Kimi on pole in Austin, first match point for the World Championship tonight

Unstoppable Kimi Antonelli who conquers pole position in the Austin GP and launches himself in pursuit of the Formula 1 world title. In Texas, all the attention is on the young Mercedes driver who, thanks to a series of difficult combinations in placings, could already become world champion on Sunday night in Italy. Whether this will be the case depends not only on the 20-year-old from Bologna, but on what his opponents will do on the track. In the meantime, however, Antonelli carried out his task perfectly: best time in qualifying and first place on the grid at the start.

Behind him is Max Verstappen who, with Red Bull, promises battle in the race. The Ferraris were further behind with Charles Leclerc fourth and Lewis Hamilton fifth. Even further behind George Russell's Mercedes which placed seventh. Throughout the weekend the 20-year-old from Bologna marked his territory by always placing among the top four on the track, aware, with the title one step away, that he had to keep a cool head without risking too much. But in qualifying he made the winning move. The chasers especially have to run the risks if they still want to aim for an unlikely comeback. On the eve of the US race, Kimi has 340 points, with George Russell 102 (238 points) behind and Lewis Hamilton at -111 (229 points). After the Texan race, the very young talent from Emilia would only need to have a 125 point lead over Russell in the standings to be mathematically certain of the title.

Calculations which, however, do not seem to excite Antonelli: "We took pole and now we will try to win. But Max was very fast and it won't be easy. I will try to get a good start", he explained immediately after setting the best time, suggesting that he does not intend to worry about what his rivals will do also because in a week's time the race will take place in Mexico and there, finally, the title could become a reality. The world championship is not an obsession for the very young Mercedes talent. The calculations for the title are difficult to make also because it is not yet certain how many races will be held between now and the end of the season.

Wars permitting, we should race regularly in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. But, if the two stages in the Middle East were to be canceled and a single recovery in Imola was confirmed, Antonelli would only need to stay ahead of Russell or not lose more than two points in Texas. All arithmetic operations which, however, are not possible at the moment. Kimi, on the other hand, wants to win on the track by crossing the finish line first, he leaves the rest to fans of numbers and statistics. In Italy, however, the abacus is done well: it has been 73 years since an Italian has won the F1 World Championship. The last was Alberto Ascari.