Kimi Antonelli took a dominant victory at the US Grand Prix, with a controlled and composed drive to beat the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc into second place, but it was not quite enough for the Italian to seal his first Formula One world championship at the Circuit of the Americas. The coronation is surely but delayed for a week as Antonelli has made it almost a formality that he will seal the deal at the next round in Mexico.
Antonelli did everything required of him in Austin, taking pole and converting it to a win, his ninth of the season. With his teammate George Russell finishing in eighth place and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in fourth, the fight is alive but only just, and Antonelli is surely now in position to finish the job next weekend in Mexico City.
Antonelli leads Russell by 123 points and Hamilton by 124. With nine wins the Italian cannot be caught on countback and needs only to be 100 ahead after the Mexican GP. Any finish in front of Russell and Hamilton, or ninth or better regardless of where his two rivals finish, will be enough for the 20-year-old to be the youngest driver to claim the sport’s crown and the first Italian to do so since Alberto Ascari won in 1953.
In what was something of a stately affair in Austin, enlivened largely by a split strategy with the Mercedes of Antonelli and Russell opting for a one-stop strategy over the two-stopper of Red Bull and Ferrari, the former proved to be the right call. Antonelli led from the off and after putting in a long first stint while his rivals dashed in for new boots, he emerged able to regain the lead and not have to stop again.
The strategy split made the procession at least open to debate for the mid-period until it became clear that the one-stopper was the quicker option. The late phase did see some feisty passing by Max Verstappen who took advantage of his fresher rubber to hustle through the field, as did Leclerc in his wake who was equally brave and ultimately took second place from the Dutchman who finished in third, albeit with the mitigation of some engine-braking problems. Hamilton too made a late pass to claim fourth for Ferrari with Lando Norris in fifth for McLaren.
The race however belonged to Antonelli. He did not put a foot wrong with a cool-headed display as he assuredly put one hand on the title. The Italian went into the weekend insisting he just wanted to have fun, to perform at his best and not let the title play on his mind. He did so with no little success at the Circuit of the Americas, where certainly he was having a good time.
The pole lap, his first since the Belgian Grand Prix in July, had been brilliant, and in the race he demonstrated the same imperious form as when at his very best this season and which has brought him to within touching distance of his record-breaking achievement.
Just as his five-race run of victories at the start of the season had given him command of the title fight, he is closing it out with nerveless control. The pole, he admitted, had been something of a surprise given how strong Red Bull have been of late but the victory was an emphatic reminder that these are the performances Antonelli is always capable of delivering.
Moreover the result will be welcomed with open arms at Mercedes. The minor wobble they experienced when their upgrades brought to Malaysia did not deliver as expected and left the team having to work at bringing the package up to speed looks to be over.
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They have addressed it to the extent that its operating window remains narrower but is more workable, and Antonelli looked to be comfortable in the car which was once more enjoying an advantage over the rest of the field.
It is far from the dominance it enjoyed for the first half of the season but what is of most import for Mercedes is that they appear to have successfully addressed it and have confidence on the direction they are taking with the car next season.
On a circuit which represents an all-round test of a car’s strengths, through high-speed corners, slow-speed sections and demanding, heavy-braking zones, a well-balanced ride is essential and the Mercedes once more looked like it was on rails in Antonelli’s hands.
He went into the race in Austin needing to win and he delivered, with a superb drive indicative of the form he has shown across the season, not quite sufficient to clinch it here, but enough to ensure it is all over bar the shouting.
