Austin: Antonelli in total control, the title awaits in Mexico

A tyre gamble that locked everything down

At the start, Antonelli was the only driver in the top five on medium tyres. It could have left him exposed in the opening laps, but it never did. While Leclerc lunged at Verstappen into Turn 1, forcing the Dutchman to spend time and energy reclaiming second place, the championship leader quietly pulled away.

He stretched his first stint to lap 25 before switching to hards, which he kept until the chequered flag without ever being troubled. After 56 laps, the Italian crossed the line just over 13 seconds clear. It is his ninth win of the year, and therefore of his career.

Leclerc, the afternoon's comeback

Behind him, the race was far livelier. Ferrari tried a second strategy with Leclerc, who was called in at the end of lap 39 for a fresh set of hards. The Monegasque reeled in the lead group in around six laps, passed Norris and then Verstappen in the closing stages, and also claimed the fastest lap of the race (1:37.976). It is his sixth podium of the season.

Verstappen had retaken the place from Norris on lap 47, under braking into Turn 1. He completed the podium ahead of Hamilton in fourth and Norris, who had to settle for fifth. Isack Hadjar, hampered by issues with his Red Bull mid-race, finished sixth ahead of Piastri. Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly picked up the final points, Gasly salvaging tenth for Alpine.

Russell, a Sunday to forget

At Mercedes, the other car had a flat afternoon. George Russell, who started sixth, was handed a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in his fight with Piastri. He only collected a handful of points at the bottom of the top ten. Bearman (Haas), Colapinto (Alpine) and Bottas (Cadillac) all retired, while Esteban Ocon finished 14th.

The maths for Mexico

In the standings, Antonelli now has 365 points, 123 more than Russell (242), who is closely followed by Hamilton (241), Verstappen (236) and Leclerc (233). Five races and 125 points remain. The title could have been decided on Sunday, but Hamilton's fourth place and Russell's result pushed it back.

The scenario for next weekend's Mexican Grand Prix is simple: even in the worst case, ninth place will be enough for the Italian to be crowned world champion.

Ninth place, after a display like the one in Austin, looks like a formality. But in F1, nothing is settled until the chequered flag falls. Antonelli now only has to avoid a slip to make history.