Kimi Antonelli can clinch F1 title with ninth place in Mexico City
The Mercedes driver leads George Russell by 123 points before the 1 November Grand Prix. ESPN sets out other results that could also secure the championship.
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli can clinch the Formula 1 drivers’ championship at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, 1 November, with a ninth-place finish or better. The 20-year-old Italian leads teammate George Russell by 123 points before the race in Mexico City, according to ESPN and The Rio Times.
Antonelli’s lead grew after he started from pole and won the United States Grand Prix in Austin, ESPN reported. It was his ninth victory of the season, according to The Rio Times, giving him a substantial advantage with the final rounds approaching.
How Antonelli can clinch the title in Mexico City
ESPN says ninth place would secure the title even if Russell wins in Mexico City. A tenth-place finish would be enough if Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton wins instead. Antonelli would also clinch regardless of his own finish if neither Russell nor Hamilton wins the race, ESPN reported.
Hamilton is 124 points behind Antonelli, according to The Rio Times. Russell has won three races this season, while Hamilton has won one. The different Mexico City scenarios matter because Antonelli does not need to win or reach the podium to settle the drivers’ championship there.
If the championship continues through its scheduled final races, Antonelli needs two points across the remaining rounds to secure the title regardless of what other drivers achieve, ESPN reported. The outlet says the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix are scheduled for 29 November and 6 December, though escalation in the US-Iran war could force their cancellation. If the season ended at Imola instead, ESPN says Antonelli’s Austin result would already have secured the title under that shorter calendar.
Race weekend and the separate teams’ contest
The Mexico City Grand Prix weekend is scheduled from Friday, 30 October, to Sunday, 1 November, at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. The Rio Times lists the race start for 2 p.m. Mexico City time on Sunday. Antonelli is in his second Formula 1 season and would become the sport’s youngest champion if he takes the title at 20, the outlet reported.
The drivers’ title is separate from the constructors’ championship, which awards points to teams. Mercedes leads Ferrari by 133 points in that contest, according to The Rio Times, which describes it as still open. A drivers’ title for Antonelli in Mexico City would therefore leave the teams’ competition to be decided separately.
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Sources and context
- Mexico City Can Crown a New F1 ChampionThe Rio Times
- How Kimi Antonelli can win F1 title at Mexico City GP -- with or without Qatar, Abu Dhabi racesESPN / Laurence Edmondson
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.