Kimi Antonelli won the United States Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday to stand on the brink of becoming Formula One's youngest ever champion in Mexico next weekend. The 20-year-old Italian did all he could to put the championship out of reach of his rivals in Texas, but Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes team-mate George Russell did just enough to delay the inevitable with fourth and eighth places.

A dominant afternoon in Austin

Antonelli started from pole position at the Circuit of the Americas and made a blistering start that blew Red Bull's Max Verstappen off the line at the first corner, a notorious collision spot. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished second, more than 14 seconds behind Antonelli, with Verstappen third. 'It was a result we needed, the whole team deserve it so much,' Antonelli said. 'Another small step,' Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told him over the radio after the victory.

What he needs in Mexico

Antonelli now needs to score only two points, a ninth place, in Mexico to be sure of the title, and would become the first Italian to win the championship since Alberto Ascari in 1953. Before the United States Grand Prix, six drivers were still mathematically in contention, but the race narrowed the field to three: Antonelli, Russell, who trails by 123 points, and Hamilton, 124 points behind. The Mexico City Grand Prix takes place at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, in front of one of the biggest and most boisterous crowds of the season.