Kimi Antonelli won the United States Grand Prix in Austin, as Charles Leclerc finished second and Max Verstappen joined them on the podium.
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| Photo by Mark Thompson |
The 18th round of the Formula 1 season took place in Texas, just a few kilometres from Austin, at the COTA circuit. The track is a combination of some of the most famous corners in the world, such as Maggotts and Becketts at Silverstone or Turn 8 at Istanbul Park. It is also the circuit where Kimi Antonelli, at just 20 years of age, had his first chance to secure the drivers' title. However, that chance slipped through his fingers, as he still needs to collect two more points.
The young Italian from Bologna secured pole position for the race by setting the fastest lap in Saturday's qualifying session. In his mirrors at the start was the duo of Red Bull drivers, with Max Verstappen in second place alongside him and Isack Hadjar in third, sharing the second row of the grid with Charles Leclerc in fourth.
It was believed that Verstappen could get ahead of Antonelli right after the start, as he was on soft tyres, unlike Kimi, who was on the medium compound. This scenario did not unfold, as the Mercedes driver made a perfect start despite his tyre disadvantage and managed to protect the lead.
Leclerc got ahead of Verstappen in the first sector of the opening lap. However, just a few moments later, Max managed to retake the position. Antonelli was leading after the first lap, with Max Verstappen in second, while the two red Ferraris were running in third and fourth positions right behind them.
The Dutchman, Max Verstappen, pitted his RB22 at the end of lap 13 and took another fresh set of red-walled soft tyres, indicating that he was on a two-stop strategy. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc followed him into the pits a lap later.
Race leader Kimi Antonelli pitted on lap 24, as he was on a one-stop strategy, and rejoined the track in fourth position. Verstappen had to make one more pit stop, so he visited his mechanics in the pit lane on lap 32. Meanwhile, Leclerc took the lead, but it did not take long for Kimi to reclaim first position from him.
Leclerc also made his final pit stop of the race later on. By that time, Verstappen had caught up with Lando Norris, who was running in second place on the same one-stop strategy as Antonelli. At the same time, the Monegasque driver, Charles Leclerc, overtook Norris and also fought his way past Verstappen to take second place.
In the closing laps of the race, the Virtual Safety Car had to be deployed after Bottas retired due to a technical issue.
Kimi Antonelli won the race ahead of Charles Leclerc in second and Max Verstappen in third.
“It was the result we needed. The whole team deserves it so much, and all this time putting in so much work on bringing this new package and finally seeing the result is very pleasant.
“It was also perfect execution from strategy to call the one-stop, so I’m really happy we made it stick, and it was a great team effort,” Kimi said after the race.
Hamilton finished fourth, while Russell finished eighth. However, if Hamilton had finished fifth or lower and Russell ninth or lower, Kimi Antonelli would have become world champion. That did not happen, and Kimi still needs to collect two more points to celebrate this lifetime achievement. It is very possible that Kimi will score those two points in Mexico this weekend and be crowned the youngest Formula 1 world champion in Mexico city.