver

The Austin weekend drew an attendance of 467,000 across the three days, according to F1 officials. On the podium, Senator Ted Cruz presented the winner's trophy to Antonelli to a chorus of boos from the crowd — which turned to cheers as Antonelli hoisted it.

Russell, 28, qualified sixth and was running in that position before his penalty. He remains in a close fight with Hamilton for second in the championship, but both he and Hamilton had already framed Antonelli's title as a question of when, not if, before the Austin race. Russell said after the race that his priority is helping Mercedes secure the constructors' championship. 'As long as we win the constructors', that's the main thing, for the team,' he said. 'Obviously, I'd like to finish best of the best. But P2, P3, P5 is not champion.'

Formula 1 now moves to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, where Antonelli will have his first genuine chance to close out the 2026 drivers' title. It is his second season in the sport.

Why it matters — Antonelli is one race result away from becoming the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history and the first Italian title-holder in over 70 years.

Reported by yahoo.com, nbcnews.com, racingnews365.com, thefieldf1.com