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10/25 17:11 CDT Kimi Antonelli wins dominant US Grand Prix and tightens his
grip on historic F1 title chase
Kimi Antonelli wins dominant US Grand Prix and tightens his grip on historic F1
title chase
By JIM VERTUNO
AP Sports Writer
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) --- Kimi Antonelli stormed to his ninth win of the season on
Sunday at the United States Grand Prix and further tightened his grip on a
Formula 1 season championship that he could win at the next race in Mexico City.
The Mercedes driver started from pole position at the Circuit of the Americas
with an outside chance of winning the season championship outright. A victory
combined with poor results from his closest rivals would have done it.
But Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and Mercedes' George Russell, who
is a distant second in the standings, finished eighth to barely keep the title
chase alive, sending it to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez at the Mexico City
Grand Prix.
"It was a result we needed, the whole team deserve it so much," Antonelli said.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished second, more than 14 seconds behind
Antonelli. Red Bull's Max Verstappen was third.
The 20-year-old Antonelli is on the brink of becoming F1's youngest champion in
series history, and the first Italian to win the title since Alberto Ascari in
1953.
He made easy work of Sunday's race with a blistering start that blew Verstappen
off the line as he eased into the first corner. The uphill left-turn switchback
is one of the most notorious collision spots of the season and it was no
trouble on this day.
Verstappen has struggled with his starts several times this season, and
Antonelli's blast into the first corner never gave Verstappen a chance to win
the inside line. Instead, the four-time champion quickly found himself in a
fight with the two Ferrari cars while Antonelli drove off into the distance and
seized control of the race.
From there, it was a matter of managing the race as Mercedes watched to see
where Russell and Hamilton would finish.
"Another small step," Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told Antonelli over
the radio after the victory. "Another small step."
The biggest one could come next week in front of one of the biggest, most
boisterous crowds of the season.
Antonelli needs to finish only ninth or higher in Mexico City to clinch the
championship.
"We are very close, but we try to finish on a high and we try to clinch (the
title) very soon," Antonelli said.
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