Would the 2026 F1 United States GP be the title-winning race for Kimi Antonelli? After his surprise pole yesterday, there is a mathematical chance for him to clinch it. He does need some misfortune for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell for it to happen though.
Before the race a flurry of penalties were applied to the grid, with Gabriel Bortoleto taking an 80-place penalty. It didn’t see him last however as Lance Stroll again changed his car in parc fermé yielding a pitlane start. Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad also have penalties for power unit replacements, putting them on P14 and P20 respectively.
Poor start puts Verstappen on the back foot
As per usual in 2026 it was a bad start for both Red Bulls, with Isack Hadjar immediately being swarmed by both Ferrari drivers. Max Verstappen also immediately feels the pressure and sees Charles Leclerc pass through in the Esses.
Hadjar is then under pressure of Russell at the end of the back straight, but he manages to keep the Mercedes driver behind him. Russell however leaves the track and is eventually under investigation for gaining an lasting advantage. Verstappen finds some pace and overtakes Leclerc in turn 15, reclaiming P2. A short Virtual Safety Car is called for some debris on track in turn 11.
Ollie Bearman shoves Pierre Gasly to the side for tenth in turn 13. Replay shows that Carlos Sainz is squeezed into the pit wall at the start by Arvid Linblad, which is noted by race direction.
Oscar Piastri is under pressure from his team mate, as both try to close the gap to Russell. After a few radio messages the Ozzy lets the reigning world champion by in turn 1. Gasly retakes tenth from Bearman as their earlier incident is noted, because the Haas driver made a mistake into turn 20.
In the backfield Fernando Alonso tries to overtake Alex Albon with a greate lunge into turn 1, but loses out on traction and has to let Albon go into turn 3. Russell in the meantime gets a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Verstappen opens first pit stop sequence
Esteban Ocon is leaving Haas at the end of the season, so he feels he can freely ask for team orders over his team mate Bearman. At the rear Colapinto tries the Alonso-technique on the other Williams, and like the Spaniard he loses out under traction.
As Ocon is let past by Bearman, another investigation is announced, as Bortoleto also is alleged to leave the track and have gained an advantage.
At the front Antonelli keeps the gap to Verstappen around the 2.5 second mark, as Verstappen does a similar thing with Leclerc. Hamilton is a bit further back and complains about understeer in the low speed corners.
Alonso overtakes Albon in turn 14, and is immediately pressured by Bortoleto, who is cleared of any wrongdoing earlier on. Bearman also seems to have some issues, because after the swap he is overtaken by Lindblad and Nico Hülkenberg.
Verstappen is the first to blink in the strategy department and stops at the start of lap 14. He stays on the soft tyres, so he will do a two-stop race.
Hamilton follows a lap later. He switches to the medium tyres and comes back out behind Liam Lawson in ninth.
Verstappen wastes no time overtaking Piastri who is about to pit. Leclerc pits as well, and both drivers opt to go a compound harder.
One-stop versus two-stop
Norris stops a lap after his team mate, giving clear air to Verstappen. His stop is also a bit slow, but he stays ahead of Piastri.
Hadjar is now in second and feels he is in a good place with his tyres, suggesting to extend his stint. In the meantime his team mate makes quick work of Russell into turn 12.
Norris makes up ground after his botched stop by overtaking Gasly into turn 1, as Bearman gets a ten-second penalty for his kerfuffle with the French driver. Next up for Norris is Lawson, who quickly is disposed of.
Leclerc is also on a charge. With consecutive fastest laps and a quick overtake on Russell he is just four seconds behind Verstappen.
Russell takes his first stop and penalty in lap 23. This puts him in tenth, and Antonelli virtually in championship-winning position.
Red Bull plays the obvious team game, albeit a bit late to Verstappen’s taste. This immediately prompts Antonelli to stop. He switches to the hard tyres, and comes out slightly ahead of Hamilton.
Verstappen struggling in the lead
Hadjar is attacked by Leclerc, but makes his car very wide just before entering the pits. It buys Verstappen valuable tenths, but the Frenchman is not too pleased with the choice for the hard tyres. A lack of power puts him in reach of Piastri, much to Hadjar’s frustration.
Antonelli is slowly reeling in Leclerc on his hard tyres, as the leaders are catching traffic. Verstappen however is struggling with engine breaking, meaning both Leclerc and Antonelli are closing in. This causes the team to call Verstappen in, but it’s a slow stop, costing another 1.4 seconds.
The lead is now for Leclerc, but he is quickly overtaken by Antonelli. Team mate Russell is in a fight with Piastri, but cannot really make an overtake stick.
Sainz isn’t very perceptive as Antonelli approaches, much to the Italian’s frustration. Colapinto is told to retire the car, and he joins Bearman who stopped earlier in the race.
With 18 laps to go Hamilton goes to the pits for his final stop, and goes to hard. It drops him behind Hadjar in sixt, as Verstappen improves the fastest lap. Leclerc follows his team mate a lap later, also going to the hard tyres.
Ferrari on the charge, but Antonelli out of reach
All main contenders have now stopped for the final time, meaning the battles on track are for the final positions. Verstappen has not closed the gap to Norris yet, as Leclerc is quickly approaching.
Russell is still trying to pass Piastri, as he again is within a second of the McLaren driver.
The battle for second is now a three-way fight as Leclerc has closed the gap to Verstappen. And with 10 laps to go, Verstappen lunges into turn 1. He clears Norris, who has to fend off Leclerc as well. He immediately draws a gap, as Leclerc attacks Norris into turn 12. The Ferrari driver forces an error in turn 13, giving him third.
Verstappen is next for Leclerc, and with a little over 6 laps to go he overtakes the Dutchman on the back straight.
Meanwhile Norris falls into the clutches of Hamilton, and with 5 laps to go he is passed by the seven-time champion.
Valtteri Bottas is the third retirement of the day, but because he had to park the car on track the VSC is deployed. The recovery operation takes a bit longer than expected, but no full Safety Car is needed eventually.
The remaining three laps don’t change much, and in typical fashion for the 2026 F1 season, Kimi Antonelli wins the United States GP. Leclerc gets a well-deserved second, from a struggling Verstappen. Hamilton finishes fourth, ahead of Norris, Hadjar and Piastri. Russell manages only eighth after his penalty, from Lawson and Gasly. In the end, this means the title battle goes to Mexico City.
