Kimi Antonelli could be crowned Formula 1 world champion as early as this weekend’s United States Grand Prix in Austin, but he will need to win the race and get help from two of his rivals. The 20-year-old Mercedes driver heads to the Circuit of The Americas with a 102-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship and six races left in the 2026 season.
Antonelli has 340 points, ahead of Mercedes team-mate George Russell on 238, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton on 229, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on 221, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on 215 and McLaren’s Lando Norris on 201, according to the official F1 standings. Australian Oscar Piastri is seventh on 138 points.
What Antonelli needs in Austin
After Austin, five races remain on the calendar, in Mexico, Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, with a maximum of 125 points left to play for, Sky Sports explained. That means Antonelli has to leave Texas far enough clear that nobody can catch him.
According to Formula1.com, Antonelli wraps up the title in Austin only if he wins the race, Russell finishes ninth or lower, and Hamilton finishes fifth or lower. Anything other than victory for Antonelli and the celebrations wait until at least Mexico. “It’s a long shot for it all to come together, but stranger things have happened,” Formula1.com wrote.
If Russell finished exactly ninth, he would be 125 points behind with 125 still available, but Antonelli would win any tie on countback. A win in Austin would be the Italian’s ninth of the season, while Russell, on three wins, could reach no more than eight, Sky Sports noted. Race wins are the first tiebreaker if drivers finish level on points.
Read more: Verstappen Wins Singapore GP as Piastri Finishes Fifth
An Antonelli win would also end the mathematical title hopes of Verstappen, Leclerc and Norris, wherever they finished, Sky Sports said.
History within reach
Whenever he clinches it, Antonelli would become the youngest world champion in F1 history, beating Sebastian Vettel’s record from 2010, and the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953, RacingNews365 reported. He is in only his second season in F1.
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Antonelli said after Singapore that he would not change his approach. “You know, the mindset is always the same, to go out there and win and perform the best way I can,” he said, as quoted by Sky Sports. “I think this weekend [in Singapore] I haven’t particularly driven that well. I felt like I could have done a better job, but I feel confident that, you know, a week to reset and I’m really looking forward to being back in Austin.”
Verstappen’s late charge
Verstappen has won the past two grands prix, the Bahrain Grand Prix held at Sepang in Malaysia and the Singapore Grand Prix, and also won the sprint in Singapore. Formula1.com reported that Antonelli said Verstappen’s form would make for a “very, very scary” scenario if the four-time world champion were closer to him in the standings.
Where Oscar Piastri stands
Piastri finished third in the championship last season but has found the 2026 cars harder to master. He finished fifth in Singapore after a slow puncture forced an unscheduled stop, overtaking Hamilton on the final lap, Formula1.com reported.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown believes the Australian is getting back to his best. “I’m liking what I’m seeing out of Oscar,” Brown said in Singapore. “He’s feeling more confident and on top of things. I like where both our drivers are now.”
Formula1.com also reported that McLaren plan to bring further upgrades to Austin.
United States Grand Prix start time
The United States Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 7am AEDT on Monday, 26 October, which is Sunday afternoon in Austin.
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