Antonelli extends championship lead with US Grand Prix win as rivals react after Circuit of The Americas

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Kimi Antonelli said the turnaround that delivered his United States Grand Prix win at the Circuit of The Americas felt “really special” after Friday left the team without confidence in a victory. Starting from pole on the medium tyres, Antonelli built an early advantage over Max Verstappen, then stayed on a one-stop plan while opponents switched strategies as rival pit cycles approached. Antonelli moved to the hard tyres after the pits and held on to win by a “comfortable” margin, extending his championship lead and making a title in Mexico City “incredibly likely,” according to his post-race comments.

Antonelli described what helped him control the race: calm execution lap by lap and minimizing mistakes under “pressure throughout.” He credited the team for persistent work after a “difficult Friday,” adding a message of gratitude to people at the track and to Brackley and Brixworth. His reflections positioned the victory as both a performance and process win for Mercedes, with the drivers and staff linking the result to decisions and reliability across the race weekend.

George Russell, however, had a difficult afternoon after a time penalty on the opening lap for leaving the track and gaining an advantage while fighting Oscar Piastri. Russell said the penalty cost him “a couple of places,” and that the pace was not good enough to challenge the front even after feeling stronger after his pit stop. Russell reported that once he caught Piastri, he “just couldn’t overtake,” leaving him stuck behind for the remaining laps and finishing eighth.

Toto Wolff and Mercedes’ engineering leadership framed Russell’s result as the consequence of both penalty timing and performance gaps on the day. Wolff said Antonelli and the team “didn’t put a foot wrong,” calling the win particularly satisfying because Mercedes “didn’t look like” a team capable of winning on Friday. For Russell, Wolff pointed to the five-second penalty dropping him behind McLarens, and then Piastri defending while Russell struggled to find a path through. Andrew Shovlin similarly highlighted the frustration of the opening-lap penalty and confirmed the team would review pace and set-up window issues ahead of Mexico.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished second and said the race was “fun,” singling out lap 1 battles with Max Verstappen, and later with Lando Norris and Verstappen again. Leclerc said upgrades arrived for the car and that his pace was “quite strong,” while strategy and execution were “good” but “not enough for the win.” He also described an optimistic outlook rooted in feeling confident with the direction of the car development and the goal of converting progress into victories in upcoming races.

Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and credited a strong team effort built on strategy and execution. He said balance “still wasn’t quite where” he wanted it, but he felt the pace improve as the race progressed and that the team was closing in the final stint. Hamilton also attributed the loss of a “double podium” opportunity to a late VSC, arguing that without it, he believed they would have been more competitive for the top positions.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took third and focused on why the tyres did not deliver expected performance, while noting that harder compounds had worked “really well.” He said the team needed to analyse issues including “engine consistency throughout the race,” but acknowledged that even with difficulties, the result maintained a podium streak and preserved Red Bull’s position in both championships. Verstappen also said Red Bull is now third in the Constructors’ Championship and that its objective is to defend that place while pushing for more wins.

Isack Hadjar finished sixth, explaining that the weekend’s ending was frustrating after a poor start cost him two positions to Ferrari cars. He said once settled into a rhythm he found strong pace in the first stint, felt good on the soft tyre and ran similar lap times to the leaders. Hadjar reported managing tyre degradation as the race progressed, moving to a one-stop strategy, but said a “system issue in the pit lane” compromised the rest of his run, forcing him to protect sixth and score points.

McLaren’s Lando Norris finished fifth and Oscar Piastri seventh. Norris said his hard-tyre pace was particularly strong and that he pushed beyond the car’s comfort zone to stay in contention, including during potential Safety Car periods. He described fifth as the “absolute maximum” once the second stint came at a cost, while also stating that the team remains short of outright pace needed to challenge higher up the grid. Piastri, meanwhile, said the car lacked pace “as we have all weekend,” with the hard compound enabling a one-stop strategy that helped him manage track position and keep Russell behind, but not enough to make places.

McLaren’s Team Principal Andrea Stella said the race showed the MCL40 can fight for the podium, but that the starting grid position made that goal “virtually unattainable.” Stella linked the sense of frustration to qualifying, while praising strategic and driving execution during the race and upgrades that contributed to both drivers’ efforts. He said the team aims to end the season strongly, while targeting at least third in the championship and pushing beyond podium finishes toward victory.

The wider picture from race day was that strategy and late-race timing shaped outcomes across the field. Hamilton pointed to the late VSC as a decisive factor, while Verstappen’s and Ferrari’s outcomes reflected how tyre behaviour and balance influenced their final stints. With Mexico City next, Russell and Norris both emphasized that they will work on pace and predictability issues, while teams also indicated that they will carry learning from this Circuit of The Americas weekend into next week’s challenge.