SportyTV | Antonelli on the brink of F1 title after breezing to victory in Austin

Kimi Antonelli edged ever closer to becoming the youngest-ever Formula One world champion after he claimed his ninth win of the season at the United States Grand Prix.

Antonelli could have been crowned the champion on Sunday, needing George Russell to finish lower than eighth and Lewis Hamilton to cross the line lower than fourth.

However, Hamilton, the man Antonelli replaced at Mercedes, took the chequered flag in fourth, while Russell came home in eighth, leaving the Italian to wait another week.

The 20-year-old is now just two points away from realising his dream as the title looks set to be sealed at next week's Mexico City Grand Prix.

But in Austin, Charles Leclerc came home in second after being embroiled in a race-long battle with Max Verstappen, with the Red Bull driver claiming the final podium place.

Hamilton finished ahead of Lando Norris, who was quickly followed by Isack Hadjar, with Oscar Piastri, Russell, Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly rounding out the top 10.

VICTORY FOR KIMI IN TEXAS https://t.co/lg9a6AqX2Y
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) October 25, 2026

Antonelli made the perfect start as he claimed a sizeable gap by the end of the first lap, with Verstappen, Leclerc and Hamilton all jostling for position behind him.

The Mercedes driver had already opened up a two-second lead over Verstappen by the end of the first lap, and the chasing pack could not get anywhere near him from there.

But on the opposite side of the Mercedes garage, Russell's difficult weekend, and season as a whole, was summed up after he received an early five-second penalty.

Russell was forced to serve his penalty at his pit stop following an incident with the McLaren of Piastri, and he was unable to make his way back through the crowd.

In an uneventful race, Antonelli's dominance was highlighted further after finishing 16 seconds ahead of Leclerc, with it seemingly being a matter of time before he writes his name into F1 history.

History awaits for Antonelli

Antonelli said ahead of Sunday's race that he intended to have fun amid all the talk around possibly winning the title in Austin, but surely his mind will already be thinking about following in the footsteps of some of the F1 greats.

He now has 18 podium finishes in his F1 career, with 15 of those coming in 2026. Among drivers to have never won the drivers' championship, only Piastri (16 in 2025) has recorded more in a single season (Valtteri Bottas also had 15 in 2019), though Antonelli will surely clinch his maiden title very soon.

Antonelli will be crowned champion in Mexico City next weekend as long as he does not lose more than 23 points to Russell and 24 to Hamilton. That means ninth place would be enough to become champion even if Russell wins the race, and 10th would be enough if Hamilton is victorious.

If Russell or Hamilton do not win, Antonelli will be champion next Sunday no matter where he finishes, and the Italian was hoping to end the title conversation sooner rather than later, saying: "I know we are very close. We try to finish on a high and, hopefully, we can clinch it very soon."