Championship leader Kimi Antonelli sealed his ninth victory of the season with victory at the United States Grand Prix in Austin.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was second and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen third.
Mercedes’ Antonelli, 20, can become the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history if he finishes ninth or higher at the Mexico City Grand Prix next weekend.
Here are my ratings for how the drivers performed across the whole weekend in Texas.
Kimi Antonelli – 10/10
A superb weekend under the added pressure of having his first opportunity to seal the championship. Produced an outstanding lap for pole and then controlled the race beautifully, making the one-stop work while many around him needed two.
Charles Leclerc – 9.5/10
Very close to a perfect weekend himself. Fastest in both Friday practice sessions, qualified fourth and then raced brilliantly in his Ferrari to second, including late passes on Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
Max Verstappen – 8.5/10
Quick all weekend and put the Red Bull on the front row, but the poor start immediately made his race more difficult. Recovered well despite problems with the car and still came away with a sixth consecutive podium.
Lewis Hamilton – 7.5/10
Another strong weekend but behind team-mate Leclerc for the majority of it. Fastest in final practice, only narrowly behind Leclerc in qualifying and fought his way back to fourth after Ferrari committed to the two-stop strategy.
Lando Norris – 8/10
Recovered well from eighth on the grid but qualifying should have been better as his quickest Q3 lap was deleted for track limits. McLaren’s decision to leave him out on ageing tyres cost him late on, so fifth was not entirely of his own making.
Isack Hadjar – 8.5/10
An excellent turnaround after struggling badly with the Red Bull during practice. Qualified a superb third, ran strongly in the race and eventually finished sixth despite throttle mapping problems and moving aside for team-mate Verstappen.
Oscar Piastri – 6.5/10
A fairly subdued weekend by the McLaren man’s standards. Seventh in qualifying and seventh in the race, although the first-lap battle with George Russell went against him and the stewards decided the Mercedes driver was at fault.
George Russell – 5.5/10
A disappointing weekend given what the other Mercedes achieved. Admitted both of his Q3 laps were poor and then picked up a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in his battle with Piastri, eventually finishing eighth.
Liam Lawson – 8/10
Another quietly excellent weekend from Lawson. Racing Bulls sacrificed a proper Q3 attempt to preserve tyres for Sunday and he converted ninth on the grid into ninth at the finish to score again.
Pierre Gasly – 8/10
Probably extracted just about everything available from the Alpine. Missed Q3 but fought his way back into the points after an early dice with Haas’ Oliver Bearman.
He came into the weekend insisting he was going to try to apply the “same mindset as I had all year – one race at a time”.
But on Saturday he acknowledged that this one was a new kind of weekend.
“It does feel a little bit different,” he said. “But the goal stays the same. I just need to keep doing my job. And, actually, I feel like I can enjoy more driving, everything.
“But, of course, we’re going to do the race tomorrow. We’re going to try and win. And then we’ll see what happens. Obviously, I’m in a very good position.”
Antonelli is typically accompanied by his father, Marco, at grands prix, but he said this weekend he had brought other people with him as well to help keep him in the right frame of mind.
“I have a great group of people around me,” he said. “I have a lot of friends here as well, so we enjoy the evenings together.
“We play cards in the evening, so we’re just doing the fun stuff. And that’s what helps, to just relax a little bit and just connect with the mind, and then once you go on track you are back full focus.”
The maths suggest the most likely scenario is that Antonelli will not win the title on Sunday – it would, as he put it on Thursday, require “something catastrophic to happen to the others”.
If this is a bit of an overstatement – Russell and Hamilton would need only to crash together on the first lap, for example – the fundamental truth is real.
Britain’s Alisha Palmowski says that winning the F1 Academy title is “a dream come true”.
The 20-year-old finished second in Saturday’s reverse grid race at the Circuit of the Americas, which was enough to be crowned champion before Sunday’s feature race and the season finale in Las Vegas in November.
Palmowski becomes the youngest champion of the all-female development series, and is the second British driver to win the title after Abbi Pulling in 2024.
She drives for Campos Racing and is part of the Red Bull driver academy.
Glossop-born Palmowski has won five out of the 11 races held so far this season, only finishing outside of the points once during the reverse grid race at Zandvoort.
In an emotional post-race interview, she dedicated her championship win to her ill grandmother and thanked her family.
“It’s been a really special journey. I started racing when I was eight or nine years old, it was just me and my parents,” she said.
“The sacrifices that they’ve made behind the scenes, they’ve really put their lives on pause to allow me to live my dream.”
Before Saturday’s race, Austrian Emma Felbermayr was the only driver with a mathematical chance of overhauling Palmowski but fourth place was not enough to keep her hopes alive.
Denmark’s Alba Larsen took the chequered flag to secure her first F1 Academy victory, with 17-year-old Lisa Billard of France completing the podium in third.
Kimi Antonelli took pole position for the United States Grand Prix on the weekend on which he can potentially clinch his first world title.
The Mercedes driver beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 0.179 seconds, with the Dutchman’s team-mate Isack Hadjar third ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
Antonelli whooped with delight as he took his first pole position since the Belgian Grand Prix in July and said: “It feels good to be back.”
The 20-year-old Italian will become world champion on Sunday if he wins the race in Austin with Hamilton lower than fourth and Russell lower than eighth.
Hamilton is already below that position having qualified fifth, while Russell will start sixth ahead of the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Antonelli’s pole came as something of a surprise after the Ferraris had topped all three practice sessions and Verstappen had looked strong through the second part of qualifying.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” said Antonelli’s engineer Peter Bonnington, emphasising that his charge’s first lap in final qualifying was good enough for pole.
Verstappen had been fourth quickest in Q2 despite being on used tyres but he found his car lacked the requisite grip in the final session.
Antonelli said: “We got pole so we will try to win tomorrow but Max has been very quick and Isack did an incredible job so it is not going to be easy.
“We try to get a good start and hopefully lead into Turn One and try to set the pace, even though it’s going to be very tight.”
Verstappen said: “Q3 was not good, Q1, Q2 were nice but for whatever reason in run one and two just didn’t have a nice balance. No mistakes, just not enough grip. But if it’s still a P2, I take it.”
The Lakers appeared to be on their way to almost being whole Friday night when guard Collin Sexton returned to play for the first time this season. Then word came that key role player Jake LaRavia was out because of an ankle injury.
Still, the Lakers pressed on in their second game, a game against the crosstown rival Clippers, a game with meaning for both teams.
Though the Lakers were sloppy with the ball in the fourth quarter, having six players score in double figures helped them pull out a 125-117 win over the Clippers at Crypto.com Arena.
Austin Reaves led the way with 28 points and nine assists, but he had six turnovers. Luka Doncic had 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds, but he had 11 of the Lakers’ 21 turnovers.
Walker Kessler was a force again, scoring 22 points on 10-for-14 shooting, grabbing eight rebounds and blocking six shots.
The Lakers led by 15 points in the second half after the score was tied at halftime, but kept turning the ball over and saw the lead sliced to six with three minutes and 18 seconds left on a basket by Darius Garland, who finished with 26 points.
But Kessler played big in the final few minutes, making two free throws and blocking a shot late in the game.
Kessler sopened the game with his defensive presence. He stole the basketball and took it the length of the court for a two-handed dunk in the first quarter.
Kessler blocked a shot by Derrick Jones Jr., leading to a three-pointer by Reaves for an 89-77 Lakers lead in the third quarter.
Kessler then went to work on the backboards, grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring on a reverse layup while being fouled by Brook Lopez. Kessler flexed and yelled. He missed the free throw, but his basket had given the Lakers a 91-77 in the third quarter and it kept their momentum going.
Kessler kept up his fantastic play in the fourth quarter, challenging a shot on defense by Rui Hachimura and then running on the fast break to catch a lob from Reaves for a two-handed dunk and a 15-point Lakers lead.
It was also the return of Hachimura, who spent 3 ½-seasons with the Lakers before joining the Clippers this summer on a two-year, $28-million deal. The well-liked Hachimura was shown just how much when the Lakers played highlights from when he played with them.
Clippers forward Rui Hachimura, playing tight defense on Lakers guard Luka Doncic, returned to Crypto.com Arena where played for parts of three seasons. He had 16 points, six rebounds and two steals.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Hachimura had 12 points at the half, doing his part to help the Clippers stay at 64-64.
Before the game, Lakers coach JJ Redick spoke glowingly of how Hachimura played during the preseason for the Clippers.
“They’re running a lot of the same stuff for Rui that they ran for PG [Paul George] and at times Kawhi [Leonard],” Redick said. “He’s playing free and he’s playing ultra-aggressive right now.”
With three minutes and 52 seconds left in the first quarter, Sexton checked into the game, and his first play was a steal.
Sexton missed the first regular-season game and five exhibition games because of lower leg injury. He played 16 minutes and had five points and three steals.
Etc.
LaRavia didn’t play because of a sprained right ankle. LaRavia played in all 82 games last season for the first time in his career. His goal was to play in all 82 this season, but he’s already missed his first game and might not be available to play until Sunday at Utah or Tuesday at home against the Portland Trail Blazers.
“We talked last week and mentioned that was one of his goals for the season. He had the same goal last year and he was able to do that,” Redick said. “Play through some stuff at times last year. Wanted to play. We talked to him this morning before shoot-around and I was going to try to give it a go and went to the treatment room and just it’s not there, but he’s hopeful he could be back Sunday, if not Tuesday.”
Ferrari have an upgrade on their car this weekend, focused on a new floor, but Leclerc was downplaying expectations.
“It felt good but it is not the gain I have seen or heard about,” Leclerc said. “It is small gains but we could still see them on the car. It is a small step forward and we started the weekend on the right foot with a good balance and that is the outstanding thing with this Friday.
“It has been a very clean Friday for me, but the others seem to be gaining more than us from Friday to Saturday and seeing the little gap there is, it is not going to be so easy tomorrow.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris was seventh fastest, although the world champion did not set a time on his qualifying simulation run on soft tyres after making a mistake at Turn 16.
Norris was the fastest on the long runs, at about 0.2secs on average faster than Verstappen, but cannot be compared as he was running the hard tyre.
McLaren have introduced the first of three consecutive planned upgrades this weekend, but he was not happy with his performance.
“Difficult,” Norris said. “The pace is not bad. We seem a step away from Red Bull and Ferrari, probably Mercedes as well, but the car is very difficult to drive, too difficult to be consistent and get a nice feeling consistently.
“To get the car be quick we just have to try so hard to be perfect and you can’t be perfect. I am sure everyone has similar problems in a way but we are just not quick enough yet to be there consistently enough.”
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was eighth quickest, ahead of Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Haas driver Oliver Bearman.
The track is built on former marshland and that has made it difficult for organisers to keep it in good condition, but the four-time champion rejected that as a reason not to try to solve the issue.
“You can use the excuse that the soil is the problem but then you should have known that and you need to make sure that you reinforce it more,” Verstappen said.
“Last year, for example, you pull around 5-6G in a corner, but I had some impacts, vertical load, which was over 9G on my spine, which I can tell you is really not fun, and especially the older you get, you think about that more and more.”
Verstappen said the problem was likely to be exacerbated this year because although the cars from 2022-25 had lower ride-heights overall, the way the cars are run under the latest regulations means they are running lower in corners than last season.
That’s because of the switch between having the front and rear wings open in drag-reduction mode on the straights and closing in corners means the cars drop down towards the ground when they brake.
“You bottom out way harder, because when the wings close and the ride-height comes down, under braking is actually a very stressful moment, and I know around here in some places, it’s very bumpy under braking,” he said.
“Especially when it’s like these kind of awkward bumps, not just bumps from the track getting older, but the surface underneath the soil just moving up and down, sometimes (it’s) very hard to expect, or if you’re like a tiny bit offline, you don’t know what is there, because no-one really drives here sometimes.
“I can tell you from the checks that I’ve done from my spine, the bottom end doesn’t look that great.
“I know that’s part of racing. I know that can be part of sport, but it’s also further damage from the cars that we had the last few years.
“And now if we continue with finding this acceptable to drive on, then you are going to suffer with that much more.”
Welcome back to The Times’ Lakers newsletter and welcome back to real NBA games.
The regular season begins Tuesday with a triple-header. It’s the first time in eight years that the Lakers are watching the opening day action at home. That could be a small sign of where the Lakers stand in the NBA pecking order now.
Not many people know what to make of this team. There are nine new players. Another ownership change is pending. The Western Conference has two juggernauts at the top.
But within this summer of change, the Lakers managed to maintain one key partnership.
All things Lakers, all the time.
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Two-headed monster
With more than half of their roster wearing the purple and gold for the first time, some Lakers might still be getting on the same page after less than three weeks of practices. Meanwhile, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are already playing a completely different game.
“They’re always, like, playing chess out there,” guard Collin Sexton said.
After an offseason of change, it’s still the Lakers’ two most established stars who will control the season’s fate. Doncic and Reaves were 30-11 in games played together last season. In 1,092 minutes, lineups with Doncic and Reaves together outscored opponents by 8.9 points per 100 possessions, the third-best net rating on the team for any pair of regular rotation players. Their established chemistry gives the Lakers a strong foundation for the season.
“Austin and Luka, they kind of see things before it happens,” Sexton said. “And I feel like that allows them to be so good offensively and be able to score, but also to put us in the right situation to be successful as well.”
The duo that could be one of the most offensively potent pairings in the league proved that they could have success last season, helping the Lakers surge up the Western Conference standings during a magical March. Doncic scored 600 points during the month, despite missing one game because of a technical foul accumulation suspension. Reaves averaged 5.8 assists, his highest average for a month with more than six appearances last season. With LeBron James serving as the most heralded third option in the history of basketball, the Lakers went 15-2.
It was painful but a little poetic that Doncic and Reaves — whose wholesome friendship became the envy of NBA Twitter — suffered injuries during the same game to end the hot streak.
Doncic told Sports Illustrated this summer that he “regret[ted]” coming back into the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder after he felt a twinge in his hamstring during the first half. The severity of the injury kept him out for the rest of the season.
“I thought we had a team that could compete for a championship,” Doncic said during training camp. “So I was kind of disappointed, kind of let the team down, so it’s definitely motivating for this season.”
Reaves returned during the postseason after an oblique injury, but couldn’t regain his consistency. He played in a career-low 51 games last season and missed out on what could have been his first All-Star selection.
Determined to fortify his body for another long season, Reaves hired former Lakers head strength and conditioning coach Ed Streit to work with him. He hoped that having a dedicated strength coach, which stars including James and Doncic already have, would help him take “the next step,” Reaves said.
After waiting and learning behind veterans such as James and Anthony Davis, Reaves is now an undisputed top-two player on the Lakers. He signed the richest contract ever for an undrafted player this offseason. Doncic was among his most vocal supporters.
“We talked about it even middle of last year, towards the end of last year, continuing this partnership for as long as we can,” Reaves said. “I enjoy being around him so much that coming back and being a Laker was the main thing when the season ended.”
Initially Reaves didn’t know if he would establish a close bond with Doncic after the former Dallas superstar was shockingly traded. Doncic was quiet when he first arrived in L.A. Now Reaves, who loves to hate his newest best friend, is sad to admit that they’re so similar.
They share a creative style of basketball. They’re ruthless competitors. They love golf.
The most important thing is another shared obsession.
“At the end of the day, we care about winning,” Reaves said, “and that’s all that matters.”
General managers voted on the top four teams in each conference, with four points awarded for each first-place vote, three points for second place, two for third and one for fourth, and the Lakers received 10% of fourth-place votes and 1% of total available points, which placed sixth in the total score.
The San Antonio Spurs, who were also the general managers’ choice to win the NBA title, had 53% of first-place points in the Western Conference. The Oklahoma City Thunder were effectively tied in the survey, with both teams getting 34% of the available points. With two young, deep teams at the top of the conference, all roads seem to lead to an encore of last year’s Western Conference final.
But this league celebrates its parity. Eight champions in eight years? Almost nothing compared to more than the 40 years since a repeat Western Conference finals matchup. The West hasn’t had a conference finals sequel since the Lakers and Spurs in 1982 and 1983.
The season could turn unexpectedly for one of the top teams, opening the door for another team to crash the party. NBA general managers don’t think the Lakers would be first inside the velvet ropes, but executives believe the team could be an enigma. In response to a NBA.com survey question on which team’s success is the toughest to predict this season, the Lakers received the third-most votes.
The league can’t tell the type of team the Lakers will be. They at least have their goals clear.
“Realistically, I would say championship,” Doncic said at the Spectrum broadcast desk on media day. “If that’s not your goal, I don’t know what you’re doing here.”
Poll question
Where do you think the Lakers will finish in the Western Conference?
It’s here! The opener! The Lakers should be familiar with the Warriors after playing two preseason games against their in-state rivals. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg emerged as an immediate impact player, averaging 15.6 points and 7.4 rebounds on 56.9% shooting during the preseason.
Friday vs. Clippers, 7 p.m. PDT
Old friend Rui Hachimura returns with the Clippers, who have moved on from the Kawhi Leonard Era but begin the season without Brandon Ingram (Achilles) and Max Strus (foot). Rookie guard Keaton Wagler could be one of the few bright spots for the struggling franchise this season.
Sunday at Jazz, 2 p.m. PDT
The Lakers’ first road game is a homecoming for Walker Kessler, returning to the franchise that drafted him, and a reunion with another former Laker Jaxson Hayes. Hayes, who signed a two-year, $12-million contract with the Jazz, is in line to get significant minutes for Utah after an early injury to Jusuf Nurkic (foot).
Favorite thing I ate this week
Poke from Redondo Beach’s Jus’ Poke.
(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
The Lakers did not bless us with a tropical training camp (looking at you, Clippers and Warriors) so a trip to Redondo Beach’s Jus’ Poke will have to be the closest I get to Hawaii for now. The poke selections are always fresh and stand out for their simplicity and execution. No superfluous toppings and sauces. Just, as the name suggests, really good poke.
Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-min both contributed to all three goals for LAFC in a 3-1 victory over Austin FC on Wednesday night at BMO Stadium.
Neither team found the net until Bouanga took a pass from Son seven minutes into the second half and scored to give LAFC (12-9-9) the lead.
Austin’s Brandon Vázquez scored for the second time this season, using an assist from Myrto Uzuni, to knot the score in the 66th minute.
Bouanga answered the following minute with his 17th netter off another assist from Son, his league-leading 15th of the season, and LAFC went back in front 2-1.
Bouanga returned the favor when he notched his eighth assist on Son’s sixth goal of the season in the 72nd minute for a two-score advantage. Jacob Shaffelburg picked up his career-high fifth assist.
Hugo Lloris totaled three saves for LAFC, which is 2-2-3 since the start of September.
Brad Stuver stopped 10 shots, one off his career high, for Austin (7-11-11), which has lost two straight following an eight-match unbeaten streak.
LAFC improved to 9-3-3 at home, while Austin dropped to 3-8-4 on the road.
The clubs played to a scoreless draw in Austin to close out March.
And though it was just a preseason game Thursday night, Doncic and Reaves showed why they form one of the most dynamic offensive backcourts in the NBA.
The Lakers duo linked up on the very first play against the Sacramento Kings, with Reaves passing to Doncic as he cut to the basket before scoring while being fouled.
Both played 25 minutes, with Doncic finishing with 23 points on six-for-16 shooting during the Lakers’ 114-110 win over the Kings at Crypto.com Arena. Reaves had eight points on two-for-seven shooting, eight assists and five rebounds.
Doncic, who picked up a technical foul with six minutes and 48 seconds left in the third quarter, and Reaves, who played in his first exhibition game after missing the first two, gave the fans something to be excited about.
Doncic’s moment came in the second quarter when he drilled a 31-foot, one-legged three-pointer off a pass from Sandro Mamukelashvili (19 points).
Reaves’ moment came late in the second quarter when he had a nice hesitation move that froze Emanuel Sharp, allowing him to waltz along the baseline for a layup.
Lakers coach JJ Redick explained why Doncic and Reaves have been so close in their time playing together.
“I think there’s good chemistry with each other,” Redick said. “I think it’s just the natural way they like each other. They like playing together. I think having them together means there’s automatically two ballhandlers on the court. I think that’s like an underrated part of the NBA now … having two-to-three ballhandlers on the floor at all times.”
Injury update
Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton both missed their third straight preseason game and Ziaire Williams missed his second straight game. Cameron Carr, Dalton Knecht and Arthur Kaluma also didn’t play.
Kessler, the Lakers’ big acquisition at center from the Utah Jazz, has been nursing a finger injury he sustained after hitting the backboard during practice.
“We’ve got to check in tomorrow. … It’s not concerning. He’ll play in the preseason,” Redick said.
Redick said Williams had “some soreness, but it’s not anything that we’re concerned about.”
