Kimi Antonelli just missed out on clinching his first world title in a dominant victory in the United States Grand Prix.
The 20-year-old Italian leads Mercedes team-mate George Russell by 123 points after coming home ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Antonelli will be crowned champion in Mexico City next weekend as long he does not lose more than 23 points to Russell and 24 to Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
That means a ninth place would be enough to become champion even if Russell wins the race, and a 10th would be enough if Hamilton is victorious.
If Russell or Hamilton do not win, Antonelli will be champion next Sunday no matter where he finishes.
Antonelli stamped his authority on this race in the same way as he has on the season, and was out of touch even by the first corner as his rivals all battled behind him.
The key stories of the race were:
Antonelli’s sublime victory, his first since the Spanish Grand Prix last month
A race-long squabble between Leclerc and Verstappen for second place
Little else, frankly
Antonelli took control of the race from the very beginning, an excellent start combined with a gripping scrap through the first lap between Verstappen and Leclerc leaving him more than two seconds clear by the end of the first lap.
No-one got near him from then on.
Mercedes had chosen the medium tyres for the start, while Leclerc and the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Isack Hadjar started on new softs.
And Antonelli was able to convert that choice into a one-stop race while everyone else did two, emphasising his superiority as he finished 16 seconds clear of Leclerc.
The race was also a stamp of approval for the Mercedes upgrade package that was introduced two races ago in Malaysia but initially took them backwards.
Assiduous work ever since has moved it to the point where, while it remains tricky to optimise, it is definitively quicker than the older specification.
“It was the result we needed,” Antonelli said. “All this time putting work on the new package and finally seeing the result was very pleasant, perfect strategy to call the one-stop.”
As for the title, he said: “I know we are very close. We try to finish on a high and hopefully we can clinch it very soon.”
More to follow
