2026 United States GP: Antonelli Close to F1 Title

This weekend there was Formula 1 racing in the United States, and following it from Korea was tricky because it was very early in the morning, so I only watched the race. Because of that, this post will be shorter. But the race was pretty boring and I really don’t have much to say about it.

Alright Goguma, get to the point. What would you highlight from the race?

For me, the only thing worth noting is that the championship is ready to be sealed this weekend in Mexico. Antonelli won the race with incredible authority. Combined with a poor weekend for Russell and a Hamilton who has fallen short of the expectations raised on Friday, that spells the end of the title fight.

During the race there was strategic variety, with some drivers going for a one-stop strategy, like Antonelli, and others for two stops, like Verstappen or both Ferraris. Watching the race, I think the optimal strategy was one stop; at least Norris was doing well on it and spent a long time in podium positions.

In the end, everything goes right for Antonelli and he does everything right. Pole and victory.

Anything else worth mentioning?

Well, what caught my attention was how Sainz got squeezed at the start. Lindblad boxed him in toward the wall and got no penalty or anything. I honestly don’t understand it: since when is that legal? In my opinion that deserved a penalty, but apparently, since they were backmarkers, it doesn’t matter.

I should also mention Verstappen’s problems at the start. He started second, but lost a lot of ground, apparently because of a battery problem. He even lost second place, then got it back, although he lost it again at the end of the race.

And I think that’s it.

What do you mean, that’s it? Are you tired of writing the blog already?

It’s not that, it’s just that nothing happened. Antonelli will be world champion this weekend, or maybe he already is by the time you read this, because I’m not sure the final races in the Middle East will actually take place. Anyway, here are the race results and the championship standings.

Race results

Pos. No. Country Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
112๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡นKimi AntonelliMercedes561:35:16.650125
216๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡จCharles LeclercFerrari56+13.078418
33๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑMax VerstappenRed Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford56+17.485215
444๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡งLewis HamiltonFerrari56+18.515512
51๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡งLando NorrisMcLaren-Mercedes56+30.521810
66๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ทIsack HadjarRed Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford56+34.37338
781๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บOscar PiastriMcLaren-Mercedes56+52.67476
863๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡งGeorge RussellMercedes56+54.30364
930๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟLiam LawsonRacing Bulls-Red Bull Ford56+1:19.18392
1010๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ทPierre GaslyAlpine-Mercedes56+1:27.516101
1127๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ชNico HรผlkenbergAudi56+1:34.94511โ€”
1241๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡งArvid LindbladRacing Bulls-Red Bull Ford55+1 lap14โ€”
135๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ทGabriel BortoletoAudi55+1 lap21โ€”
1431๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ทEsteban OconHaas-Ferrari55+1 lap15โ€”
1518๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆLance StrollAston Martin Aramco-Honda55+1 lapPLโ€”
1614๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธFernando AlonsoAston Martin Aramco-Honda55+1 lap12โ€”
1723๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญAlexander AlbonAtlassian Williams-Mercedes55+1 lap17โ€”
1855๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธCarlos Sainz Jr.Atlassian Williams-Mercedes55+1 lap16โ€”
1911๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝSergio PรฉrezCadillac-Ferrari55+1 lap18โ€”
Ret77๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎValtteri BottasCadillac-Ferrari48Engine19โ€”
Ret43๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ทFranco ColapintoAlpine-Mercedes35Collision damage20โ€”
Ret87๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡งOliver BearmanHaas-Ferrari24Collision damage13โ€”

Drivers’ championship standings after the 2026 United States GP

Pos. Country Driver Team Points
1๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡นKimi AntonelliMercedes365
2๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡งGeorge RussellMercedes242
3๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡งLewis HamiltonFerrari241
4๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑMax VerstappenRed Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford236
5๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡จCharles LeclercFerrari233
6๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡งLando NorrisMcLaren-Mercedes211
7๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บOscar PiastriMcLaren-Mercedes144
8๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ทIsack HadjarRed Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford105
9๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟLiam LawsonRacing Bulls-Red Bull Ford77
10๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ทPierre GaslyAlpine-Mercedes42
11๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡งArvid LindbladRacing Bulls-Red Bull Ford38
12๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ทFranco ColapintoAlpine-Mercedes27
13๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡งOliver BearmanHaas-Ferrari23
14๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ชNico HรผlkenbergAudi13
15๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ทGabriel BortoletoAudi10
16๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ทEsteban OconHaas-Ferrari7
17๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธFernando AlonsoAston Martin Aramco-Honda7
18๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธCarlos Sainz Jr.Atlassian Williams-Mercedes7
19๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญAlexander AlbonAtlassian Williams-Mercedes5
20๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ตYuki TsunodaRacing Bulls-Red Bull Ford1
21๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆLance StrollAston Martin Aramco-Honda0
22๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎValtteri BottasCadillac-Ferrari0
23๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝSergio PรฉrezCadillac-Ferrari0

Constructors’ championship

Pos. Country Team Points
1๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ชMercedes607
2๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡นFerrari474
3๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡นRed Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford355
4๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡งMcLaren-Mercedes355
5๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡นRacing Bulls-Red Bull Ford102
6๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ทAlpine-Mercedes69
7๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธHaas-Ferrari30
8๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ชAudi23
9๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡งAtlassian Williams-Mercedes12
10๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡งAston Martin Aramco-Honda7
11๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธCadillac-Ferrari0

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The cover photo is from Pexels.

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