Formula One Gradebook: United States Grand Prix
For Round 18 of the 2026 Formula One world championship, all 22 drivers and 11 teams returned to Austin to race at the iconic Circuit of the Americas. With a record-breaking attendance of 467,000 people across the weekend, it was an action filled weekend with major implications for both championships.
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli took his ninth career victory as he crossed the line ahead of the field. Having converted pole position into a race win for the sixth time, he drove one of his most dominant weekends of the season.
Elsewhere on the grid, there were three DNFs and plenty of close battles across the grid with all of the midfield vying for points. Here’s how all 22 drivers performed on race day:
Mercedes
Kimi Antonelli: A+
After qualifying on pole, Antonelli had an excellent and clean run to Turn 1 to keep the lead. On Lap 24, he came into the pit-lane for his only stop and filtered back out into fourth to put him apart from some of the other front-runners.
From fourth, he began his climb back up to the top and on Lap 32, he overtook the Ferrari ahead to retake the lead of the race. After taking the lead, he was relatively unchallenged in his position at the front as he took his ninth career win.
Although he failed to win his maiden Championship title in Austin, he is all but confirmed to win next time out in Mexico City.
George Russell: B
As Mercedes struggled with pace this weekend, Russell started in sixth and faced difficulties on the opening lap as he was given a track limits infringement. Having also been involved in an incident with one of the McLarens in the early stages of the race, he was given a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage which threw off his race strategy.
Like Antonelli, Russell was also committed to the one-stop strategy and after serving his penalty, he filtered back out in 10th as the team weren’t able to keep him ahead of the midfield pack. In the end, like on multiple other occasions this season, the Briton did not have the pace of his teammate and could only manage a sixth place finish.
Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton: B+
Despite the pace demonstrated in practice where Ferrari took the top spots in all three sessions, Hamilton could only manage a fifth place start. However, despite almost colliding with his teammate on the opening lap, he was able to make his way past Hadjar and put himself back into contention.
Having already committed to the two-stop, Hamilton was the second car in the pit-lane but was forced to come out behind the front-running Racing Bulls.
On Lap 39, he came in for his second stop and filtered back out in sixth to try and use his pace to hopefully contend for a podium-place finish. After passing the McLaren ahead, Hamilton seemed to be in the fight for the final podium position but a late stage Virtual Safety Car neutralised the race and he had to settle for fourth.
Charles Leclerc: A
Leclerc lined up in fourth and had an excellent start passing Verstappen although he could not keep the position for long. After his pit-stop on Lap 16, Leclerc’s Ferrari came to life with the medium tyres and it soon looked as though he would be challenging for the win against Antonelli ahead.
After his second stop for hard tyres, his pace was electric and he soon set the fastest lap of the Grand Prix. Leclerc filtered back out onto the track in fourth after his second stop and made quick work of the McLaren and Verstappen ahead to finish the race in second. This result means that the Monegasque driver has had back to back podiums in the runner’s up position.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen: A
Sharing the front-row with Antonelli for the fourth time in 2026, Verstappen started the Grand Prix in second. Although he briefly dropped position to Leclerc on the opening lap, he soon recovered and committed to the two-stop strategy.
On his second stint, Verstappen soon came under threat from Leclerc while also trying to catch the McLaren ahead with all cars being able to activate Overtake mode. Despite making his way past the McLaren ahead, Lap 49 saw Verstappen pass by Leclerc which meant that he had to settle for the final podium position. With this result, and Antonelli’s victory, the Dutch driver is officially out of contention for the 2026 Championship title.
Isack Hadjar: B-
For his highest career starting position of third, Hadjar seemed set for an excellent result in Austin. However, like his teammate, struggles on the opening lap meant that he lost positions on the start and failed to recover them as he stayed in fifth. Opting for an alternative strategy to Verstappen, he extended his opening stint and committed to a one-stop instead.
However, pace issues meant that he was unable to make the strategy work for him and he failed to move back into the top three. Overall, the most impactful part of his race was holding up Leclerc which ultimately stopped the Ferrari man from challenging for the win. After a lonely end to his race, Hadjar came home in sixth.
McLaren
Lando Norris: A
The reigning world champion started in eighth and had a decent start as he was able to keep hold of his position. On Lap 8, a discussion over the radio determined that Norris would be given priority due to his pace over his teammate. Although his progress forward was briefly hampered by a slow stop on his only visit to the pit-lane, he was quick to catch up to the pack ahead.
By Lap 30, Norris was steadily gaining on Hamilton ahead and eventually inherited second place when Hamilton went for a pit-stop. However, the age of his tyres compared to those around him meant that he could not hold that position and was overtaken by Leclerc, Verstappen and Hamilton in quick succession.
In the end, Norris improved on his starting position and finished the race in fifth.
Oscar Piastri: B
With a seventh place start, Piastri’s race was almost through off-kilter because of an opening lap incident with Russell. Despite starting ahead of his teammate, Lap 8 saw Piastri swap positions with Norris to free the Briton to challenge ahead as the Australian’s pace soon fell off.
Like on many occasions so far this weekend, Piastri did not have the best pace this weekend and his on-track action was limited to fighting with the top of the midfield runners instead of the front-runners. After a final move on the Racing Bulls ahead, Piastri moved into eighth where he eventually crossed the line. His difficulties this season, including this weekend, means that he remains the highest placed driver in the Championship standings without a race win.
Racing Bulls
Liam Lawson: A
After making his first Q3 appearance at the Circuit of the Americas, Lawson lined up in ninth and kept his position on the opening lap. Like on previous race weekends, his pace advantage meant that his position in the points was never really under any threat, especially once the pit-wall had decided on the optimal strategy.
With the choice of the one-stop making the most sense for Lawson, he came into the pit-lane on Lap 25 for hard tyres which he kept in decent condition until the chequered flag. After a lonely race, Lawson crossed the line where he started in ninth to add to the team’s tally in the Constructors’ Championship.
Arvid Lindblad: B+
Despite an excellent performance in qualifying, Lindblad lined up in 14th after a five-place grid penalty was applied for engine parts outside of his allocation. In the midst of the midfield pack, he was caught up in an opening lap incident with a Williams which was investigated but no further action was taken.
With the investigation behind him, Lindblad had moved up two positions into 12th by Lap 12. Unlike his teammate, he opted for the two-stop strategy and had much better pace on the medium tyres which suggest that he could be on for a points-finish. However, after being caught battling with one of the Alpines, Lindblad wasn’t able to apply pressure for the final points position and had to settle for a 12th place finish.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly: B+
Having started in 10th, Gasly was caught up in an opening lap incident with one of the Haas cars which was subsequently noted and investigated by the stewards. On Lap 8, he passed the same Haas to move up into the final points-scoring positions.
After many laps of running relatively undisturbed in 10th, Gasly came in for the only pit-stop of his race on Lap 24 however an incredibly slow stop changed the course of the rest of his race. Due to a long pit-stop, the French driver lost out on the opportunity to fight Lawson, and Racing Bulls, for ninth place.
With the situation similar to how it was before his stops, including a considerable gap to the car behind, Gasly comfortably rounded off the point-scorers in 10th.
Franco Colapinto: C+
As one of the three cars facing grid penalties this weekend, Colapinto started in 20th and on the hard tyres for an altogether different strategy.
Given the close margins at the back of the grid, he was caught in a brief battle on Lap 7 with a Williams car for 18th place as he tried to make his way through the field.
After sustaining damage due to skirmishes with Lindblad and the Williams, the Argentine was carrying significant damage to his floor and sidepod which left debris on the circuit. He was briefly noted for his move on Lindblad however there was no investigation. As a result of the damage which meant he was losing performance, he was forced to retire the car on Lap 37 for his third retirement in the last four Grands Prix.
Haas
Ollie Bearman: C
Bearman started the Grand Prix in 13th and had a relatively decent getaway, moving into the points by Lap 2. However, he was put under investigation for causing a collision with Gasly and was subsequently handed a 10-second time penalty. On Lap 8, Bearman had been overtaken by Gasly and dropped out of the top 10 from which he failed to recover
Matters were made worse on Lap 11 after Bearman was passed by his teammate and again on Lap 13 when an Audi also got the better of the Haas car. Despite coming into the pit-lane for a change in tyres and serving his penalty, he ultimately retired the car on Lap 26 due to unconfirmed damage.
Esteban Ocon: C+
Starting behind his teammate in 15th, Ocon made up a few places on the race start and quickly demonstrated that he was the faster Haas this weekend. In the opening stint, he made his way past Bearman and soon focused on getting in the fight with the other midfield cars and potentially contending for podiums.
However, the good work that Ocon had done in the first stint soon came undone. After his pit-stop, the pace deficit Haas carried compared to the other cars showed itself again. As a result, Ocon lost touch with the drivers ahead and ultimately finished in 14th.
Audi
Nico Hülkenberg: B
Despite starting on the fringes of the points, Hülkenberg’s chance to score points quickly unravelled after start issues saw him drop down the order to 15th. In his opening stint, he was battling with the likes of Bearman and Ocon in his opening stint to try and recover the lost places from the start.
Having committed to the one stop after switching from the soft to the hard compound tyres in the hopes that it would buy some track advantage, this also failed to yield success. Ultimately, Hülkenberg simply did not have the pace to challenge for points on Audi’s first visit to Austin. For the fifth time this season, the German driver crossed the line in 11th.
Gabriel Bortoleto: B+
As the third car to deal with grid penalties this weekend, Bortoleto started as the final car on-track in 21st. The start of his race was eventful as he was noted for potentially leaving the track and gaining an advantage however the stewards determined it was fair.
By Lap 12, he was up into 17th and made steady progress to try and recover from his starting position. The team had predicted that points would be difficult and so a decent recovery drive was their main aim for the Brazilian driver. After a second pit-stop on Lap 50, Bortoleto remained in the midfield pack and crossed the line in 13th.
Williams
Carlos Sainz: B-
Failing to progress into Q2 for the second year running at COTA, Sainz lined up in 16th for the race start. When the five lights went out, he was caught in an incident with Lindblad which included Sainz hitting the wall and sustaining some damage to his front wing.
Although this was noted by the stewards, no further action was taken which the Spanish driver questioned post-race. After a lengthy pit-stop to replace his front-wing, Sainz did not have the pace to make much progress however had a decent recovery drive to finish 18th.
Alex Albon: B
Having started behind his teammate in 17th, Albon also had an eventful start and opening stint. After being caught in an incident with an Aston Martin, including a handful of laps with the two drivers trading positions, Albon fell down the order. Despite his progress up the field, Albon had dropped back down to 15th.
Although Albon was noted for his battle with Alonso, the stewards deemed that there was no further action necessary. Opting for a two-stop strategy, Albon’s final stint revealed the pace issues as he was unable to fight for position on his hard tyres. Faring better than Sainz who started ahead of him, Albon ultimately crossed the line in 17th.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso: C-
To equal his highest start of the season, the former two-time world champion lined up in 12th. The work done in a good opening lap was soon nullified after an incident with Albon meant that the Spaniard carried damage for the rest of the race.
A brief VSC was called to clear the debris that was left on-track from Alonso’s car and his chances for a top-10 finish were soon diminished. Although he didn’t have the pace to fight for points, Alonso was involved in much of the on-track action towards the back of the grid. In the end, he crossed the line in 16th and rued the missed opportunity of “a potential points-scoring position.”
Lance Stroll: B
With changes being made to his car post-qualifying, Stroll started his race from the pit-lane. Like his teammate, Stroll was involved in much of the action towards the back end of the field including a battle with Albon who later dropped down the order.
With the two pit-stop strategy determined early on between the Canadian driver and his race engineer, Stroll experienced a significant drop off in pace in his final stint. After a decent recovery drive, benefitting from the three retired cars ahead, Stroll crossed the line ahead of his teammate in 15th
Cadillac
Valtteri Bottas: C-
For one of two home teams, the weekend was less than ideal for Cadillac as Bottas started in 19th. In traditional fashion for the team, split strategies saw the Finnish driver start on the hard compound tyres but it soon became clear that they did not have the pace to compete with those ahead.
After a relatively uneventful afternoon on-track, the fate of his race turned around when engine issues revealed themselves on Lap 51. As he couldn’t get back to the pit-lane, he pulled up on the side of the track which subsequently triggered a second VSC a handful of laps before the end of the race.
Sergio Pérez: C-
With an 18th place start in the cards for Pérez, he too was unable to compete with those ahead due to the significant gap in pace. After starting on the soft tyres, Pérez opted for a single stop strategy and came into the pit-lane on Lap 23 for hard tyres.
Living up to his reputation as the tyre whisperer, he ran those hard compound tyres for 32 laps. As the first car to be lapped by the front-runners, Pérez was the only Cadillac car to cross the line and he did so in 19th.
Looking ahead
Up next is the second race in this second-triple header as we approach the closing stages of the 2026 season. With both championships still up for grabs, and the title favourites well on their way to secure their silverware, it will be all to play for next time out in Mexico City.
Edited by Benjamin Crundwell
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