Five quick takeaways from US GP

Kimi Antonelli was never likely to clinch the title in Texas – too many things needed to fall into place. But he did everything he could, delivering a perfect weekend. His first pole since Spa in the middle of the summer, followed by a commanding victory – with a clean start and strong pace on both tyre compounds. Another masterclass in a season full of them.

He didn't desperately need to win in Austin. The title has effectively been his for a long time, and now it's just a formality. Something extraordinary would need to happen for Antonelli to lose the title now.

He's exceptional, there's no doubt left – and it's now more than likely he'll officially wrap up the championship, his first of surely many more to come, in Mexico. History in the making.

Mercedes has had to be patient, but it finally appears to have unlocked the potential of the upgrade package it introduced at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia… at least on one side of the garage.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: James Sutton / LAT Images via Getty Images

The Brackley squad brought a comprehensive package to Sepang that made the W17 intrinsically quicker, but left its drivers with a narrower set-up window. Unhappy with the car's behaviour, Russell reverted to the previous specification in Singapore, giving Mercedes a direct comparison between the two packages.

Both Antonelli and Russell ran the upgrades in Austin, along with a front wing Mercedes had already trialled in Singapore with this weekend in mind.

With Antonelli at the wheel, the W17 was a different proposition. The Italian secured his first pole position in eight grands prix on Saturday and was on course for victory from the moment the lights went out on Sunday.

While George Russell is still mathematically in contention for this year's title, it effectively means nothing – Kimi Antonelli will clinch the championship next Sunday as long as Russell doesn't win the race. So it's probably time for George to focus on finding the right answers for 2027.

Until this season, he'd had a near-perfect career, winning all the most important junior series before proving himself against as tough an opponent as you can get – Lewis Hamilton in the same garage. It looked like the only thing he lacked was the car. But just when he finally got it, an unstoppable force in the form of a young, curly-haired Italian spoiled everything.

Russell needs to react now – and prepare for next year as thoroughly as possible. Whether it's his driving or something else that's preventing him from matching Antonelli's pace, he needs to use the remaining races of 2026 to find as many answers as possible, or perhaps even experiment with different approaches.

Because weekends like Austin show just how staggering the performance gap between the Mercedes team-mates can be. Russell can beat Kimi on a good day, but with lows this deep, he won't be able to challenge him consistently in the future.

A career spent as someone's wingman is surely not what Russell dreamed of – but that prospect looks increasingly realistic after weekends like this.

Lawson acquitted himself well on stage in Austin on Thursday night, despite admitting that performing in the Live Music Capital of the World brought "ten times more pressure" than racing in a Formula 1 grand prix.

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images

Having taken that in his stride, he delivered another assured performance behind the wheel — something that has become a familiar sight in 2026.

The Racing Bulls driver started strongly with the sixth-fastest time on Friday, then played the team game on Saturday, staying in the garage during Q3 to spare team-mate Arvid Lindblad a further grid position on top of his five-place penalty.

On Sunday, Lawson duly led the midfield home. Ninth was the best available with all eight cars from the leading four teams reaching the finish, but his 13th points finish of the season helped Racing Bulls pull further clear of Alpine, whose hopes of claiming fifth in the constructors' championship are fading.

It's increasingly hard to believe this guy still doesn't have a contract for next year.

Williams spent 2025 insisting that its focus was entirely on 2026, yet still managed to score two podiums. In 2026, however, the team has disappointed time and again. The explanation was that it was putting all its eggs in one basket with a major upgrade package scheduled to arrive in Baku. Williams scored points in Azerbaijan – something it has only managed once in its last 12 races – but the upgrade ultimately proved less effective than hoped.

Austin may have marked a new low, with Williams finishing ahead of only Cadillac and even trailing Lance Stroll's Aston Martin. The team was always a clear candidate for a Q1 exit in qualifying, as ultimately proved to be the case, while in the race it was stranded in no man's land, well off even the midfield battle.

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

The remainder of the season – whether five races, four or however many are left – looks set to be a long one for Williams, which is once again promising that 2027 will be better.

Formula 1F1 United States GP: Kimi Antonelli takes dominant victory - but no title

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