The 20-year-old took pole and the win in Austin, his ninth of the season, but results behind him kept the championship fight alive for another week.
Kimi Antonelli delivered another dominant performance at the United States Grand Prix, converting pole position into his ninth win of the season. It was the kind of drive that has defined his year, but it was not quite enough to wrap up the championship in Austin.
Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and George Russell came home eighth, results that were just good enough to keep both of them mathematically alive in the title fight for at least one more race.
That means the coronation moves to Mexico City. Antonelli now gets his next shot at the title at the Mexican Grand Prix, where the math is straightforward: if he finishes in the top nine, he is champion, regardless of what Hamilton or Russell do that day.
Should Mexico not settle it, there is still plenty of season left to sort things out, with Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi still to come and a maximum of 100 points still up for grabs after Mexico. For now, Antonelli heads to Mexico City as the overwhelming favorite to close things out, needing just one more solid finish to become a world champion at 20.