US Grand Prix: Kimi Antonelli delivers ‘the race of a champion who isn’t the champion yet’

When Antonelli clinches the title, he will become the first Italian to do so since Alberto Ascari in 1953. It’s a remarkable statistic for a country which is so engrained in the sport, and it certainly resonates with his compatriots.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said: “As an Italian, wow, we need to go back to Ascari, the names that they created the inspiration for all of us. To see an Italian achieving this level of performance and results in Formula 1, that’s particularly thrilling, as an Italian person in motorsport.”

Stella’s answer continued into an area that begins to explain the way in which he has proved so superior to Russell this year.

“Going more into the technical, and specifically this season, Kimi is a very interesting one to look at, because he pretty much attacks all the times,” Stella said.

“You see how often he’s just going off track, and you see his onboard (camera), he’s pretty aggressive. But at the same time, this seems to be not only kind of an aggressive driving, or an attacking driving, but effective.

“And if we think how much we talk in these media sessions about the cars being difficult to drive consistently fast, it should be recognised how much he’s been able to harness his driving style with what is required of the cars.

“But at the same time, almost contradicting what I’m saying, when is the time to bring home the result, he’s been able to do it.

“So he’s the deserving leader of this championship. He’s writing an important piece of history for motorsport, because once he achieves the championship, he will be the youngest.”

Antonelli will beat by more than three years the previous record for youngest winner of the championship, Sebastian Vettel in 2010.

As with the title itself, he is aware of the forthcoming achievement, but not letting it affect him.

“I’m going to approach it with the same mindset,” he said. “Just trying to have as much fun as possible, trying to hopefully fight for another win.

“It would be best to finish on a high, and that’s the goal. But I’m just going to try to enjoy the rest of the season from now on.”