Andrea Kimi Antonelli was never seriously threatened as he scored his ninth victory of the season in Austin.
The Mercedes driver will go to next week’s race in Mexico with a strong chance of clinching the title after team mate George Russell picked up a five-second time penalty.Antonelli only lost the lead after making his single pit stop, which dropped him behind Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. But the Red Bull driver’s second pit stop dropped him behind and Leclerc didn’t waste time trying to defend his position when Antonelli caught him.
Verstappen attempted to use a two-stop strategy to attack the Mercedes driver. But despite starting on softer tyres than his rival he was unable to get ahead at the start and spent the first lap yo-yoing for position with Leclerc.
He made steady progress after his early first pit stop on lap 14 but was frustrated by how long his team took to move Isack Hadjar out of his way when he caught his team mate. “Thank you guys, really good strategy there stuck in dirty air,” Verstappen remarked sarcastically on his radio.
Verstappen had further cause for complaint as his car’s handling deteriorated after half-distance. “I must have a problem with my car, it’s un-driveable,” he said.
Leclerc delayed his second pit stop, running nine laps longer than Verstappen, and emerging with a set of hard tyres on lap 40. While he closed on Verstappen, the Red Bull driver moved within range of Lando Norris, who held second place after only pitting once.
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By lap 47 Norris had Verstappen and Leclerc breathing down his neck. Both passed him with little difficulty, dropping the McLaren driver out of the podium places. Two laps later Leclerc picked off Verstappen with similar ease.
Antonelli was never in danger, however, and comfortably claimed victory by over 16 seconds.
Leclerc and Verstappen completed the podium, while Norris fell into the clutches of Hamilton. The Ferrari driver passed him easily, but his slim chances of catching Verstappen ended when Valtteri Bottas retired, triggering a Virtual Safety Car period.
Norris hung on to fifth place ahead of Hadjar. The Red Bull driver ran a strong first stint on softs and was puzzled by his team’s decision to put him on hards instead of mediums at his sole pit stop.
McLaren told Oscar Piastri to let Norris past him early in the race. He held on to seventh ahead of Russell.
The Mercedes driver came in a frustrated eighth after collecting a five-second time penalty for an incident on lap one. The stewards ruled he left the track and gained an advantage at turn 12 while fighting the McLaren drivers.
Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly took the final points in ninth and tenth respectively.
Antonelli’s win gives him a 123-point lead over team mate Russell, with Hamilton another point behind. With 125 points available, they are the only drivers left who can beat him to the title, but a coronation at the Mexican Grand Prix next week is now a near certainty.
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