Austin (AFP) – Kimi Antonelli said his mindset will not change as he heads to next week’s race in Mexico seeking the two points he needs to become Formula One’s youngest world champion. The 20-year-old Italian delivered a well-executed and dominant drive to claim his ninth victory this year for Mercedes in Sunday’s United States Grand Prix and move within reach of the title. Antonelli is on the brink of smashing the previous record for youngest champion, held by Sebastian Vettel who was 23 years and 133 days old when he won his first title in 2010. He is also set to become the first Italian to win the title since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
“The best way, the perfect way, would be to finish off in style and then just enjoy the rest of the season,” he said. “I’m very aware that it’s very close but the mindset doesn’t change. I want to finish the season on a high in order to then go with high hopes into 2027. But we’ll first focus and worry about finishing this well, and then we’ll see.”
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After Sunday’s triumph at the Circuit of the Americas, he leads with 365 points ahead of nearest rival and team-mate George Russell on 242 and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari on 241. He will be champion if he finishes in the top nine or, if he doesn’t score, Russell or Hamilton fail to win. But on current form, after winning again for the first time in four races, he looks certain to take the title in his own happy, generous and infectious style.
“That was the perfect way to end the weekend,” he said. “It was an incredible team effort, especially from strategy, to believe in me and go for one stop because I wasn’t sure whether one or two stop was the quickest. But I’m really happy that we made it stick. Today was a really important victory for me and for the team, especially after having a couple of difficult races, so being back on top feels very good.”
Antonelli’s ability on the track and infectious attitude off it have landed him numerous admirers around the paddock, including 1996 world champion Damon Hill. “The team love him, he’s enjoying everything he’s got in F1 and he’s very grateful for all the breaks they’ve given him at Mercedes,” Hill said on the BBC. “But he delivers. He’s such a nice kid. It’s incredible. Twenty years old and he’s on the verge of winning his first championship, which I’m sure will be the first of many.”
– ‘Rubbish’ –
Russell needed to finish in the top eight to remain notionally in the title race and he did indeed finish eighth after taking an early five-second penalty. “My pace was just rubbish today. That’s the long and short of it,” he said. “Of course, the five seconds didn’t help things and probably cost me two or three positions, but nevertheless, the pace was not good enough when it needed to be.”
Hamilton is the only other driver who still has a mathematical chance of catching Antonelli, but the seven-time champion was left to rue missed opportunities in Sunday’s race. “I felt the race was lost in my first two stints,” said Hamilton. “I lost so much time. I couldn’t turn the car in the lower speed corners particularly. I was adjusting my settings and by the last stint I was closer to the right balance. I think I’ve lost a lot of points in the last five races or so, and I think it’s really come from set-up or just not perfecting the set-up. It’s something I’ve really got to get on top of.”
© 2024 AFP
