Antonelli can clinch F1 title at bumpy Austin circuit drivers call 'unacceptable'
Kimi Antonelli can secure the Formula One world championship at the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin this weekend if he wins the race on Sunday.
The 20-year-old Mercedes driver would become the youngest world champion in F1 history if he clinches the title at Austin, eclipsing Sebastian Vettel’s 2010 mark when Vettel was 23 and Antonelli was four. To achieve it, Antonelli must win while his rivals score poorly: his Mercedes teammate George Russell would need to finish outside the top eight and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton outside the top four. Antonelli said the team met with race engineer Pete Bonnington — “Bono” — this morning and agreed, “Just have fun”, adding: “It’s the same mindset I’ve had all year. One race at a time. Just try to do the best I can every race weekend, and then we’ll see.”
After a difficult rookie season last year, Antonelli has adapted quickly to competing at the front of the grid and has retained a calm approach under championship pressure. He described the difference in stakes, saying: “Formula One is different because the pressure is a lot bigger than in anything else. The competition is a little bit higher as well because you’re racing with 21 of the best drivers in the world. But when you fight for championships in karting and junior series, the mindset is very similar in the way you approach races and the way you think.”
The Circuit of the Americas, first used for the US Grand Prix in 2012 and contracted to host until 2034, remains popular with sold-out crowds despite intense scrutiny over its surface. Built on marshland, the track has developed significant bumps caused by the ground beneath the tarmac that drivers say force impacts into the base of their spines. Organisers have made piecemeal repairs that some drivers describe as insufficient.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set out the scale of the concern in blunt terms, saying: “The bumps are unacceptable. Over time they’ve been grinding a little bit here and there but it’s just putting a plaster on the big problem. You need to really fully open up the track. That costs a lot of money and time but that’s the only way to get rid of it because these bumps are not natural and they are out of control. From the checks that I’ve done from my spine, the bottom end doesn’t look that great. I know that’s part of racing. I know that can be part of sport but it’s also further damage from the cars that we had the last few years. If we continue with finding this acceptable to drive on, then you are going to suffer with that much more.”
The defending world champion, Lando Norris, echoed drivers’ frustration with the surface and its effects, saying: “It’s pretty bad. There’s a lot of places I need to take headache tablets before I go out simply because it’s so bumpy and you’re hitting your head pretty hard against the headrest because of the bumps. So it’s certainly not a nice thing. There’s not much we can do. I mean, we complain about it, it’s stuff we’ve brought up many, many times but there’s only so much we can complain about things.”
The championship could be decided at COTA on Sunday if Antonelli wins and the specified results occur for his rivals, while drivers continue to press organisers and governing bodies over the track surface ahead of the race.