Kimi Antonelli leads the Formula 1 drivers’ championship by 81 points, and the United States Grand Prix in Austin is not the next race. Formula 1’s own permutations piece, published Sept. 22 after the Spanish Grand Prix, put Antonelli on 292 points, George Russell on 211, and Lewis Hamilton on 191.
Antonelli has led since round 3 in Japan. The same piece said nine rounds were left, Singapore is a sprint weekend, and the most a driver can still score is 233 points. Eight other drivers were still mathematically alive: Russell, Hamilton, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri, Isack Hadjar, and Liam Lawson.
Where Austin sits on that path
Formula 1 said the earliest Antonelli could clinch the title is round 17 in Singapore, and only if he wins in Azerbaijan and in Bahrain, then wins both the grand prix and the sprint in Singapore, while Russell scores nothing in all of those. On the median finishes so far, Antonelli’s average result is P1 and Russell’s is 3.5, and that path would not close the championship until round 19 in Mexico.
The United States Grand Prix is Oct. 23–25 at Circuit of the Americas. The Independent’s championship note lists that Austin weekend as round 18, which is the round between the Singapore and Mexico windows in Formula 1’s piece. The concert days and the circuit facts are in the COTA concert note and the race-week guide.
Photo: Circuit of the Americas by Zach Catanzareti, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources: Formula 1, Sept. 22, 2026; The Independent, 2026 standings; Formula 1, United States Grand Prix 2026.
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