Déjà vu for Piastri as Norris complaint prompts immediate switch
Updated . First published
Kimi Antonelli is within spitting distance of becoming the youngest champion in F1’s history after claiming the win in Texas on Monday.
The Mercedes driver led effectively from start to finish, but because teammate George Russell finished eighth, he is mathematically still alive in the race for the title.
Antonelli celebrates with his team. Getty Images
Charles Leclerc was too fast for Max Verstappen in the final laps of the race, overtaking him to finish second, but the result left a bitter taste in his mouth given his poor qualifying performance meant he was never really a chance to catch Antonelli.
For Oscar Piastri, it was another frustrating race stuck in no-man’s-land.
The Aussie finished seventh, well behind the top six, but battled hard at the death to keep Russell at bay.
Piastri and Russell battled for the second half of the race over seventh and eighth, with the McLaren able to hold on. The Mercedes driver lamented his “trash” pace after the race.
Russell was hit with a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits on turn one, a result of his first tangle of the day with Piastri.
While Russell was a constant threat to Piastri, the Australian was also dragged into a brief battle with his teammate and was once again forced to give up his spot so teammate Lando Norris could pass.
Norris complained over the radio that he had the faster car, with McLaren quickly ordering Piastri out of the way. It was a case of déjà vu from last year’s title fight.
“It was a tough afternoon. I was glad I could keep Russell behind, but was obviously hoping for a bit more,” Piastri said after the race.
“Start was good. Stop was good. Definitely wasn’t a lack of trying. Clearly we have some performance to find.”
Norris found himself in second for a stretch, before ultimately finishing fifth.
Verstappen's frustration was clear throughout the race, as troubles with his radio and his tyres helped lead to his fall from second to third.
The result means he is officially out of the title race. It’s the first time since 2020 that he has not been in contention at this stage of the season, highlighting his era of dominance.
“I think our overall pace was not good enough, and then probably also the tyres that we had available were probably not the right ones,” he said after the race.
“So, that’s something that we have to understand because the last few races it was always working well for us.
“For whatever reason it didn’t work out here, but we still managed to get on the podium. Maybe a little bit lucky with the VSC at the end, but I’ll take it."
Kimi Antonelli celebrates after his win in Austin. Getty Images
Antonelli now only needs to finish ninth in Mexico to win the Driver's Championship, and, really for the first time this season, he acknowledged just how close he is.
“We are very close. We try to finish on a high and hopefully, we can clinch it very soon,” he said.
