Verstappen aims to delay Antonelli's F1 title party at US Grand Prix

Max Verstappen is set to try to spoil the party at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, chasing a third win in a row that could delay Kimi Antonelli’s title celebrations, Dawn reported, citing AFP.

Red Bull’s four-time world champion won the Bahrain Grand Prix, held in Malaysia, and then the Singapore Grand Prix, just as Mercedes’ 20-year-old Italian moved within reach of the championship.

What Antonelli needs in Texas

Antonelli leads his Mercedes team-mate George Russell by 102 points. To clinch the title in Austin, he must:

• win the race, and
• see Russell finish outside the top nine, and
• see Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton finish outside the top four.

If he does it, he would become Italy’s first world champion since 1953. Antonelli was only four years old when Sebastian Vettel became the youngest champion in history, with Red Bull, in 2010.

“I know it’s very close and I know it’s there, but I need to make sure I keep doing my best and go out and win and perform in my best way,” Antonelli said.

Verstappen’s run

Verstappen, 29, won from pole at the Circuit of the Americas last year and is chasing a fifth win at the Texas track, where Hamilton has won five times. He has seven podiums in his last eight races, including two wins and three second places, but sits fourth in the standings, 119 points behind.

He has been careful not to talk up Red Bull’s revival. “It’s difficult to say, I don’t want to say now that I will be in the fight in Austin,” he said after his win in Singapore. “But the last few weekends have been great. I just take it race by race and we’ll see how it goes there. It’s another very different kind of track.”

He also joked about the circuit’s bumps after watching a World Endurance Championship race there. “The track is incredibly bumpy and I will probably need to order a new spine after the weekend, or become like Robocop. It’s crazy,” he said.

“First match point”

McLaren deputy team principal Bradley Lord compared Antonelli’s position to tennis. “We’re in that uncomfortable phase where you have to navigate the media with everyone saying ‘you can do it, you’ve got first match point’,” he said.

Russell’s hopes of catching his team-mate could be helped by Verstappen, while Hamilton could also be a threat at one of his favourite circuits.

A decisive triple-header

Both Mercedes drivers will run the team’s latest upgrade package for a run of three races in Texas, Mexico and Brazil. Those races are often held on bumpy tracks and in hot conditions that can produce unexpected results, which could give Ferrari and Red Bull a chance to seize the initiative.

Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang earlier this month, the race that began his current run. If Antonelli does not clinch the title in Austin, the fight moves on to Mexico City and then Brazil.