Antonelli wins the United States Grand Prix from pole and moves to the brink of the title

Kimi Antonelli won the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas on Sunday, October 25, finishing 13.078 seconds ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen third, according to the official race result. The Mercedes driver covered the 56 laps in 1:35:16.650 and scored 25 points.

The win leaves Antonelli 123 points clear of his teammate George Russell with five rounds to go, BBC Sport reported. He did not clinch the title in Austin because Russell finished eighth and Lewis Hamilton fourth, just enough to keep the mathematics alive, BBC Sport said in its analysis.

How the race was won

Antonelli started from pole and was more than two seconds clear by the end of the first lap, while Verstappen and Leclerc fought behind him, according to the BBC race report. The BBC says Mercedes started him on the medium tire while Leclerc and both Red Bulls started on new softs, and that Antonelli turned that choice into a one stop race.

Late in the race Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas pulled off the track, which brought out a Virtual Safety Car, but Antonelli's lead was large enough that it put little pressure on him, the Formula 1 race report says. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff called it "the race of a champion who isn't the champion yet," BBC Sport reported.

The top ten in Austin

The official classification lists the points finishers as:

1. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, 25 points
2. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 18 points
3. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 15 points
4. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, 12 points
5. Lando Norris, McLaren, 10 points
6. Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing, 8 points
7. Oscar Piastri, McLaren, 6 points
8. George Russell, Mercedes, 4 points
9. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls, 2 points
10. Pierre Gasly, Alpine, 1 point

Russell's eighth place came with a five second penalty, and he could not get past Piastri, BBC Sport reported. Sergio Pérez was the only Cadillac to finish, in 19th, one lap down. Bottas, Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman did not finish, the result page shows.

What comes next

The next round is the Mexico City Grand Prix from October 30 to November 1. Our race times in ET, CT, MT and PT and the title scenarios explainer cover what to watch and when.