Only nine points separate Russell, Hamilton, and Verstappen.
Only nine points now separate second from fifth in the 2026 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship after the United States Grand Prix. George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc all left Austin within touching distance of one another, turning the battle for runner-up into the tightest fight on the grid.
According to F1.com, Russell holds second on 242 points, with Hamilton on 241, Verstappen on 236 and Leclerc on 233. Before the Circuit of the Americas, the gap between second and fifth stood at 23 points, so a single race wiped out more than half of that margin. With five races still to run, the fight for runner-up is now wide open.
Russell Clings to Second Place After Austin
Russell had the quietest weekend of the four. The Mercedes driver finished eighth, 54.303 seconds behind winner and team-mate Kimi Antonelli, and collected just four points for the result. He crossed the line behind both McLarens, with Lando Norris fifth and Oscar Piastri seventh, and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar sixth.
Those four points moved him from 238 to 242, enough to stay ahead in the standings. His cushion, however, has all but disappeared. Russell led Hamilton by nine points before the race, and he now leads by only one. Seen from the other side, the three drivers behind him all outscored him by at least eight points in a single afternoon.
Leclerc and Verstappen Close the Gap at COTA
Leclerc was the biggest mover in the group. The Ferrari driver took second place, 13.078 seconds behind Antonelli, and scored 18 points, the largest haul of any driver in the fight for runner-up. It lifted him from 215 to 233 points and cut his deficit to Russell from 23 points to nine.
Verstappen finished third, 17.485 seconds off the winner, and added 15 points. F1.com reported that his poor start handed Antonelli an early lead, and that Red Bull then ordered Hadjar to let him through as he set his sights on the win. He was unable to take the lead, but the podium still lifted his total from 221 to 236 points, leaving him just six behind Russell.
Hamilton Stays in the Hunt for P2
Hamilton crossed the line fourth, 18.515 seconds behind Antonelli, and scored 12 points. Those points took him from 229 to 241, and he now sits a single point behind Russell in the battle for second.
Ferrari left Austin with both drivers in the top four and both within touching distance of the runner-up spot. Leclerc’s second place and Hamilton’s fourth kept the pressure on Russell, who is now being chased by three drivers at once. Hamilton is the closest of the three, which makes him the most immediate threat to Russell’s position.
Antonelli’s Austin Win Extends His Championship Lead
While the chasing pack tightened up behind him, Antonelli moved further clear at the top. The Mercedes driver won the 56-lap race in 1:35:16.650, claiming his ninth Grand Prix victory of the season. F1.com reported that a superb opening lap, combined with Verstappen’s poor start, gave him an early lead that he never surrendered.
Antonelli then delivered an inspired one-stop strategy. While many of his rivals stopped twice, he ran a long stint on the medium tyres before managing the hard compound all the way to the chequered flag. He kept a margin of 13.078 seconds over Leclerc even after a Virtual Safety Car slowed the field before the final lap.
The 25 points take his tally to 365, which puts him 123 points clear of Russell and 124 clear of Hamilton. He did not clinch the Drivers’ Championship in Austin, but F1.com described his victory as leaving him on the brink of a maiden title, and he said he would love to clinch it in style.
What the Fight for Second Means Heading to Mexico City
The points race behind the leaders was busy too. Norris took ten points for fifth, Hadjar eight for sixth and Piastri six for seventh, while Liam Lawson claimed two for ninth and Pierre Gasly one for tenth.
With five races remaining in the 2026 season, the scale of what is still available makes the nine-point spread look even smaller. A single Grand Prix win is worth 25 points, which is far more than the entire gap between second and fifth. One strong weekend, or one retirement, can reshuffle the order completely.
The momentum also favours the chasing drivers. Leclerc, Verstappen and Hamilton all scored more than Russell at COTA, and between them they took 45 points to his four. If that trend continues in Mexico City, Russell could lose second place within a single race.
Mexico City is next on the calendar, and it will be the first chance for any of the four to break clear of the pack. Whoever does will head into the final four rounds with the momentum in the fight for runner-up.
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For Russell, the challenge is to find the pace that Antonelli showed in Austin and stop the slide. For Hamilton and Leclerc, a Ferrari pair that both finished in the top four offers a genuine route to runner-up. For Verstappen, six points adrift, a podium in Austin was a reminder of how quickly the picture can change.
Four drivers, nine points and five races to go: the fight for second place in the 2026 Drivers’ Championship is wide open.
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