AUSTIN, Texas — Kimi Antonelli dominated the Circuit of the Americas in the 18^th round of the 2026 Formula 1 championship as he moves one step closer to the 2026 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship. The Mercedes Driver secured his ninth win this year, finishing 13 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc, while Max Verstappen completed the podium. The race saw plenty of action and impressive performances as Antonelli moved closer to clinching the 2026 title.

Antonelli on the Brink of Glory

In his rookie season last year, Kimi Antonelli finished outside the points, in P13, in the U.S. Grand Prix. This year was a vastly different outcome for the 20-year-old Italian. He started the race in pole position for the first time since the Belgian Grand Prix.

However, the Circuit of the Americas can prove to be difficult to hold a lead in, with Max Verstappen being the only driver to hold the lead from pole at the circuit since 2019, but Antonelli was on course to change that.

Going into the race, Antonelli had the opportunity to clinch the 2026 title. As long as Antonelli won, Lewis Hamilton finished P5 or worse and George Russell finished P9 or worse, then Antonelli would be crowned the 2026 champion, and the youngest driver to do so in Formula 1.

Antonelli surely did his part to accomplish this goal, setting an excellent pace, and leading for most of the race. By the end, Antonelli finished with a 13-second lead to secure his third consecutive podium and ninth win of the season.

Unfortunately, Antonelli’s championship celebration will have to wait as Hamilton finished P4, and Russell finished P8. However, Antonelli is now yet another step closer to securing the title, but he will have to wait until next week’s race in Mexico to secure that glory.

The Battle for the Remaining Podium Spots

While Antonelli ran off with the race lead, a battle ensued for the remaining podium spots. Charles Leclerc, who started from P4, managed to jump past Isack Hadjar in P3, and Max Verstappen who started P2. Verstappen had struggled with power deployment at the start of the race, but he was soon able to recover and take back the position from Leclerc. This would not be the end of the fight between these two.

Later, after pitting for new tyres, Verstappen found himself in P3, behind Lando Norris. Verstappen was fast approaching, but Norris decided to stay out, in the hope that McLaren’s one-stop strategy would allow them to hold on long enough to secure a podium finish. Just behind them, Leclerc was picking up pace on a fresh set of tyres. The three drivers soon found themselves locked into a three-way shootout with the podium on the line.

Max Verstappen made the first move, passing on Norris. At the same time, Leclerc, who had appeared to be ready to move on Verstappen, also tried to make a move, but Norris held on. Soon enough though, Leclerc, with significantly newer tyres, was able to get past Norris.

Now the battle was down to Verstappen and Leclerc, who have given us many excellent battles over the years, with their rivalry dating back to their karting days. It was at this point where Verstappen had started reporting an issue with his car’s engine braking. Meanwhile, Leclerc was was closing rapidly on him, with new tyres and faster pace having just gained 11 seconds in five laps.

Leclerc got past Verstappen, and maintained his pace to finish P2, for his sixth podium of the year. Meanwhile, Verstappen, despite his car trouble, was able to hold on to P3 for his tenth podium of the year, second only to Antonelli.

More DNFs

Of course, as per usual in 2026, there were a number of DNFs, but only three this time. And, on top of that, only one was due to reliability issues, which seem to have plagued the grid throughout the season.

The first out of the race was Oliver Bearman, who received a 10-second penalty for coming into contact with Pierre Gasly. But in the end, damage sustained to his car during the incident forced Bearman to retire from the race.

It was a similar story for Franco Colapinto, who retired from the grand prix over halfway through. Colapinto admitted that he had retired due to damage sustained from contact with Arvid Lindblad.

Then there was Valtteri Bottas, whose car came to a rest on the side of the track on the 51^st lap of the 56-lap race. This is yet another blow to Cadillac in their maiden season. Cadillac’s other driver, Sergio Perez, finished P19. So far this season, Cadillac is still the only team yet to score points.

For now Kimi Antonelli can celebrate yet another excellent race as he gets closer to being the 2026 champion. He will get an opportunity to clinch the title next week in the 19^th round of the season in Mexico City.