Formula 1
United StatesSeason 2026
The race began after the start time had been moved forward by three hours because of the threat of heavy rainstorms later in the afternoon. Although rain had fallen earlier on Sunday, the track was dry by the time the race began, with all drivers starting on medium tyres except Isack Hadjar, who started from the pit lane on hard tyres after being disqualified from qualifying and then having his car modified under parc fermé conditions.
At the start, polesitter Kimi Antonelli was challenged on both sides by Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. Antonelli locked up into the first corner, while Verstappen also locked up, made contact with Leclerc and spun, dropping down the order.
Leclerc emerged in the lead, ahead of Antonelli and the two McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Further back, Lewis Hamilton and Franco Colapinto made contact at turn 11, which left debris on the track and damaged Hamilton's Ferrari; the stewards investigated the incident but took no further action.
The lead changed hands repeatedly in the opening laps. George Russell passed Piastri for fourth by lap 3, while Verstappen began recovering from his spin.
Antonelli overtook Leclerc for the lead at turn 17 on lap 4, but Leclerc repassed him on the following lap. Norris then moved past Antonelli for second, before the race was neutralised by two separate incidents.
Hadjar hit the wall at the turn 14 chicane and retired, while Pierre Gasly crashed after contact with Liam Lawson, whose Racing Bulls went into anti-stall while he was attempting to pass the Alpine. Gasly's car was pitched into the barriers, bringing out the safety car.
Lawson returned to the pits and retired, while Nico Hülkenberg also retired his Audi during the same period. Verstappen pitted under the safety car for hard tyres, falling to sixteenth place but moving onto a strategy that would take him to the end of the race.
The safety car period ended on lap 11, with Leclerc retaining the lead at the restart. Piastri overtook Russell for fourth shortly after the restart, while the lead battle intensified.
Norris passed Leclerc for the lead, leaving the Ferrari driver to defend from Antonelli. Antonelli and Leclerc exchanged second place before Antonelli finally moved ahead, while Verstappen recovered to eleventh but was noted by the stewards for crossing the pit exit line after his safety-car stop.
By the middle phase of the race, Norris had opened a lead of more than two seconds over Antonelli, while Leclerc and Piastri ran behind them. Russell was the first of the front-runners to pit, switching to hard tyres on lap 21 and rejoining in twelfth.
Ferrari responded by stopping Leclerc shortly afterwards, but a slow 3.7-second stop dropped him behind Russell. Leclerc questioned the timing of the stop over team radio, as light rain began to be reported at parts of the circuit but did not become heavy enough to require intermediate tyres.
Antonelli pitted on lap 27, rejoining on hard tyres behind Verstappen and Hamilton. Norris stopped one lap later and emerged just behind Antonelli, allowing Mercedes to undercut McLaren for the effective race lead.
Piastri stayed out briefly and led before making his own stop, after which Verstappen inherited the lead on older hard tyres. Antonelli passed Verstappen on lap 29, with Norris following him through shortly afterwards.
The pit sequence left Antonelli ahead of Norris, while Verstappen continued on his long hard-tyre stint ahead of the recovering Leclerc, Piastri and Russell. Norris then closed back onto Antonelli during the second stint.
Antonelli reported a possible gearbox issue and later complained about his rear tyres, while Norris reduced the gap to under one second. Behind them, Piastri and Russell battled over position before the McLaren driver moved ahead, while Leclerc recovered from his slow pit stop and began closing on Verstappen.
By lap 40, Antonelli led Norris by less than a second, with Verstappen several seconds further back in third on much older tyres. In the closing stages, Verstappen's tyre disadvantage left him vulnerable.
Leclerc caught him and passed for third on lap 47, while Piastri overtook Verstappen on the following lap. Piastri then closed on Leclerc and passed him for the final podium position late in the race.
Russell also caught Verstappen, and the two made minor contact while fighting for position, leaving Russell with front-wing damage. Leclerc then spun on the final lap and hit the wall, damaging his Ferrari.
Although he continued, the damage forced him off track several times, and he was passed by Russell and Verstappen in the final corners. Antonelli held off Norris to win by 3.264 seconds, taking his third consecutive Grand Prix victory and extending his championship lead.
Norris finished second, while Piastri completed the podium for McLaren after his late pass on Leclerc. Russell finished fourth on the road ahead of Verstappen, Hamilton and Colapinto, with Leclerc sixth on track before post-race penalties changed the final classification.
Antonelli became the third driver, after Damon Hill and Mika Häkkinen, to take the first three Grand Prix victories of his Formula One career in consecutive races.