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George Russell’s future at Mercedes looked increasingly uncertain after a difficult United States Grand Prix left him trailing Kimi Antonelli, whose pole position and decisive victory in Austin highlighted the rookie’s rise and Mercedes’ latest power shift. Russell finished eighth, 54 seconds behind Antonelli, received a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage while battling Oscar Piastri, and spent the final 26 laps behind a McLaren without finding a way past.

Russell described his pace as “rubbish” and said he could not explain the race, adding that the bigger problem was a poor opening stint in which he was much slower than Antonelli and lost ground to other cars. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said Russell struggles when the car is outside his preferred operating window, but also said he is capable of winning at the highest level. Wolff called Antonelli’s Austin drive “the race of a champion who isn’t the champion yet.”

Antonelli’s win left him 123 points ahead of Russell with 125 points still available, while Mercedes’ upgrade package appeared to work on Antonelli’s car in Austin and made the W17 look more competitive. Russell said he no longer cared where he finished in the championship and that the Constructors’ Championship was his main concern. James Hinchcliffe suggested Russell could consider other options, and Russell’s management had previously spoken with other teams during contract talks.

McLaren left the United States Grand Prix under heavy criticism from Lando Norris, who said the team was “just not quick enough” and later called it the “fourth fastest team” after struggling in slow corners and with rear-end grip at Circuit of The Americas. Norris said McLaren’s upgrades were working as intended, but they were not fixing the team’s biggest weakness, and he said he had “zero confidence” in the car and was “scared in every single corner.”

The weekend began badly in qualifying, where Norris placed eighth after a track-limits violation erased his final Q3 lap. He said he had done a “terrible job” in qualifying, adding that the McLaren MCL40 was the hardest car he had ever driven. Norris said the deleted lap would have put him sixth, and that he thought he could have done even better than that.

The race brought more frustration. Norris was running second late before being passed by Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, then finished fifth. McLaren’s one-stop strategy left him vulnerable on fresher tires, while Oscar Piastri finished seventh, just ahead of George Russell. Piastri described McLaren’s problem as a mix of low-speed handling and unpredictability, and the result left McLaren tied on points with Red Bull for third place in the constructors’ standings.

Liam Lawson’s strong run with Racing Bulls has kept his Formula 1 future in focus, but he still does not have a guaranteed 2027 seat and the final decision on his next deal is said to be up to Red Bull’s hierarchy. Lawson said he was not really thinking about a seat announcement and was just enjoying the races.

On the track, Lawson has scored points in three straight Grands Prix and has finished outside the top 10 only once all season. In Austin, he wanted to run in Q3 qualifying, but Racing Bulls sat him out so Arvid Lindblad could have the higher starting position, with Lindblad carrying a five-place grid penalty. Both Racing Bulls drivers reached Q3 in a strong midfield showing, and Lawson was classified 10th without setting a time. He said he accepted the team’s decision and felt preserving tires would help the team in the race.

Lawson went on to finish ninth in the United States Grand Prix and scored two points, moving to 77 for the season and staying ninth in the drivers’ championship. He led Pierre Gasly by 35 points in the standings, while Racing Bulls said it got the most out of the weekend because the top four teams filled the first eight places. The result also helped Racing Bulls gain one point on Alpine in the constructors’ battle, extend its lead in fifth place to 33 points and remain the only midfield team with more than 100 points.

Kimi Antonelli will have his first chance to clinch the 2026 Formula 1 world championship at the Mexico City Grand Prix, where the Mercedes driver leads George Russell by 123 points and can seal the title at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Antonelli is in position to become the youngest Formula 1 world champion in history, and he can secure the crown by finishing ninth or better, or if neither Russell nor Lewis Hamilton wins the race.

The round 19 race weekend will run from 30 October to 1 November, with all times listed in GMT. First practice is scheduled for 18:30 on Friday, followed by second practice at 22:00, third practice at 17:30 on Saturday, qualifying at 21:00 on Saturday and the 71-lap race at 20:00 on Sunday.

The forecast calls for light rain during Friday’s practice sessions, but the weekend is expected to be warm and Sunday’s race should be dry at around 24C. Antonelli arrives in Mexico City after winning the United States Grand Prix from pole position for his ninth victory of the 2026 season.

Fernando Alonso criticized Alex Albon after their first-lap collision at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, blaming Albon’s move down the inside and saying drivers in the lower third of the Formula 1 grid have “very low” quality. The stewards took no action over the incident, which damaged Albon’s Williams front wing and knocked the left-hand bargeboard off Alonso’s Aston Martin.

Alonso said the contact badly damaged his car, cost him at least half a second per lap and ruined what he called his best race of the season. He started 12th and finished 16th after a slow second pit stop to change his front wing, saying he could have scored points without the collision.

Albon also raced with a broken front wing after the contact and finished 17th. He described battling Alonso as fun, saying he was on the inside, tried to avoid the clash and had little room because of Esteban Ocon’s car on the outside.