Andrea Kimi Antonelli took his ninth win of the season, all however wrapping up the drivers’ title, at Austin. Right here’s how the drivers fared on the Components 1 United States Grand Prix.
The 20-year-old took a definitive step nearer to a historic F1 title triumph after staving off Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen to win on the Circuit of the Americas.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli: 9.5
Grid Place: P1, Race End result: P1
Antonelli heads into the race weekend in Mexico with the drivers’ title all however confirmed in his favour.
The Mercedes driver transformed pole place into victory on the chequered flag, although his one-stop technique paid dividends with the likes of Verstappen beginning to wrestle with tyres in site visitors.
And whereas his 13+ seconds hole to Leclerc appears to underwrite a commanding win at Austin, lapses of judgment, like his large lock-up within the latter part of the race, uncovered the tough edges on an in any other case promising diamond within the making.
George Russell: 6
Grid Place: P6, Race End result: P8
The 56-lap race was an ideal abstract of Russell’s 2026 season. He was on the again foot in comparison with his team-mate after qualifying, and are available race day, marginal errors spiralled into distress.
His opening lap scuffle with Oscar Piastri noticed him earn a five-second penalty that unravelled his afternoon on the Circuit of the Americas. From thereon, the Briton was only a facet character within the battle on the entrance of the grid that rose to an exciting crescendo.
Russell’s P8 on the chequered flag, courtesy of a resolute defence by Piastri, means the one positives he can take to Mexico are mathematical.
Charles Leclerc: 9
Grid Place: P4, Race End result: P2
After a disappointing finish to qualifying on Saturday, the Monegasque expressed his optimism for the 56-lap race on Sunday.
Ranging from the second row of the grid, a place he gained from at COTA in 2024, Leclerc appeared to come back alive on his second stint.
A blistering begin, and a daring transfer within the esses on the opening lap in opposition to Verstappen set the tone for the Ferrari driver’s afternoon. As soon as he shifted onto the yellow-walled Mediums, he was flying.
For as soon as, Ferrari made the proper name on technique, going onto a two-stopper and pitting Leclerc with a considerable tyre offset to Verstappen’s RB22.
Lewis Hamilton: 7
Grid Place: P5, Race End result: P4
In contrast to Leclerc, Hamilton appeared to wrestle together with his stint on the Medium compound of tyres. The seven-time World Champion was not proud of the stability of his SF-26, and struggled with understeer on his opening two stints.
By the point he received comfy with the automobile on his last stint on the Hards, he was too far off to make a practical problem for the rostrum.
Max Verstappen: 8.5
Grid Place: P2, Race End result: P3
It was a tricky afternoon for the 29-year-old at Austin. Beginning on softer rubber than pole-sitter Antonelli, Verstappen was not capable of convert that benefit into the race lead from the entrance row in the beginning.
Pink Bull’s two-stop technique appeared to work out on observe, however solely at occasions, as any benefit Verstappen clawed to Antonelli saved getting interrupted by the Dutchman ultimately dropping his tyres throughout his stints.
When you ask him, he’d say the laps behind his team-mate and the engine braking troubles on his RBPT-Ford PU price him the race win. In actuality, nevertheless, the W17 was a category above within the palms of Antonelli all through the 56-lap race.
Heading into the race weekend at Mexico, Verstappen is now not within the hunt for a World Championship for the primary time since 2020.
Isack Hadjar: 6.5
Grid Place: P3, Race End result: P6
Hadjar wished to be “practical” when requested if he might problem for the race lead in the beginning given Pink Bull’s sluggish begins.
And he did have a faster response time in comparison with these round him when the lights went out. That mentioned, he was swallowed up by the sphere within the second part of the beginning process.
Pink Bull’s plan to maintain him on a one-stop, and a last stint on the Hards, was most likely not the way in which Hadjar wished to go in regards to the 56-lap race, and it confirmed on the chequered flag.
Lando Norris: 8
Grid Place: P8, Race End result: P5
Norris carried out himself all through the 56-lap race with metronomic effectivity.
McLaren had a one-stop embedded into its race plans, and the Briton executed a clear race, with assist of some staff orders, to extract the utmost he might from his MCL40 on the chequered flag.
Oscar Piastri: 7
Grid Place: P7, Race End result: P7
The Australian was obliged to maneuver over for his team-mate within the opening phases of the race, and it made sense by the point the chequered flag fell as Piastri lacked outright tempo to problem the highest 5.
That mentioned, it wasn’t a lonely race for the McLaren driver as Russell made good firm on his last stint. Piastri’s resolute defence in opposition to the Mercedes allowed the Woking-based staff to stroll away with a fairly respectable end result given its tempo deficit to the leaders.
Liam Lawson: 7.5
Grid Place: P9, Race End result: P9
The Kiwi driver saved up his points-scoring streak on the Circuit of the Americas, bagging two factors for the Faenza-based staff.
Lawson wasn’t within the working to problem the highest eight however wasn’t gradual both to be bothered by the Alpines and Audis.
By his personal admission, “it was a little bit of a boring one, however we like boring.”
Effectively, “boring” sees him consolidate himself within the top-10 of the drivers’ standings together with his closest rival 35 factors adrift.
Arvid Lindblad: 6.5
Grid Place: P14, Race End result: P12
Whereas Lawson felt he had a quick package deal beneath him, Lindblad wouldn’t be echoing the identical sentiments as his team-mate.
A grid penalty had already compromised him, and he was not quick sufficient throughout the 56-lap race to copy Lawson’s afternoon into the factors.
Pierre Gasly: 7.5
Grid Place: P10, Race End result: P10
Gasly’s Tenth-place end on the Circuit of the Americas was a commendable efficiency in its personal proper given the issues the Frenchman confronted out on observe.
An excruciatingly gradual pit cease didn’t deter the Alpine driver from making a comeback into the factors on the chequered flag.
And it proves that whereas the Enstone-based staff might have relinquished P5 within the Constructors’ to Racing Bulls for good, Gasly isn’t going to go down with no battle with 5 races to go in 2026.
Franco Colapinto: N/A
Grid Place: P20, Race End result: DNF
It was harm to his A526 that compelled the Argentinian racing driver to name it quits on his US GP halfway by the 56-lap race.
He tangled with Lindblad, and the ensuing harm to his automobile meant he parked all of it up on Lap 35.
Nico Hulkenberg: 7
Grid Place: P11, Race End result: P11
The German driver might probably have made a ploy for the factors, however an anti-stall problem compelled him right into a restoration drive that was simply out of attain.
Regardless of falling all the way in which all the way down to fifteenth, Hulkenberg did a minimum of end the race precisely the place he had began.
Gabriel Bortoleto: 7.5
Grid Place: P21, Race End result: P13
Whereas not consequential to Audi’s cost up the midfield, the 56-lap race on the Circuit of the Americas was a “enjoyable” little outing for the Brazilian racing driver.
Ranging from the again of the grid, Bortoleto made a bevvy of strikes, climbing eight locations and into thirteenth on the chequered flag.
That mentioned, his end result additionally meant that his pointless streak, which has continued because the Hungarian GP, prolonged itself heading into Mexico.
Esteban Ocon: 6
Grid Place: P15, Race End result: P14
Ocon was clearly driving for himself at COTA. A spicy radio alternate the place he basically mentioned ‘watch me’ after being denied staff orders in opposition to his team-mate Bearman was the spotlight for the Frenchman.
He did catch him up and was ultimately allowed previous the Briton. However from then on, Ocon lacked any significant tempo to maneuver ahead.
With solely 5 races to go in 2026, the Frenchman is quick dropping alternatives to make a substantial impression to snag a race seat for 2027.
Oliver Bearman: N/A
Grid Place: P13, Race End result: DNF
It was a robust begin to the 56-lap race for Bearman, however it all unravelled fairly rapidly after contact with the A526 of Gasly.
The Briton tried to muscle his well past into the highest 10, and within the course of not solely took harm on his VF-26 but additionally a 10-second time penalty.
Finally, Haas thought it finest to retire the automobile after 24 laps of distress for Bearman.
Lance Stroll: 7
Grid Place: P22, Race End result: P15
It was most likely one among Aston Martin’s best outings in 2026 on the Circuit of the Americas. Stroll needed to begin from the pit lane after altering PU and suspension components between qualifying and the race on Sunday.
And regardless of this handicap, the Canadian racing driver was capable of take the chequered flag forward of his team-mate, who, for causes of his personal, was compromised for the 56-lap race after a Lap 1 scuffle.
Fernando Alonso: 6.5
Grid Place: P12, Race End result: P16
Regardless of a robust begin to the US GP, Alonso’s tempo withered away because the Spaniard was obliged to take the chequered flag in sixteenth. Effectively, most of that could possibly be attributed to his Lap 1 collision with the Williams of Alex Albon.
One can solely guess what the two-time F1 World Champion might have performed if not for nursing a broken AMR26 from there onwards.
Alex Albon: 5.5
Grid Place: P17, Race End result: P17
The US GP was Albon’s twelfth consecutive pointless end for Williams this season.
To make issues worse, his Lap 1 incident with Alonso not solely caught the ire of the Spanish racing driver but additionally compromised Albon’s personal race, because the harm on his FW48 was substantial sufficient to relegate him to a Seventeenth-place end on the chequered flag.
Carlos Sainz: 5
Grid Place: P16, Race End result: P18
It was yet one more incident-ridden outing with Williams for Sainz. Firstly, the Spaniard received squeezed into the wall and that just about compromised his afternoon at COTA from the get-go.
The harm sustained, he defined, was the explanation why he fell backwards and into 18th on the chequered flag.
Sergio Perez: 6
Grid Place: P18, Race End result: P19
Comparatively talking, it was a stellar job by the Mexican racing driver on the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday. Perez was capable of make a one-stop technique work, and whereas he did end because the final of the categorised runners, he was solely a lap down on the leaders. Effectively, that’s a lap higher than Singapore.
Valtteri Bottas: N/A
Grid Place: P19, Race End result: DNF
It was a suspected energy unit problem that ended Bottas’ US GP. Cadillac have struggled with reliability and tempo this season, and the Finnish racing driver has subsequently needed to endure yet one more painful outing in F1.
READ MORE – Max Verstappen pinpoints main Pink Bull flaw after ‘common’ US GP displaying