United States GP: Martin Brundle's verdict on 'outstanding' Kimi Antonelli win in Austin and Oscar Piastri's struggles in 2026 F1 cars

His Austin qualifying and race performances demolished that concern in the most comprehensive way.

From seemingly nowhere, he produced a stormer of an initial time in the third and final top-10 shootout to secure pole position and deny Max Verstappen's Red Bull and the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, all of whom had seemed likely to beat him. It was his seventh pole of the season but his first since Spa back in the summer eight races ago, and therefore very timely.

Kimi produced a perfect start and opening lap to comfortably lead, while the slow-starting Verstappen had to fend off the Ferraris. His pace, consistency, and tyre management thereafter was simply outstanding.

Both Red Bull drivers, Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, had impressively made it through to Q3 having used only one set of soft tyres up to that point. This would give Max on the front row two brand new sets of soft tyres for the race, surely a significant advantage? As it turns out, not so, as they didn't last particularly well, forcing Max to pit first of everyone on Lap 13 of 56, and clearly now on a two-stop strategy.

Mercedes didn't panic or respond, they trusted their data and instincts, and their championship-leading driver, to babysit his tyres at sufficient pace to make only one pit stop on Lap 24.

With fresh tyres Max was inevitably very fast, and it initially appeared that he would be able to make up the extra 20 seconds he must spend in the pitlane for his second stop on Lap 31. But he couldn't clear the traffic with much ease. With his radio failing for the second time, but not before he would castigate his team for not moving his team-mate on a different run plan out of the way much sooner, he ended up a fairly disgruntled third.

I did the post-race interviews and Max did though beam a nice smile when I complimented him on his overtake of Lando Norris up into Turn 1. It was pure Verstappen, just as he looked highly likely to lose a position to Leclerc, he converted that into an overtake of the McLaren with a stunning and controlled slice while extremely late on the brakes.

It didn't do him much good in the end though because after Leclerc's own first stop on Lap 15, and having already been awesome on the opening lap of the race, he was mighty fast all the way to the chequered flag for a very well-earned second place.

Ferrari had led all three practice sessions and so their qualifying had been a relative disappointment, but Hamilton too was rapid in the closing stages and would finish fourth just a second behind Verstappen. Another lap and he'd have joined his team-mate Leclerc on the podium.

Norris did a fine job in fifth, having pitted on Lap 16 but then changing to a one-stopper, stretching his hard compound tyres a full 40 laps. In the end, he ran out of grip and slipped from second place, but it was good while it lasted.

Piastri struggling with 2026 cars and Russell's 'harsh' penalty

Oscar Piastri in the sister McLaren had another disappointing race, lacking front-running pace from relatively early on and finishing 52 seconds behind the winner. Oscar simply can't seem to gel with the 2026 cars and it's painful to witness after his stellar run last year.

Piastri's struggles would heavily impact another driver having a season to forget in the shape of George Russell. On the opening lap Russell was both attacking Hadjar's slow-starting Red Bull and defending from Piastri. He ran wide at the Turn 12 hairpin at the end of the back straight and rejoined, marginally ahead of Piastri. The Stewards looked at all the camera angles and data and decided that Russell had gained a lasting advantage off the track by not losing a place to Piastri, but given it was the opening lap and the proximity of other cars, they served him half the normal 10-second penalty in mitigation. I thought that was harsh, George felt somewhat more strongly about it.

Taking his five-second penalty at the first pit stop put him behind Piastri, and despite very solid initial pace on fresh tyres he simply couldn't find a way past the young Aussie and finished a full 54 seconds behind his winning team-mate in eighth place. Ouch.

Liam Lawson drove very well again for two points at Racing Bulls in ninth and Pierre Gasly grabbed the final point for Alpine in 10th, the position he started.

Nico Hulkenberg finished 11th and just out of the points - that's Audi's 10th race this year when just missing out. That's a torment which revives bad memories for me, back when points only went down to sixth place, I had a spate of dragging some reluctant machine past all the accidents and unreliability to finish a point-less seventh.

Antonelli's supreme victory ensures he will be the youngest ever F1 world champion by over three years, usurping Sebastian Vettel. And the first Italian F1 world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953, despite such motorsport passion and history in that country.

Verstappen is now out of championship contention, incredibly for the first time since 2020. Russell and Hamilton would have to win every race until the end of the year, with Antonelli not showing up, for them to be champion. It's a case of when, and not if.

Austin put on at great show at COTA, a combined 460,000 fans had all the usual great views along with live music, fun fairs, and many other attractions, and a spectacular hospitality suite and infinity pool at the very top of the already high first corner. The lucky few were transported over the track in gondolas on ski-slope-style pylons and cables, I'm impressed by how F1 keeps developing as a full experience, even though the race didn't turn out to be a classic.

Formula 1 next heads south for the second leg of The Americas triple header with the Mexico City Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime