Kimi Antonelli in total control from start to finish
Antonelli’s surprise pole put him on pole. The 20-year-old managed the race start, getting ahead of Max Verstappen and the two Ferraris.
He was out of sight, despite Leclerc’s best efforts to close the gap; Mercedes’ one-stop was the perfect strategy, since everyone else ran two.
Antonelli had a 16-second gap in the final phase of the Grand Prix, and he had it under control. A testament to how well the young Italian has been this season, operating at the level of an experienced World Champion
He managed his tyres and pace efficiently, controlled the race, and extended his points margin. He may not have had his crowning moment in Texas, but in Mexico, his time will come as F1 officially celebrates its new star.
Pulling out when it matters, with a ninth win of the season, Antonelli has arrived in the top class of F1.
Charles Leclerc’s pace couldn’t secure a win.
Leclerc started fourth on the grid and managed to jump into third off the start. He looked to make a move on the inside at Turn 4 but couldn’t pull it off, as Verstappen reclaimed the position.
Leclerc had a strong second stint on the medium tyres, but his pace raised the question of whether he could stick to the front row in Saturday qualifying.
The Monegasque was 8.5 seconds behind the Dutchman after his final pit stop, as he closed the gap to be on his tail, with Verstappen closing in on Lando Norris.
Leclerc was on the nose of both cars by Lap 47, as Verstappen passed Norris into turn one, with Leclerc following suit a lap later and then passing the 4x World Champion down the inside of Turn 1 on Lap 50, taking P2.
Leclerc set a personal best and recorded the fastest lap of the race to finish. Great pace, with the potential to fight for the win, had their Saturday qualifying not gone so wrong.
Ferrari needs to find a way to maximise their pace advantage on weekends, because it is no point topping all three practice sessions if it barely reflects when it matters most.
It could have been a weekend where they were fighting for the win at the front, but instead they’ll have to find some pleasure in taking home runner-up silverware, which is better than none at all.
Car trouble halted Verstappen’s fight.
The 4X World Champion was in the fight, ahead of the Ferraris, and held P2 for the early part of the race. Had a reasonable gap to Antonelli, but it was around Lap 30 that his charge had started to drop.
The Dutchman told the team over the radio that the car was “undriveable” and insisted he had a problem. His race engineer, Tom Hart, said the engine had broken.
Verstappen had dropped to fifth, and his gap to Antonelli in P1 was growing, with Antonelli’s race engineer suggesting that Leclerc was a bigger threat to his race than Verstappen.
The hunt for a third straight race win was over, and he salvaged a P3 finish, not a terrible result for Verstappen, but he will be disappointed he couldn’t have fought more up front.
