Formula 1 driver Kimi Antonelli has an opportunity to clinch a championship early in his second season. Here's how he can pull it off.
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The 20-year-old needs to win the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on Sunday. He then needs a little bit of help from two of the other championship contenders.
The Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team driver has 340 points on the season after scoring eight wins. Teammate George Russell holds second place in the standings at 238 points, meaning that he is mathematically still in contention.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, who has a record seven World Drivers' Championships is third with 229 points. Four-time champion Max Verstappen is fourth with 221 points after winning back-to-back Grands Prix.
Russell and Hamilton are the two drivers who will directly affect Antonelli's championship hopes this weekend. Where they finish will play a role in whether he ends the weekend celebrating a major career achievement.
Winning the Grand Prix is the first piece of the championship puzzle. Antonelli also needs Russell to finish no better than ninth. He also needs Hamilton to finish no better than fifth.
This is far from a guarantee. Russell has average finish of 8.8 in six F1 starts at Circuit of the Americas. He has finished fifth, fifth, sixth, and sixth at the road course since joining Mercedes.
Hamilton has even better stats at Circuit of the Americas. He has posted an average finish of 4.7 in 13 career starts. He has completed all but two of the Grands Prix at the road course. Hamilton has finished fourth or better in five of the last seven races. This includes three consecutive runner-up finishes.
More troublesome for Antonelli is the fact that Hamilton has won five times at the Texas track. The seven-time champion scored his first COTA win in 2012. He then won four consecutive times from 2014-17.
The United States Grand Prix weekend will begin with two practice sessions on Friday. Drivers will then practice once more on Saturday before qualifying. The Grand Prix will happen on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET.
