Antonelli wins in US but has to wait to secure title

Kimi Antonelli just missed out on clinching his first world title in a dominant victory in the United States Grand Prix.

The 20-year-old Italian leads Mercedes team-mate George Russell by 123 points after coming home ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Antonelli will be crowned champion in Mexico City next weekend as long he does not lose more than 23 points to Russell and 24 to Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.

That means a ninth place would be enough to become champion even if Russell wins the race, and a 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.

Antonelli stamped his authority on this race in the same way as he has on the season, and was out of touch even by the first corner as his rivals all battled behind him.

The key stories of the race were:

Antonelli took control of the race from the very beginning, an excellent start combined with a gripping scrap through the first lap between Verstappen and Leclerc leaving him more than two seconds clear by the end of the first lap.

No-one got near him from then on.

Mercedes had chosen the medium tyres for the start, while Leclerc and the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Isack Hadjar started on new softs.

And Antonelli was able to convert that choice into a one-stop race while everyone else did two, emphasising his superiority as he finished 16 seconds clear of Leclerc.

The race was also a stamp of approval for the Mercedes upgrade package that was introduced two races ago in Malaysia but initially took them backwards.

Assiduous work ever since has moved it to the point where, while it remains tricky to optimise, it is definitively quicker than the older specification.

"It was the result we needed," Antonelli said. "All this time putting work on the new package and finally seeing the result was very pleasant, perfect strategy to call the one-stop."

As for the title, he said: "I know we are very close. We try to finish on a high and hopefully we can clinch it very soon."

Russell, who started sixth, had a frustrating race. He was given a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, which dropped him to 10th after his pit stop. He could only make up two places and finished eighth.

Hamilton's fourth place means both he and fellow Briton Russell just about retain a mathematical chance of winning the championship.

The entertainment was provided by Leclerc and Verstappen, initially wheel to wheel and then at a distance as divergent strategies played out.

Leclerc, who started fourth, jumped up to third place behind Verstappen on the exit of the first corner, and then bravely sat it out around the outside of the Red Bull through the high speed Turn Three at the start of the Esses and then dived down the inside into Turn Four.

Verstappen, though, was not finished, and he closed in on Leclerc down the back straight and they fought hard through the switchback series of corners through the stadium section before the Dutchman claimed second place with a dive down the inside of Turn 15.

Verstappen led Leclerc to his first stop on lap 13, Ferrari waiting two laps longer before the Monegasque made his own first stop.

Verstappen went on to the soft tyres and Leclerc the mediums, the Dutchman then switching to mediums when he stopped on lap 31.

But Leclerc's mediums in the second stint allowed him to run eight laps longer than the Red Bull driver.

Leclerc came out 8.5 seconds behind the Dutchman and closed the gap to be on his tail within five laps as Verstappen himself came up behind Lando Norris' McLaren.

They ran nose to tail for two laps before Verstappen passed Norris into Turn One on lap 47, Leclerc following him past later in the lap.

Two laps later, Leclerc picked off Verstappen down the inside of Turn One to secure the second podium position.

Verstappen was grumbling about his car over the radio for much of the race but he had enough to hold off a late charge from Hamilton - on a similar strategy to Leclerc - by one second at the flag.

Norris managed to nurse his tyres to the end with just one stop to beat Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, while the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri fended off Russell for half the race to take seventh.

Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson and Alpine's Pierre Gasly claimed the final points positions in ninth and 10th.

1996 world champion Damon Hill on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kimi Antonelli has an infectious personality. The team love him, he's enjoying everything he's got in F1 and he's very grateful for all the breaks they've given him at Mercedes. But he delivers. He's such a nice kid. It's incredible - 20 years old and he's on the verge of winning his first championship, which I'm sure will be the first of many.

1, Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

5. Lando Norris (McLaren)

6. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)

7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

8. George Russell (Mercedes)

9. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

F1 moves south from Texas for the Mexico City Grand Prix next weekend, from 30 October-1 November. It is likely to be the scene of Antonelli's crowning as the sport's youngest world champion.