Antonelli wins US Grand Prix as Formula 1 title wait continues

Kimi Antonelli won the United States Grand Prix on Sunday but must wait to secure his first Formula 1 world championship. The Mercedes driver took his ninth victory in 18 races this season at Austin's Circuit of the Americas, according to BBC Sport's race report. Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen third.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxDTghRx_VA

The result leaves Antonelli 123 points ahead of Mercedes team-mate George Russell. Russell finished eighth and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton fourth, keeping both mathematically in contention. In Mexico City next weekend, ninth place would guarantee Antonelli the championship even if Russell wins; tenth would suffice if Hamilton wins. If neither rival takes victory, Antonelli will become champion regardless of his own finishing position.

Antonelli began on medium tyres, while Leclerc and the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Isack Hadjar started on softs. A strong getaway and the fight behind him helped the Italian establish a lead of more than two seconds by the end of the opening lap. He then completed the race with one pit stop, while most rivals stopped twice, finishing 16 seconds ahead of Leclerc.

The contest for second place continued long after the opening-lap exchanges between Leclerc and Verstappen. Their different tyre strategies left Leclerc with a longer second stint, and he emerged from his final stop 8.5 seconds behind the Red Bull. After both passed Lando Norris, Leclerc overtook Verstappen at Turn One two laps later. Verstappen subsequently held off Hamilton, who finished one second behind him.

Norris also made a one-stop strategy work, bringing his McLaren home fifth ahead of Hadjar. Oscar Piastri finished seventh after resisting Russell, whose five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage complicated his afternoon. Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly completed the points finishers in ninth and tenth respectively. Russell had started sixth but dropped to tenth after his pit stop before recovering two places.

BBC Sport also reported that both Mercedes cars used the upgrade package first introduced in Malaysia, following further work to understand its behaviour. Team principal Toto Wolff praised Antonelli's execution in Austin while acknowledging the car remained difficult to optimise. For the 20-year-old, the championship remains unfinished business: clinching it would make him Formula 1's youngest world champion and Italy's first since Alberto Ascari in 1953.