F1 United States Grand Prix was the famous champ of Austin’s Circuit of The Americas today, a disappointing day for George Russell, but a good result for Ferrari. Opponents McLaren and Red Bull had opportunities to put extra miles on the boards, and for Mercedes, a race in which tyre management, strategy and pace played a significant part was another step towards the title. Antonelli would pick up his ninth win of 2026, while Charles Leclerc kept his difficult ninth at the age of 45 for the third and fifth places, with Max Verstappen finishing 13.078 seconds behind. The outcome means the young no.122 has four points to finish second at Mexico City, and thus win his first world championship.
The big singe on the scoreboard was Antonelli, who had everything right in his approach as well as superb tyre usage to keep the race in check. Several other drivers played their cards according to their own hands, but Mercedes had invested in its driver and would stick with him in a one-stop move. That proved to be effective as Antonelli kept his lead, riding the line by himself and finishing her race comfortably ahead of Leclerc. The Italian is on the cusp of making race history, in just his second season in F1, heading toward his first championship by this season. When pressured, one of his strengths has turned to be the one that makes Mercedes overpowered, and a calm demeanor in Mexico could shorten the title card from destruction.
But Austin has been a bust for George Russell. But he couldn’t get a level pace this day when he finished eighth and was given a five-second penalty for boosting himself up the front on the first lap, making his day even more challenging. The performance had been erratic and near half the laps had been bad, Russell said, admitting 6 laps were good and 50 were poor. His lack of challenge to the front running vehicles does question his confidence on the course and how the Mercedes W17 is configured. Since Antonelli has been winning consistently, maybe Russell can understand why his abilities aren’t better now, before the season comes to a close.
Charles Leclerc had another big victory in Austin, finishing second for Ferrari. The Monegasque opened up the lap with an aggressive start, which allowed him to fight with Verstappen in the first sector and then nearly became competitive for the rest of the lap. Ferrari’s approach enabled Leclerc to stay in the battle and towards the end of the race, he got the better of Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton was also helpful to Ferrari with his fourth-place finish to help him have a decent performance. Leclerc was unable to impress in the same fashion as did Antonelli, but he found out that with the right qualifying execution, tyre distribution and race tactics, Ferrari can still bend its rivals.
Lando Norris should also get his own bit of plaudits after returning from a limp at qualifying to settle for fifth. McLaren has not had the success in achieving similar speeds to its flagships, particularly in the final stages of the race for aging tires, making it extra hard for Norris. He started to push up front, but for a short time, the other drivers, the Ferrari and the Red Bull, outran him. Oscar Piastri made heaving his way to some sort of consistency from the McLaren in an otherwise tarnished afternoon and came to the checkered flag seventh. A more consistent car is being called for if the team are to compete for success in the remaining races, but it’s something the drivers must learn.
Saturday saw one of Isack Hadjar’s biggest demoralizing mistakes. The Red Bull driver entered in good form in the qualifier, placing him third on the grid, but his form faded and he ended up in sixth for the race. He had a poor start and problems with both radio communication and clutch, which hampered his afternoon, while an incorrect engine setting added to his troubles. Hadjar displayed enough speed to potentially have been on the course to do better, but operational faults resulted in his inability to help him reach the podium.
Meanwhile, Liam Lawson racers on with a steady performance to reach 9th On Racing Bulls. His achievement pushed the team up to six points in a row, and helped convince Midfield battle contenders fans that they can safely invest in the team. Pierre Gasly took the top point for Alpine on 10th while Fernando Alonso had a challenging race seeing no points.
The United States Grand Prix ultimately bolstered the trend of Antonelli’s Grand Prix campaign and highlighted the problems of a few of his rivals. There’s someone to cheer, see? But Ferrari can take heart and Mercedes’ having proved itself but McLaren has to find more consistency. Both Russell and Hadjar are reminders of the volatility that besets a potential good weekend in Formula 1. In Mexico now, eyes are focused on Antonelli, and he needs to make another giant leap towards the youngest world champion in history, if he can secure his first title.
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