How The 2026 US Austin Grand Prix Reshaped The Championship Standings

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli clinched race victory at Austin and the fight for second in the drivers’ standings and third in the constructors starts to heats up. 

Feature image credit: By Courtesy of Pirelli

The Fight for First

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli converted his pole position into race victory at the United States Grand Prix held in Austin, Texas, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

While Leclerc and Verstappen showed they had enough pace to put up a fight for the race win against Antonelli, the young Italian made the one-stop strategy work in his favour by going long on his first stint, while the other two were committed to the two-stop strategy after pulling into the pit lane to switch tyres early on.

Norris Wins the One-Stop Battle 

McLaren’s Lando Norris also made the one-stop strategy work as he came home to finish in fifth after starting eighth on the grid. The reigning world champion made his way up into second place at one point, but as his hard tyres eventually started to wear off as the race began to come to an end, Norris was overtaken by both Verstappen and Leclerc, who were on much fresher tyres.

Another driver who got the jump on Norris was the other Ferrari driver, Lewis Hamilton. While Hamilton seemed to be in a race of his own, after stopping for his second pit stop, the seven-time world champion was able to have some racing action as he closed in and overtook the McLaren driver during the final laps to claim fourth place.

Despite the one-stop strategy proven to work, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Mercedes’ George Russell, who both started ahead of Norris, struggled to make it work for them and took the chequered flag in sixth and eighth, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri splitting them in seventh.

Kimi Antonelli claims win at US Grand Prix inches away from title

Racing Bulls Vs Alpine

Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10. After early contact with Haas’ Ollie Bearman, the Frenchman clinched one crucial point for Alpine. With Racing Bulls once again outperforming Alpine in their fight for fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, the Faenza-based team now sits comfortably on 102 points to Alpine’s 69 points.

The Championship Standings 

The 2026 US Grand Prix may not have sealed the championship title for Antonelli. Still, with the race win, a healthy 123-point lead over his rivals, and only 125 points left to take, the Mercedes driver is almost certain to win the championship next time out at Mexico.

While the Drivers’ Championship is almost sealed, the fight for second place is just starting to heat up as we leave Austin with a four-way battle between Russell, the Ferrari duo of Hamilton and Leclerc, and Verstappen, with second and fourth place only separated by 9 points.

The battle for third in the Constructors’ Championship is also heating up between McLaren and Red Bull as the teams leave Austin joint on 355 points.

Antonelli aiming to have ‘fun’ at Mexico City Grand Prix with title looming

Up next

As we move away from Austin and focus our eyes on Mexico this weekend, will Antonelli get his hands on the championship trophy or will he have to wait a little longer? Find out when the five red lights go out on Sunday, November 1st for the Mexico Grand Prix.

The Full Race Classification

1 – Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

2 – Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

3- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

4 – Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

5 – Lando Norris, McLaren

6 – Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

7 – Oscar Piastri, McLaren

8 – George Russell, Mercedes

9 – Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

10 -Pierre Gasly, Alpine

11 – Nico Hulkenberg, Audi

12 – Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls, +1 Lap

13 – Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi, +1 Lap

14 – Esteban Ocon, Haas, +1 Lap

15 – Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, +1 Lap

16 – Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, +1 Lap

17 – Alexander Albon, Williams, +1 Lap

18 – Carlos Sainz, Williams, +1 Lap

19 – Sergio Perez, Cadillac, +1 Lap

NC – Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac, DNF

NC – Franco Colapinto, Alpine, DNF

NC – Oliver Bearman, Haas, DNF

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