The Circuit of The Americas delivered absolute drama as Kimi Antonelli put on a masterclass, crushing the field to bring his maiden Drivers' Championship within touching distance. The Italian star converted pole position into a stunning victory for Mercedes, executing a brilliant one-stop strategy that leaves him needing just two points next weekend in Mexico City to seal the deal.
Mercedes had plenty to celebrate with Antonelli taking his ninth career win, but teammate George Russell endured a puzzling weekend of missing pace. Russell crossed the line eighth—not helped by a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage over Oscar Piastri on the opening lap—leaving him just a single point ahead of a surging Lewis Hamilton in the standings. Hamilton drove his Ferrari to fourth despite battling balance issues, applying serious pressure on his former team mate with only races remaining.
Ferrari's weekend started with practice dominance and ended with Charles Leclerc sealing his second consecutive runner-up finish. Starting fourth, Leclerc fought his way past rivals to claim second place. Red Bull, meanwhile, suffered a troubled afternoon in Austin. Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar both botched their starts—with Hadjar blaming a clutch over-delivery—before Red Bull split strategies. Verstappen opted for an aggressive two-stop using soft tyres that ultimately failed to deliver, his pace tailing off due to power unit inconsistencies. A late Virtual Safety Car ultimately saved him from Hamilton, letting Verstappen salvage a third-place finish. Hadjar slipped to sixth behind Lando Norris, admitting the ongoing car issues were starting to frustrate him deeply.
Over at McLaren, both Norris and Piastri were left completely deflated by a lack of raw speed. Norris started seventh and fought hard on a one-stop strategy, even running second briefly before fading tyre wear dropped him to fifth behind Hamilton. It marks four straight races without a podium for Norris, while Piastri came home seventh—just 1.6 seconds ahead of Russell. Norris admitted the team simply lacked the pace of their rivals, leaving McLaren joint-third in the Constructors' Championship alongside Red Bull.
Away from the grand prix action, Alisha Palmowski secured the F1 Academy title in style with a round to spare. The 20-year-old British racer arrived in Texas with a commanding lead and sealed the championship during the Reverse Grid Race by carving through the field from eighth on the grid to finish second. Palmowski—supported by Red Bull and driving for Campos Racing—had already claimed victory from pole in the Opening Race. Though she failed to finish the Feature Race, her five wins across the season gave her an unassailable 172 points over nearest challenger Nina Gademan on 119, setting up a celebratory final round in Las Vegas.
