Formula 1: Kimi Antonelli towards the title, but Mercedes remains cautious

The drivers' world championship is there, within reach, but be careful not to skid before the finish line. There is a mood halfway between prudence and superstition that is felt at Mercedes and in Kimi Antonelli's staff: the Italian's second place in Sepang, while on the one hand strengthening his leadership at the top of the standings, has however set off an alarm bell in the German team in terms of reliability, and he still fears his rivals behind him, from Red Bull to McLaren and Ferrari. Antonelli is first with 84 points ahead of teammate George Russell and 106 over Lewis Hamilton's red. There are many but, as Mercedes points out, 25 are assigned per race and there are still seven Grands Prix and a Sprint to go. Toto Wolff therefore appeared disappointed at the lack of improvement in the new aerodynamic appearance of the W17.

The goal is to exploit the hypothetical improvements of the new power unit that will debut in Austin. In short, the experienced German team principal is aware that Mercedes is far from being in crisis but he doesn't want the environment to relax: "Kimi scored a few more points than Lewis and I'm happy because he did his job - he explained after Sepang - but it's the general theme of retirements that could cost us dearly, even in the remaining seven races. If you retire, a championship can quickly change direction and we can't allow it to continue".

The flaw of young people is generally to want everything immediately, but Antonelli is already demonstrating, despite his 20 years, the maturity of champions. The Italian, thanks to yesterday's second place behind Max Verstappen, is first in the standings with 320 points: between now and the end of the season there are still 182 points available to be awarded. From a mathematical point of view, everything is still possible, but the goal appears closer.

Antonelli tries to keep his feet on the ground. It is no coincidence that before the Sepang GP he had posted an old video of Kobe Bryant on his social networks after a victory in the NBA finals: "The work is not finished. There is nothing to be happy about", said the basketball champion and the young Antonelli seems aware of the lesson.

In the next match in Singapore, where among other things the Sprint will also take place, Antonelli will have to try to definitively extinguish the hopes of his pursuers who are instead confident in an involution of his Mercedes. Kimi doesn't necessarily need to win, but he has to manage the large margin of advantage, limiting himself to staying on the podium if necessary. With the current roadmap, the mathematical conquest could arrive in the Mexican GP, ​​scheduled for the end of the month, or in the Brazilian GP the following weekend (6-8 November). At that point there would only be three GPs left to go and the advantage would be mathematically unbridgeable.

For his part, Russell, the first of the pursuers, should win all the remaining races and hope that Antonelli obtains less than three second places, one third place and five fourth places. In short, the Brit should hope for a collapse for his teammate. Hamilton, on the other hand, must bet on the flop of both and therefore of Mercedes in the dream of an impossible comeback that would bring Ferrari back to the top of Formula 1.