AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Kimi Antonelli stormed to his ninth win of the season on Sunday at the United States Grand Prix and further tightened his grip on a Formula 1 season championship that he could win at the next race in Mexico City.

The Mercedes driver started from pole position at the Circuit of the Americas with an outside chance of winning the season championship outright. A victory combined with poor results from his closest rivals would have done it.

But Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and Mercedes' George Russell, who is a distant second in the standings, finished eighth to barely keep the title chase alive, sending it to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

“It was a result we needed, the whole team deserve it so much,” Antonelli said.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished second, more than 14 seconds behind Antonelli. Red Bull's Max Verstappen was third.

The 20-year-old Antonelli is on the brink of becoming F1’s youngest champion in series history, and the first Italian to win the title since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

He made easy work of Sunday's race with a blistering start that blew Verstappen off the line as he eased into the first corner. The uphill left-turn switchback is one of the most notorious collision spots of the season and it was no trouble on this day.

Verstappen has struggled with his starts several times this season, and Antonelli’s blast into the first corner never gave Verstappen a chance to win the inside line. Instead, the four-time champion quickly found himself in a fight with the two Ferrari cars while Antonelli drove off into the distance and seized control of the race.

From there, it was a matter of managing the race as Mercedes watched to see where Russell and Hamilton would finish.

“Another small step,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told Antonelli over the radio after the victory. “Another small step.”

The biggest one could come next week in front of one of the biggest, most boisterous crowds of the season.

Antonelli needs to finish only ninth or higher in Mexico City to clinch the championship.

“We are very close, but we try to finish on a high and we try to clinch (the title) very soon," Antonelli said.

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