Kimi Antonelli dominated the United States Grand Prix and he did it with a strategy that caught plenty off guard.

Ferrari must have been feeling confident about their chances of winning in Austin when Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton topped all three practice sessions.

A frustrating Q3 collapse for Ferrari left them further back on the starting grid than they hoped, but both drivers quickly found their way into the podium battle. However, Kimi Antonelli won the United States GP in dominant fashion. His pace and strategy had Ferrari scratching their heads.

Kimi Antonelli closes in on championship victory, but the battle for second is heating up 🔥With five races remaining, who do you think will come out ahead?

Kimi Antonelli defied Ferrari’s strategy simulations

Mercedes made the bold call to start the Grand Prix on medium tyres, while Red Bull and Ferrari opted for soft tyres.

While Max Verstappen, Leclerc and Hamilton all headed in for an early pit stop, Mercedes and Kimi Antonelli stuck to a one-stop strategy, choosing to stray from the rest of the grid.

Antonelli executed the strategy perfectly, and he ended up crossing the finish line 13 seconds clear of Leclerc in P2.

Speaking in the post-race press conference, Leclerc admitted that Ferrari had never considered a one-stop strategy.

“I even thought the victory was possible at one point when I saw Kimi going for the one-stop. Based on our numbers, he would start to struggle a bit more towards the end of the race.

“He never really struggled towards the end of the race, but, yeah, it’s been a fun race. A shame just that we came short of winning.”

Leclerc added that Red Bull were also in alignment with Ferrari’s strategy: “I think Red Bull and I had kind of the same vision. If you look at the tyre allocation as well, for us, the two-stops were probably the way to go.”

Mercedes knew the one-stop strategy was quicker

The split in strategy was an interesting talking point from Austin, and ultimately it was Mercedes who got it right with Antonelli.

Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord told BBC Radio 5 Live that their simulations calculated the one-stop strategy to be eight seconds quicker.

“Amazing job by everyone on the pit wall and the strategists back at base because I think the one stop was about eight seconds quicker on our numbers but Kimi also finished plenty more than eight seconds ahead. What a drive, what a win,” Lord said.

If those calculations are true, Leclerc may have cut the gap to Antonelli to just five seconds. But credit has to go to Antonelli for managing his tyres.