Kimi Antonelli can afford a nervous laugh at Max Verstappen’s late-season resurgence. Had the Dutchman found his current devastating form with Red Bull a few months earlier, the Mercedes prodigy might have had a rather “scary” obstacle standing between him and Formula 1 immortality.
Verstappen and Red Bull have suddenly rediscovered their winning touch, sweeping to consecutive victories at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia and at last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.
With pole positions for both the sprint and the main event in Singapore, the four-time world champion delivered a timely reminder that writing him off is rarely a sensible move.
For Antonelli, however, the timing of Verstappen’s revival could hardly be more convenient.
The Mercedes driver leads the world championship by 119 points over Verstappen, who has climbed to fourth in the standings but remains too far adrift to mount a realistic challenge for the crown with just six rounds remaining.
Asked by Sky Sports F1 whether he was relieved that Verstappen was so far behind in the championship, Antonelli needed little encouragement to admit as much.
“Yeah, because it would be very scary,” the Italian replied with a laugh. “It would be very, very scary.”
Antonelli can almost see the finish line
There is good reason for the 20-year-old to be looking forward rather than over his shoulder. His commanding position means that next week’s US Grand Prix in Austin could provide his first opportunity to clinch the world championship, potentially making him the youngest title winner in F1 history.
The mathematics are demanding for a single-race coronation: Antonelli must win at the Circuit of the Americas, George Russell must finish ninth or lower, and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton must cross the line fifth or lower.
But even if the title does not arrive in Texas, Antonelli has every reason to feel encouraged by the campaign that has put him in such an enviable position.
"All in all I feel like we are doing a great job. At the end, you look at the season, and we have always been there,” the Italian said.
"Obviously we have had a great car and now we are trying to understand this new package. I'm very proud of the team this weekend because we pushed through the difficulties and started to see life at the end of the tunnel. It's just a matter of time.
"Now we go to Austin, a normal weekend, where we can hopefully do a lot of changes and understand the package more.”
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Wolff salutes Red Bull resurgence: ‘You need to take your hat off’That assessment reflects a Mercedes outfit still working to extract the full potential of its latest development package, even as its young driver continues to build a formidable championship advantage.
The difficulties have not derailed Antonelli’s campaign, and his confidence in the team’s ability to make further progress suggests there could yet be more to come.
Wolff refuses to count his chickens
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, meanwhile, is in no mood to start celebrating prematurely.
Antonelli’s points advantage makes him an overwhelming favourite on paper, but the Austrian knows that even the most comfortable championship lead offers no protection against the unpredictable nature of motor racing.
"You look at the numbers and ask the probability of him winning, and it's probably almost 100 per cent. But it's motor racing, you can break down, you can have accidents, and then things could start to stress," he told Sky Sports F1.
"So, I think we need to look at it race by race, make sure that we are continuing to score the points, and eventually hopefully it's going to come towards him.”
That caution is understandable, particularly with Verstappen showing signs of the relentless form that has made him such a formidable opponent in previous championship battles.
The Red Bull driver, however, is not looking back at the standings or contemplating an improbable late assault on the title. After a difficult campaign, his recent victories have given him something rather simpler to pursue: enjoyment.
"I think the last few races have been really positive for us," Verstappen said. "It's just great to see and yeah, we have a lot of motivation in the team to try and deliver even more results.
“It's a really good group of people. I really enjoy working with them and hopefully we can have a bit more fun until the end of the year."
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