Title celebrations were put on hold for Kimi Antonelli, who claimed victory in the United States Grand Prix and now stands on the brink of securing his first world title. The Mercedes driver dominated the race at COTA, successfully keeping Charles Leclerc at a safe distance throughout. The Ferrari driver finished second, ahead of Max Verstappen, who completed the podium in third.
The Texas race developed into a fascinating strategic battle. Antonelli opted for a one-stop strategy, while Leclerc and Verstappen both committed to two pit stops. The Italian started on the Medium compound before switching to the Hard tyre during his sole stop of the afternoon.
Leclerc began the race on Soft tyres, then moved onto the Medium before finishing on the Hard compound. Verstappen also started on the Soft tyre, fitted a fresh set of the same compound for his second stint, and then switched to the Medium at his final pit stop.
Across the field there was an almost perfect balance between one-stop and two-stop strategies, making for a particularly compelling tactical contest and creating numerous overtaking opportunities. Temperatures were slightly lower than during Friday and Saturday afternoon’s sessions in Austin, with track temperatures dropping to as low as 32°C in the closing stages of the race.
Antonelli further strengthened his lead at the top of the championship standings and will have the opportunity to secure his maiden world title as early as the Mexican Grand Prix. The championship leader now has 365 points and enjoys a commanding 123-point advantage over second-placed George Russell on 242. Lewis Hamilton sits third in the standings with 241 points.
Kimi Antonelli – P1
“What an incredible feeling. After Friday, I don’t think any of us expected to be standing here with the win, so to turn the weekend around like this is really special. The car felt great today, and I was able to control the race, but it definitely wasn’t easy. There was pressure throughout and I knew I couldn’t afford to make a mistake. I just tried to stay calm, focus on each lap and execute the race.
A huge thank you to everyone here at the track and back at Brackley and Brixworth. We kept working after a difficult Friday and never gave up. To repay all that work with a victory feels amazing. I’m very proud of what we achieved today.”
Charles Leclerc – P2
“It was a fun race and I really enjoyed it, particularly the start and the battle with Max (Verstappen) on lap 1, and later on with Lando (Norris) and Max again. Our pace was quite strong, and our strategy was good, but it was not enough for the win today.
We brought good upgrades to the car and have been going in a direction that I quite like. It makes me feel confident with the car so I’m optimistic. It’s all about optimising what we have for the upcoming races, with the target of converting our progress to a win.”
Max Verstappen – P3
“It wasn’t the strongest race for me, as there were a lot of things that didn’t work out and we seemed to experience different problems. The biggest question mark is why the tyres didn’t really work, while the harder compounds actually did really well, so that’s something to analyse. We struggled with engine consistency throughout the race, which we’ll need to work on, but it’s still a podium, so if you look at the beginning of the year and where we are now, we’ll take that. We’ve had quite a few podiums in a row, but at the same time, our target is always to be first, and we want to win more. It’s nice to see that we are now third in the Constructors’ Championship. The target for the rest of the year will be to keep that position. It’ll be tough, but we’ll keep working.”
Dario Marrafuschi – Pirelli Motorsport Director
“The United States Grand Prix proved a particularly fascinating race from a strategic perspective, with all three compounds used by the teams over the course of the event. The solutions we brought to Austin performed in line with the expectations that emerged over the previous days, with the Hard showing slightly better performance than anticipated. The degradation levels observed during the opening stint confirmed the projections made after the free practice sessions, making the one-stop strategy the most effective option, as demonstrated in the race, albeit by a very narrow margin.
The two-stop strategies adopted by some teams were influenced primarily by Verstappen’s early pit stop, as he chased championship leader Antonelli, triggering a chain reaction in race management across the field. Drivers who were able to take advantage of clear air confirmed the competitiveness of the one-stop approach, maintaining a consistent pace all the way to the chequered flag. Tyre wear was relatively high and broadly uniform across the teams, without translating into any significant increase in performance degradation. From the perspective of tyre appearance, the overall picture was also remarkably consistent, with some more noticeable differences observed mainly on the Medium. The Hard rewarded the teams that incorporated it into their strategies, delivering consistent performance and a level of competitiveness that, for example, enabled Leclerc to pass Verstappen.”
