Source : @F1
AUSTIN — Kimi Antonelli has arrived at the Circuit of The Americas with the chance to join Formula 1’s greats this weekend, and the sport marked the moment with a photograph of the Mercedes driver walking past giant portraits of two of its most successful champions.
Formula 1’s official X account posted the image on Thursday (Oct 22) with the caption: “In the shadow of giants”, alongside the hashtags #F1 and #USGP. It shows Antonelli in profile, wearing a brown cap, dark sunglasses and a black T-shirt bearing the adidas logo and his green “Kimi” signature, as he passes a large red backdrop dominated by the faces of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, in Ferrari colours, and four-time champion Max Verstappen, in Red Bull overalls.
The symbolism is hard to miss. Between them, Hamilton and Verstappen have won 11 drivers’ titles, and Antonelli, 20, can claim his first on Sunday. He leads the standings on 340 points, 102 clear of Mercedes team-mate George Russell, with Hamilton third on 229 and Verstappen fourth on 221. Antonelli will be crowned in Austin if he wins the race, with Russell ninth or lower and Hamilton fifth or lower.
A title this weekend would make the Italian the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history, beating the record Sebastian Vettel set in 2010. Asked at Thursday’s press conference whether he remembered Vettel’s triumph, Antonelli admitted he did not. “I remember I was playing with Hot Wheels, but I don’t remember him clinching it,” he said, according to the FIA transcript.
He insisted he would not be distracted by the occasion. “I mean, it definitely is crazy if you think about it, but that’s why I won’t think about it,” he said. “For me, it needs to be a perfect weekend. The others need to have a poor result, which is unlikely to happen.” He added that the mindset was the same whether he wins the championship “this weekend, next weekend or in Brazil”.
One of the giants on that wall was alongside him in the press conference. Hamilton, whom Antonelli replaced at Mercedes, joked that his only advice was to “slow down”, before adding: “He doesn’t need any advice.” The Ferrari driver later said Antonelli is “a relatively old soul in that young body” and “deserves to be the champion”.
The other giant stands in his way. Verstappen arrives in Austin on the back of victories in the past two rounds, and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar said on Thursday of Antonelli: “I think he’s surprised everyone with the level he’s been driving at.”. Antonelli credited his growth to a calmer approach in his second season. “Mentally, I’ve been in a much happier place this year compared to last season,” he said.
The United States Grand Prix runs from Oct 23 to 25, with qualifying at 4pm local time on Saturday and the 56-lap race starting at 3pm on Sunday, which is 4am on Monday (Oct 26) in Malaysia. The original Formula 1 post can be viewed on X: https://x.com/F1/status/2113374995338436866.
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