Antonelli's Feet Don't Touch the Ground, But His Head Is Perfectly Centered

A few days ago, I wrote in this column that Antonelli would claim the top step of the podium in Austin, and Verstappen would fail to break into the top two. Both came true. Word was kept.

Now let's get to the real matter.

Toto Wolff recounted in a post-race press conference that Kimi Antonelli walked into his office, leaned back in a chair, stretched his feet onto the desk, and said, 'This is hilarious, I'm not even thinking about the championship.' A 123-point gap creates fertile ground for scenes like that; I understand. But what Wolff said wasn't just that. 'He has this in his nature,' he said, 'and I don't think it's something that can be taught.'

Natural composure under pressure in an athlete is far rarer than technical superiority. Austin was a race where both appeared simultaneously.

Right now, the only mathematical obstacle facing Antonelli is this: if George Russell or Lewis Hamilton finish first in Mexico City and Antonelli finishes ninth or worse, the crown is postponed another week. No other scenario threatens the championship. That doesn't mean 'nearly certain'; the race itself is still very much in play.

But what happened to the rivals? Verstappen couldn't make a good start from the front row, battled Leclerc for second place throughout the race, and ultimately settled for third—his sixth consecutive podium. But the issue between Red Bull and Austin isn't settled; the track surface's cost to the setup is still being read in the results they achieved.

Leclerc was another story altogether. He was fastest in Friday practice, showed brilliant Ferrari performance in qualifying, and moved up to second by passing Norris and Verstappen. By my reading, this race was Antonelli's, not Leclerc's; but what Leclerc did was take the stage not as a loser but as a competitor. These are not the same thing.

On Russell's front, the picture is more complicated. He said 'the pace was terrible'; he added that a five-second penalty played a role, but his inability to pass despite spending 26 laps behind Piastri is a sign of another problem. Both Mercedes came to Austin with the same upgrade; one is managing the race, the other is getting lost in it. To explain this difference by the car alone would be unfair to what Antonelli did.

Since Monza, every question asked to Wolff has drawn a Monza-Austin comparison. It was Antonelli himself who said, 'Both were very good but Austin was better in terms of execution.' The home crowd, the feeling of that 19th place start; these things make Monza special. Austin, on the other hand, shows how mature the process has become.

Mexico City, next week. Will Antonelli be champion? The numbers say yes. The only question left is which moment will go down in history.