The pressure was immense at the Circuit of the Americas, where Kimi Antonelli’s father, Marco, leaned in to kiss him on the forehead on the starting grid.
Antonelli, 20, looked slightly flushed. It was not embarrassment at his father’s affectionate gesture, but perhaps an indication of the history weighing on him during a warm afternoon in Texas. He went on to claim a commanding victory at the United States Grand Prix, taking another major step towards his world championship dream. The ultimate prize, however, remained out of reach for now.
“Another small step,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told him over the radio, his voice conveying both praise and expectation.
Trying to maintain his composure, Antonelli told his team-mates that he had enjoyed the deafening flypast, which drowned out the final lines of the Star-Spangled Banner during the pre-race ceremony. The words “Home of the brave” were lost beneath the engine noise, which arrived a second or two earlier than the carefully planned choreography had anticipated.
Antonelli then exchanged a couple of firm hugs with his race engineer, Peter “Bono” Bonnington, before climbing into his Mercedes. His target was clear: within the next couple of hours, he could become the youngest world champion in Formula One history.
Austin was always likely to present a formidable challenge. Antonelli would eventually win by more than 13 seconds from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, but at least he began from the ideal position. Starting on pole, he was best placed to attack the steep opening corner, set against a new hospitality complex and a deep grass bank filled with spectators.
Kimi Antonelli won the United States Grand Prix to take another huge step towards the F1 title
After qualifying on pole, the Italian kept his nerve to storm to a convincing win in Austin, Texas
Charles Leclerc (left) and Max Verstappen (right) joined F1’s runaway leader on the podium
The tight left-hander at Turn One represented Antonelli’s main danger. He eliminated that threat immediately, despite sharing the front row with Max Verstappen, who finished third. Antonelli made a rapid getaway and had the freedom to choose his line, ultimately cutting almost straight through the centre of the circuit as the track rose and turned.
It was a huge relief. Verstappen has been a dominant force at COTA, winning there four times, but Antonelli’s strong start gave him a measure of control over the United States Grand Prix.
By the end of the opening lap, Antonelli had built a lead of more than two seconds over Verstappen. The Red Bull driver was briefly overtaken by Ferrari’s Leclerc before reclaiming the position from the Monegasque.
The championship calculations were complicated, not least because the final two races were surrounded by uncertainty.
The scheduled events in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, due to take place at the end of November and the beginning of December, could yet be affected by war. Nobody knew how Iran might act in the months ahead, what role the Houthis could play by proxy, or how Donald Trump might respond after the November 3 midterm elections. The campaign, incidentally, was competing with Big Pharma for advertising space on American television networks.
If the Formula One calendar proceeded as planned, with both Middle Eastern races remaining, Antonelli needed to leave Austin with a 125-point advantage.
If those races were cancelled and Imola was brought in as the sole replacement, leaving only four rounds after Austin, his required advantage would fall to 100 points.
Antonelli began the race 102 points ahead of his demoralised Mercedes team-mate George Russell, 111 clear of Lewis Hamilton and 119 ahead of Verstappen. Russell started sixth, with his championship hopes looking badly damaged. Hamilton was fifth, behind Ferrari’s Leclerc, an unhelpful position on a circuit where Hamilton had won five times. In the United States, he had six victories, including his first at Indianapolis during his debut season with McLaren, 19 years and 20 seasons earlier.
On the original race schedule, Russell needed to finish eighth or higher to remain in contention, while Hamilton had to take fourth. In reality, they were doing little more than delaying the inevitable. Their championship prospects had already entered intensive care.
That was the backdrop to Antonelli’s performance. For brief moments, it appeared that Hamilton might produce the result he needed. He spent much of the race running fourth, however, and finished there. A solid start helped him limit the damage, but he still left Austin 124 points behind.
It is inevitable that the Mercedes star will become F1’s youngest ever champion very soon
His Mercedes team-mate George Russell endured a frustrating weekend, finishing in ninth
That means – and apologies for all these figures – to be certain of the title Antonelli now needs to finish ninth or higher in Mexico City next weekend, and only that is required if Russell or Hamilton were to win.
As for Russell, he finished eighth and, like Hamilton, only theoretically in the fight – 123 adrift, and even that yawning margin seemed in doubt after an eventful opening lap.
He ran off and then banged wheels with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. He was punished with a five-second penalty for the latter. And when he had served it, he came out 10th, albeit behind two cars, the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson, neither of which had stopped. He clambered his way to finish where he needed to stay in the contest, arithmetically. But it was a poor afternoon for him, one that summed up his miserable season, one that has seen him demoralised by Antonelli’s run to glory.
‘It was the result we needed,’ said the winner, celebrating his ninth victory in 18 races.
Despite his title glory being delayed, Antonelli’s father Marco could sip the champagne in the Mercedes hospitality area as dusk closed in here, well assured that his boy will be crowned champion in Mexico.
If it’s not there, it will be in Brazil seven days later. Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi/Imola are just spares, laps of honour for Kimi, the kid blowing everyone away.
