Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli won the Formula One United States Grand Prix in Austin on Sunday, his ninth victory of the season. The 20-year-old Italian finished 13.078 seconds clear of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen third.
Antonelli could have sealed the title in Texas if team-mate George Russell had finished lower than eighth and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton had missed the top four. But seven-time champion Hamilton surged late to take fourth and Russell came home eighth, leaving Antonelli needing only ninth place at next week's Mexican Grand Prix to wrap up the championship.
Victory there would make him the first Italian world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953 and break Sebastian Vettel's record as the youngest champion in F1 history. "Good job everyone, that's the result we needed," Antonelli said on team radio, later praising the one-stop strategy and adding: "We are very close now, but we will try to finish on a high, and hopefully we can clinch it very soon."
Despite reaching the podium, Verstappen is now mathematically out of the running for a fifth title. Leclerc said Ferrari had good pace but fell just short of its target of victory.