AUSTIN, Texas — As the post-qualifying din began to subside in the paddock here at the Circuit of the Americas, Kimi Antonelli wound his way from the media center following the FIA Press Conference to the upstairs paddock club, surrounded by Mercedes team personnel and onlooking fans.
With every step he took, he was inching closer to history.
But none of those steps were bigger than the ones he took in the preceding hour, as he delivered a thunderous lap at the start of Q3 to take pole position for Sunday’s United States Grand Prix. Antonelli can clinch a maiden F1 Drivers’ Championship with a win on Sunday — and a little help — and while that title seems like something of a formality given the time left in the season and how close he is to clinching it, as the sun dipped in the Western sky on Saturday evening, it seemed that title was truly well within his reach.
Yet moments after climbing out of the car, with that pole position secured, Antonelli found a way to poke some fun at himself.
“It was surprising, but, also one of the biggest achievements for me today is that I didn’t do track limits,” said Antonelli after the session, referencing the track limits violations he and the rest of the grid racked up during the two practice sessions on Friday.
“So, that was also made our life a little bit easier, you know, that I didn’t put myself in a difficult situation and we were able to just progress throughout the session and to build, from there. But, definitely it was unexpected, we knew we’d be close, but, yeah, it was a good surprise.”
Antonelli can clinch the title with a win on Sunday, provided teammate George Russell finishes ninth or lower, and Lewis Hamilton finishes fifth or lower. But with Hamilton set to start fifth, and Russell set to start alongside him in sixth, the chaos of Turn 1 at the Circuit of the Americas could give Antonelli just the cushion he needs.
Provided he gets through Turn 1 himself.
Saturday evening, Antonelli remained focused on just having a good day in the Grand Prix tomorrow.
“I’m just gonna try to do the best race I can,” described Antonelli. “Gonna try to win, and then we’ll see what happens. But you know, it’s good to finish the day like this.
“But of course tomorrow is gonna be a new day. Max [Verstappen] has been very quick. Isack [Hadjar], he’s also been very quick. So just, yeah, I need to get a good start and then we’ll see from there what we can do.”
And while Antonelli did concede that things do feel “different” given the fact he can clinch the title on Sunday, the mindset remains the same.
“I mean, it does feel a little bit different,” said Antonelli in response to a question from Andrew Benson from BBC Sport about whether his approach will change on Sunday. “But the goal stays the same. I just need to keep doing my job, and actually I feel like I can enjoy more the driving. We still got to do the race tomorrow, still gotta try and win and then of course we’ll see what happens but yeah, just I feel like I can enjoy a bit more.
“Because obviously I’m in a very good position, but still the mindset is all the same.”
Antonelli’s hard work, and improved mental mindset, put him in this good position. As he talked about on Thursday, he has been able to bounce back stronger from those rare moments this season when he put a foot wrong, such as during the season-opening Australian Grand Prix when he suffered a big crash in FP3. He rebounded to qualify well, and took second in the race to start the season on the front foot.
One first big step in a season filled with them.
And now, after another big step here Saturday in Austin, he is on the verge of something even bigger on Sunday.
A title, and some F1 history, as the youngest champion in the annals of the sport.