Kimi Antonelli's season is showing outstanding results, bringing him closer to a historic Formula 1 title after his victory at the United States Grand Prix in Austin.
The 20-year-old driver for the Mercedes team has a 123-point lead over his closest rival and teammate George Russell, giving him significant chances for the championship in the remaining five races of the season.
Antonelli delivered a brilliant race, which team principal Toto Wolff described as 'a race of a champion who is not yet a champion, but is exceptional,' securing the win through a one-stop tire strategy.
His closest competitors, Lewis Hamilton and Russell, finished fourth and eighth, respectively; Russell faced a very difficult race as he lost positions later on.
This result significantly brought Antonelli closer to the title, and now he has a real chance to win it in the next round in Mexico. Mathematically, only three drivers remain in contention for the title out of the planned five remaining stages.
The Italian driver leads the standings with 365 points, while his closest rival Russell is in a distant second place with 242 points. Hamilton trails by only one point. These three are the only ones mathematically capable of winning the title, as Antonelli's victory in Austin eliminated other contenders, including Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and 2025 champion Lando Norris.
To win the title in Mexico, Antonelli must not lose more than 23 points against Russell and no more than 24 points against Hamilton. This means he only needs to score two points, regardless of what Russell or Hamilton do in the next race.
If Antonelli finishes ninth or higher, he is guaranteed the title in 2026, even if Russell or Hamilton wins the race. In another scenario, if Russell or Hamilton do not win in Mexico, the Italian driver will become champion even if he scores zero points.
Currently, Antonelli leads Russell by 123 points and Hamilton by 124 points, with only 125 points available. If Russell or Hamilton do not win, they will be more than 100 points behind Antonelli, having only 100 points left after Mexico and four remaining rounds.
Even if the championship ends in a tie, Antonelli will be recognized as champion because he will have more race wins than Russell and Hamilton. He currently has nine wins this season, while Russell has three, and Hamilton has one. Even if Russell wins the next five races and Antonelli scores only two points in those races, leading to a tie with his teammate at the end of the season, Antonelli will still maintain the advantage in terms of number of wins, as he already has nine.
The title would make Antonelli the youngest driver to win an F1 championship. He is currently 20 years old and would break Sebastian Vettel's record, who won his first title in 2010 at the age of 23 years and 134 days.