The fight for second: Russell, Hamilton, Verstappen and Leclerc are nine points apart
Antonelli is running away with the title, but the race for runner up is the closest in the table. Four drivers from three teams are covered by nine points with five rounds left.
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Kimi Antonelli is 123 points clear and can clinch the 2026 title in Mexico City on Sunday. Behind him, the table is as tight as it gets. George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc are separated by nine points, according to the official drivers' standings, with five rounds left.
The table behind Antonelli
| Pos | Driver | Team | Points | Gap to second |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes | 242 | |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 241 | 1 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 236 | 6 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 233 | 9 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 211 | 31 |
The gaps are Grid and Pit arithmetic from the official table. Five Grands Prix remain, Mexico City, São Paulo, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, worth up to 125 points to any one driver, as Grande Prêmio and Sky Sports both note. Even Norris, 31 points back, is close enough to join in with one good weekend.
How Austin squeezed it together
Austin turned a Russell lead into a scrap. Antonelli won from pole, Leclerc was second and Verstappen third, while Hamilton finished fourth and Russell eighth, according to GPblog. Russell also took a five second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on the opening lap, which we covered in our United States Grand Prix report. Grande Prêmio reports that Russell said afterward he could not explain his lack of pace.
Russell's season next to Antonelli's
The two Mercedes drivers have had very different years. Grande Prêmio counts three wins for Russell against nine for Antonelli, and has Antonelli ahead 11 to 7 in qualifying and 13 to 5 in Grand Prix results between them. It also points to mechanical problems and penalties that cost Russell points earlier in the year.
Russell will also lose first practice in Mexico City, where reserve Frederik Vesti takes his car, PlanetF1 reports. The full list of Friday swaps is in our Mexico City FP1 lineup story.
Ferrari's momentum
Ferrari has two drivers in the fight and the better recent form. Sky Sports notes that Ferrari has outscored Mercedes at each of the last three race weekends, even though Mercedes still leads the constructors' table by 133 points, as our standings after Austin show.
Verstappen out of the title race early
Verstappen can no longer win the title. His 129 point deficit is bigger than the 125 points left, and Grande Prêmio says 2026 is the first season since 2020 in which his title hopes ended before the final round. He won four straight titles from 2021 to 2024 and lost the 2025 championship to Norris by two points. Second place is still open to him.
What to watch
In Mexico City the order among these four could change in a single race, since a win is worth 25 points. Start times in Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific time are in our Mexico City times guide, with São Paulo and Las Vegas to follow. If you are wondering what happens when drivers finish level on points, our tiebreak rules explainer has the answer.
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Sources
- 2026 drivers' standings (external source)
- F1 today: Herta's licence battle, Mexico FP1 shake up and Antonelli's title chance (external source)
- Antonelli on brink of F1 glory: How he can seal title in Mexico (external source)
- Kimi Antonelli F1 title permutations at the Mexico City GP (external source)
- George Russell to miss Mexican Grand Prix FP1 as Vesti steps in (external source)