Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas but missed the opportunity to secure the Formula 1 World Championship by just two points. The Mercedes driver controlled the 56-lap race in Austin, finishing ahead of Charles Leclerc, who delivered an excellent recovery for Ferrari to take second place from Max Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton completed a strong afternoon for the Scuderia by finishing fourth.
The 18th round of the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship presented a possible opportunity to settle the drivers’ title. For Andrea Kimi Antonelli to become champion in Austin, he needed to win the Grand Prix while Mercedes teammate George Russell finished outside the top eight. It was not an impossible combination, but certainly a difficult one to achieve.
Beyond the championship battle, several other questions surrounded the United States Grand Prix. Would the updated Ferrari SF-26 perform better in race conditions? Could Red Bull extend its strong run of form for a third consecutive race? And would McLaren once again struggle to influence the fight at the front?
2026 United States GP: race conditions and starting tyre choices
Before examining how the Grand Prix unfolded, the conditions at Circuit of the Americas are worth considering, particularly given the tyre-management and strategy questions heading into the race.
- Air temperature: 27°C
- Track temperature: 37°C
- Humidity: 45%
- Wind: 2.1 m/s from the south-east
Pirelli selected the C2 compound as the hard tyre, C3 as the medium and C4 as the soft for the Austin weekend. The different compounds would become important as teams attempted to manage tyre degradation and determine the most effective strategy across the 56 laps.
The tyre choices for the opening stint revealed different approaches among the leading teams. Andrea Kimi Antonelli, George Russell, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris started on mediums. Both Ferrari drivers, the Red Bulls, Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly selected soft tyres among the top ten.
Tyre management had already emerged as an important consideration before the race, with Pirelli highlighting the principal strategic danger at Austin.
Austin GP start: Charles Leclerc attacks Max Verstappen
At the start, Andrea Kimi Antonelli successfully defended his lead against Max Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton launched particularly well and briefly moved ahead of Charles Leclerc, although the Monegasque immediately responded and recovered the position. Through the opening sequence of corners, Charles Leclerc then passed Max Verstappen, while Lewis Hamilton also attempted to move ahead of the Red Bull before having to abandon the move.
George Russell was running sixth and applying pressure to Isack Hadjar. On lap two, Max Verstappen got the better of Charles Leclerc and reclaimed second place, restoring the leading order behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
A Virtual Safety Car was deployed on lap two because of debris on the circuit. The interruption was extremely brief, and racing quickly resumed under normal conditions.
The top ten at that stage consisted of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Isack Hadjar, George Russell, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman.
By lap five, Andrea Kimi Antonelli had established a 2.4-second advantage over Max Verstappen, who in turn was 1.5 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc. Meanwhile, George Russell was under investigation for gaining an advantage after running wide at Turn 12, an incident with potentially significant implications for the championship outcome.
The opening phase was relatively uneventful. By lap ten, the positions and gaps remained largely unchanged. However, the stewards subsequently imposed a five-second penalty on George Russell, which the Mercedes driver would have to serve during a pit stop.
Max Verstappen reported that debris had become lodged beneath the floor of his Red Bull. His pace was not particularly effective, and he was unable to close on Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s number 12 Mercedes W17. Charles Leclerc remained approximately two seconds behind the Dutchman, with Lewis Hamilton another three seconds behind his Ferrari teammate.
Max Verstappen pits early as Ferrari responds with medium tyres
Max Verstappen made his first pit stop on lap 14. It was an early stop for the number 3 Red Bull RB22, which switched to soft tyres for the second stint and rejoined in eighth position. The Dutchman would therefore need to stop again later in the race.
Lewis Hamilton responded to the Red Bull stop by coming into the pits for medium tyres. The British driver returned to the circuit in ninth place, behind Liam Lawson.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc remained on track. Lewis Hamilton quickly overtook Liam Lawson and began chasing Oscar Piastri for seventh position. On lap 16, Charles Leclerc also stopped, fitting medium tyres and rejoining ahead of his Ferrari teammate.
Oscar Piastri came in as well, choosing the hard compound. His pace on the C2 tyre was worth monitoring because it could provide a useful reference for Mercedes. On lap 17, Lando Norris made his stop and returned to the race in ninth place, also on the hard compound.
On lap 18, Max Verstappen comfortably overtook George Russell to move into third position. The Red Bull driver was now following the sister car, which had yet to make its first stop.
Charles Leclerc’s pace on medium tyres was particularly encouraging. The Ferrari number 16 set two consecutive fastest laps and extended his advantage over Lewis Hamilton to more than four seconds.
Charles Leclerc then caught George Russell, who offered little resistance and was passed on lap 21. The same sequence unfolded on lap 22, when Lewis Hamilton overtook the Mercedes driver to climb into fifth.
Shortly afterwards, George Russell made his pit stop, served his five-second penalty and fitted hard tyres. The British driver rejoined in tenth place.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s championship opportunity changes as George Russell recovers
By lap 24, Max Verstappen had caught Isack Hadjar. The French driver made the overtake straightforward for his Red Bull teammate, allowing Max Verstappen to move into second position, approximately 12 seconds behind race leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who had not yet stopped.
At that moment, the running order would have been sufficient for Andrea Kimi Antonelli to become world champion if the race had ended in those positions. However, there was still a considerable distance to cover, and George Russell’s recovery remained an important factor.
Charles Leclerc was now closing on Isack Hadjar. On lap 25, Andrea Kimi Antonelli finally made his pit stop, fitting the C2 hard compound. The championship leader returned to the circuit in fourth position, between the two Ferrari SF-26 cars.
Meanwhile, George Russell was setting strong lap times on hard tyres and had climbed to ninth. On lap 26, Isack Hadjar stopped, allowing Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris through. The Frenchman returned in sixth place, ahead of Oscar Piastri.
During this phase, Charles Leclerc was losing considerable time to Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes W17 in the second sector. Within a few laps, the Mercedes driver caught the Ferrari, while Charles Leclerc himself was closing on Max Verstappen, who was struggling on his soft tyres.
George Russell had meanwhile climbed to eighth. That position was significant because, even with victory, Andrea Kimi Antonelli would no longer be able to secure the championship in Austin if his teammate remained inside the top eight.
The changing possibilities in the drivers’ championship can also be explored using the ScuderiaFans F1 Championship Points Calculator.
Charles Leclerc briefly leads before Andrea Kimi Antonelli takes control
On lap 31, Andrea Kimi Antonelli was right behind Charles Leclerc, who was himself closing on Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver then made his second pit stop, handing the lead to Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen fitted medium tyres and rejoined fifth, behind Lando Norris.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli did not wait much longer to attack. On lap 32, the Mercedes driver overtook Charles Leclerc and returned to the lead, while Lewis Hamilton was running third, six seconds behind his Ferrari teammate.
Max Verstappen recorded the fastest lap on lap 34 and attempted to close the gap to fourth-placed Lando Norris. Charles Leclerc tried to stay within striking distance of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, but the Mercedes driver’s advantage continued to grow by tenths of a second, reaching approximately two seconds by lap 34.
Further back, George Russell was right behind Oscar Piastri and attempting to challenge for seventh position.
Ferrari’s performance was particularly interesting given the four aerodynamic upgrades introduced on the SF-26 for the United States Grand Prix. The team had been looking to understand whether its latest package could improve competitiveness over a race distance.
Ferrari switches Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton onto hard tyres
Lewis Hamilton made his final pit stop on lap 39, switching to hard tyres for the closing stint. The Ferrari driver returned to the circuit in sixth position, 2.3 seconds behind Isack Hadjar.
Charles Leclerc followed on lap 40, also selecting the hard compound. The Monegasque rejoined fourth, behind third-placed Max Verstappen. Andrea Kimi Antonelli remained in the lead, with Lando Norris running some distance behind him in second position.
Lewis Hamilton immediately demonstrated competitive pace on the fresh tyres, recording the fastest lap and closing rapidly on Isack Hadjar. The Red Bull driver attempted to resist, but Lewis Hamilton completed the overtake on lap 42 to move into fifth.
Charles Leclerc then began an impressive sequence of laps. The Ferrari driver set three consecutive fastest laps, significantly reducing his deficit to Max Verstappen, who was now approaching Lando Norris.
On lap 45, Max Verstappen was within one second of Lando Norris. The reigning world champion was producing an excellent tyre-management performance in his McLaren MCL40, having completed 28 laps on his hard tyres.
Charles Leclerc took advantage of the developing battle and reduced the gap to Max Verstappen to just 1.4 seconds. Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, was approximately ten seconds further back, and his pursuit appeared to have lost momentum at that stage.
Charles Leclerc beats Max Verstappen in dramatic battle for second
The fight at the front intensified as Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc found themselves separated by approximately one second. With the three drivers running so closely together, second place was now very much in contention.
On lap 47, Max Verstappen overtook Lando Norris at Turn 1. Charles Leclerc also attempted to attack the McLaren but initially had to remain behind through the opening sequence of corners.
The decisive move against Lando Norris came at the Horseshoe section, allowing Charles Leclerc to climb into third position, around one second behind Max Verstappen.
The fight was now directly between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. The Ferrari number 16 closed to within half a second of the Red Bull number 3 and activated overtake mode. Charles Leclerc maintained the pressure, completed the pass on the Dutchman and immediately attempted to build a gap.
It was an impressive recovery from Charles Leclerc, whose pace on the hard compound had transformed his final stint. After falling behind Max Verstappen earlier in the race, the Ferrari driver had worked his way back into second place through a succession of quick laps and overtakes.
Lewis Hamilton was also continuing his recovery. The seven-time world champion closed on Lando Norris in the number 1 McLaren MCL40 and completed the overtake on lap 51, moving into fourth position.
With five laps remaining, however, a podium finish for Lewis Hamilton appeared difficult. The Ferrari driver was still approximately five seconds behind Max Verstappen, leaving limited time to close the gap.
The progression of the Ferrari drivers throughout the race, including their position changes during the final stint, can be explored using the ScuderiaFans F1 Race Position & Progression Tracker.
Late Virtual Safety Car as Valtteri Bottas stops on track
Another Virtual Safety Car was deployed on lap 52 when Valtteri Bottas’s Cadillac slowed and eventually stopped at the side of the circuit. The car was stranded, and the marshals encountered difficulties moving it to a safe location.
A recovery crane was brought in, but the Virtual Safety Car remained in place while the incident was dealt with. Normal racing resumed with two laps remaining.
There was little further change during the final laps, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli completed an authoritative victory in the United States Grand Prix.
2026 United States GP result: Andrea Kimi Antonelli wins, Ferrari takes P2 and P4
Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s victory brought the Mercedes driver another major success in his outstanding 2026 campaign, but it was not enough to secure the Formula 1 World Championship in Austin. He finished the race still two points short of clinching the title.
Charles Leclerc took second place after his late comeback against Max Verstappen, who completed the podium in third. Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, giving Ferrari two cars inside the top four after a competitive second half of the race.
For Ferrari, the result followed a weekend in which the SF-26 had already shown encouraging performance, including the strong pace demonstrated by Charles Leclerc during Friday practice. The race provided further evidence of the team’s ability to challenge Red Bull on track, particularly during the final hard-tyre stints.
The championship battle now moves to Mexico the following weekend, where Andrea Kimi Antonelli will have another opportunity to complete his title-winning campaign. After coming so close at Circuit of the Americas, the wait for the championship verdict continues.
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