Mercedes star Antonelli on brink of history as he wins in US to close in on world title triumph

The win means the 20-year-old, who represents the Brackley-based Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, now has a 123-point advantage over team-mate George Russell, after the latter finished a lowly eighth at the Circuit of The Americas.

So now, as long as the Italian doesn’t concede more than 23 points to Russell – or 24 to Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton – in the next race in Mexico City on Sunday, he will be crowned the youngest champion in F1 history.

So, a ninth place in Mexico City will be enough to seal the drivers' title even if Russell wins the race, and a 10th would be enough if Hamilton is victorious.

If neither Russell or Hamilton win, then Antonelli will be champion next Sunday no matter where he finishes.

And that is a prospect that excites Antonelli, who wants to clinch glory in style.

“We're very close but we’ll try to finish on a high, and hopefully we can clinch it very soon," said the Bologna-born driver.

“I’m very excited. I would love to clinch the title in style with a great result.

“That’s the mindset. That’s always the mindset, and that’s what the mindset is going to be from now until the end of the season.

"I’m just going to try to enjoy every moment because they’re moments that will always be remembered."

Antonelli was in dominant form in the race itself, taking control from the start, and he said: "It was the result we needed.

"The whole team deserves it so much and all this time putting in so much work on bringing this new package and finally seeing the result is very pleasant.

“It was also perfect execution from strategy to call the one-stop so I’m really happy we made it stick, and it was a great team effort.

"A huge thank you to everyone here at the track and back at Brackley and Brixworth.

"We kept working after a difficult Friday and never gave up. To repay all that work with a victory feels amazing. I’m very proud of what we achieved."

As for Russell, it was another weekend of disappointment.

"It was another difficult day for me," he admitted. "I just didn’t have the pace and I’m unsure why that is.

"My first stint wasn’t great, and I was struggling initially on the Medium tyre but after the pitstop my pace felt stronger and I felt I could make some progress.

"However, once I caught up with the McLaren of Piastri, I just couldn’t overtake and ended up stuck behind him for the remaining laps of the race.

"The time penalty from the opening lap cost me a couple of places but overall, the pace just wasn’t good enough for me to be fighting at the front.

"The lack of performance is something me and the team will look at and work on over the next couple of days.

"Hopefully we can make some improvements ahead of next weekend in Mexico and come back stronger for the rest of the season."