Kimi Antonelli’s F1 title math leads United States Grand Prix storylines

| NurPhoto via Getty Images Formula 1 returns to the United States this week, with the United States Grand Prix from Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. And we could see a title decided in Texas this weekend. Kimi Antonelli heads to Austin with his first chance to clinch the Drivers’ Championship this season. As we will see in a moment, Antonelli will need a win and some help to accomplish this feat at the United States Grand Prix, but that certainly leads the major storylines as F1 roars back to life this weekend. Can Kimi Antonelli clinch a title? Antonelli heads to Austin with a commanding lead in the Drivers’ Championship standings and a victory, plus some help from the rest of the grid, could see him clinch the title at the Circuit of the Americas. Here are the current F1 Drivers’ Championship standings ahead of the United States Grand Prix, featuring the drivers still viable in the chase for the title: PositionDriverTeamPointsDifference 1Kimi AntonelliMercedes340— 2George RussellMercedes238102 3Lewis HamiltonFerrari229111 4Max VerstappenRed Bull221119 5Charles LeclercFerrari215125 6Lando NorrisMcLaren201139 We walked through the majority of the scenarios for Antonelli following the Singapore Grand Prix, but the easiest path for him to clinch the title in Austin comes with winning the United States Grand Prix. A victory in Austin would eliminate Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Lando Norris, and see Antonelli put one hand on the trophy. Then if George Russell finishes ninth or worse, and Lewis Hamilton finishes fifth or worse, Antonelli would clinch the title. However, there is a scenario where Antonelli has already clinched the title. With the final two races of the season set for Qatar and Abu Dhabi, there is a chance global events force F1 to cancel those two Grands Prix. If that is indeed the case, then only four races remain on the calendar, with a maximum of 100 points on offer to a driver who wins all four races. With Antonelli head of second-place Russell by 102 points, that scenario would mean he is already the Drivers’ Champion. But with F1 hoping to run those two races as scheduled — or at least add a race at Imola to replace Qatar and Abu Dhabi — then as things stand Antonelli needs a win and some help to clinch. Can Max Verstappen stay hot? Stop me if you heard this before. After a slow start to the year, Max Verstappen heads to the United States Grand Prix with some momentum at his back, and hopes of a comeback in the title race. That was certainly the scenario a year ago in Austin, when Verstappen arrived at the Circuit of the Americas in third place behind Norris and Oscar Piastri, but having won two of the previous three races. Then Verstappen swept the 2025 United States Grand Prix, and you could see the driver himself start to believe over the course of a week in Austin in his title chances. While the math is tougher for Verstappen this year, he heads to Austin having won the last two races — including both the F1 Sprint race and the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay — and with a podium finish in each of the last five Grands Prix. Can he do enough to see his title chances extend to Mexico City? The fight for P3 in the Constructors’ Looking at the Constructors’ Championship standings for a moment, Mercedes continues to lead the way with a commanding 578 points, ahead of second-place Ferrari with 444 points. But the fight for third has reached another gear, thanks to Verstappen’s recent form. McLaren heads to Austin sitting third in the Constructors’ Championship standings with 339 points, but Verstappen and Red Bull have closed to within seven points, as they sit fourth with 332 points. How have they closed the gap? Over Verstappen’s recent five-podium streak, Red Bull has outscored McLaren 143 to 74, nearly double McLaren’s numbers. And at this race a year ago, Verstappen won the Grand Prix to put more pressure on the McLaren duo at the top of the standings. Driver transfer intrigue Last week, Haas filled out one of the final blank spots on the 2027 grid, announcing Rafael Câmara will replace Esteban Ocon for the 2027 season on a “multi-year” deal. Will the final spots on the grid be confirmed this week? The seat next to Câmara has yet to be confirmed, although it is widely believed that Oliver Bearman will be back at Haas for next year. Mercedes has yet to confirm George Russell and Kimi Antonelli for 2027, although it is believed that both drivers have multi-year deals with options that can be triggered for 2027 and beyond. Then there are the two seats at Visa Cash App Racing Bulls. Both Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad have been impressive this year — including Lawson with a brief stint at the senior team when Isack Hadjar was injured and could not drive for Red Bull — but team principal Alan Permane said at the Singapore Grand Prix that a final decision will come “in a couple of weeks” as the team sorts through options that include Nikola Tsolov, who has impressed in the Formula 2 ranks this season. From where we sit it is a good problem to have, and Permane said as much in Marina Bay as he called it a “luxury” to have to decide between these three drivers for the two spots on the grid with VCARB. Giving Lawson and Lindblad another year in F1, and the 19-year-old Tsolov another year of seasoning in F2, seems like a smart play. But if the organization wants to find the next young phenom, promoting Tsolov is not out of the question. How to follow SB Nation this week This week also marks the return of SB Nation to the F1 paddock, as I will be on the ground all week long. This is the first time I’ll be back at a race this season, and will mark my fifth F1 race as a credentialed journalist. Which is something of a personal milestone, but I digress. The best way to follow the action all week long is through the new SB Nation app. A year ago we made some big changes to SB Nation, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. With the app, we are giving fans even more community tools and even fewer ads. The new SB Nation app will make starting and joining conversations as simple as posting to your favorite social media platforms. For F1 fans, you can join the F1 community, where you will find all the articles and stories from the grid, interact with fellow F1 fans, and more. We will have “game threads” for qualifying sessions and races, and so much more throughout the season. And while I am in Austin, I will also be soliciting questions for driver interviews, team principal interviews, and hopefully connecting with fans on the ground throughout the weekend. Here are some answers to common questions about the new SB Nation app. Why should I download the SB Nation app? The new SB Nation app is the easiest way to interact with fellow sports fans, around specific teams and specific sports. For F1 fans, you can join the F1 community and chat with fans not just on race days or during qualifying sessions, but throughout the entire calendar year! You will also receive notifications when someone replies to a post of your own, or recommends that post. You will see fewer ads in the SB Nation app, and you can easily navigate between your favorite communities with a simple swipe. The app will also be the fastest way to read every post on every community. What can I do on the SB Nation app? Focusing on the F1 community, the choice is yours! You can make posts, share articles, start polls, or just reply to others. Explore the studio space! Down the road, we can use the F1 community for driver interviews, Q&A sessions, and so much more. How can I download the SB Nation app? Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app.

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