Antonelli Could Clinch the Title in Austin — and Shave Three Years Off Vettel’s Record
Kimi Antonelli doesn’t strictly need a calculator yet, but the numbers are doing a convincing impression of one anyway. After finishing third in Singapore, the Mercedes rookie leads teammate George Russell by 102 points heading into the United States Grand Prix in Austin on 25 October, with 125 points left on the table for the rest of the season.
Win in Austin, and Antonelli’s lead balloons to 127 — enough to end Russell’s title hopes outright before the paddock even reaches Mexico City. Even the tightest surviving scenario doesn’t save Russell: if he finishes ninth behind an Antonelli win, the gap lands at exactly 125 points, and the title still goes to Antonelli on a countback of race wins — nine for him against three for Russell, a tally Russell couldn’t overturn even if he somehow won every one of the five remaining races.
There’s a record lurking behind the arithmetic too: crowned in Austin, Antonelli would be 20 years, two months and one day old, shaving more than three years off Sebastian Vettel’s mark as F1’s youngest champion. Max Verstappen, fresh off his own Singapore win, is probably too busy collecting trophies this autumn to mind much either way.
Source: RacingNews365 (https://racingnews365.com/can-kimi-antonelli-win-the-f1-drivers-title-at-the-next-race-in-the-united-states)
