Toto Wolff Calls Kimi Antonelli’s USGP Win “The Race of a Champion”

The recently concluded United States Grand Prix has brought Kimi Antonelli to the brink of a record-breaking championship, with the Italian just two points away from sealing the deal. Aside from all the epic performances of the season, Antonelli stands on the brink, thanks to one of the most dominant drives of the season, which, according to Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff, was the drive of a champion.

Speaking to the F1 media, including BBC Sport, following the Austin race, Wolff branded Antonelli’s drive “excellent,” while claiming that the 20-year-old had outperformed the car. Speaking further, Wolff stated that the Austin race was the best Antonelli had ever delivered and that it was “the race of a champion who isn’t champion yet.”

As he leaves Austin, Antonelli is so far ahead of the competition that even if Lewis Hamilton wins the Mexican GP while the Italian finishes in P10, he will still be crowned champion. Should F1 decide to call off either of the Qatar or Abu Dhabi Grands Prix before the Mexico City race, Antonelli is already the 2026 season champion.

However, it looks highly unlikely that F1 would make the announcement any time soon, in order to let the 20-year-old win the title out on track rather than via a press release. But no matter the factors around him, the young Italian’s focus remains on delivering his best.

Wolff Reveals Antonelli’s Measured Approach to Becoming World Champion

While George Russell was busy locking horns with Oscar Piastri out on the track, Antonelli was focused on delivering arguably the best drive of a young career in F1. However, the No. 12 driver’s performance wasn’t a result of him tightening up his focus because he stands on the precipice of becoming world champion.

Antonelli has been very vocal about taking each race the same, no matter the stakes around it. And while many may believe that it is just something that he says, Wolff revealed that his driver truly means it.

The driver, having just won the race that might well have made him world champion, came into Wolff’s office, sat on the boss’s chair, put his feet up, and kept chatting away as if it was just a normal day. Taking things further, Antonelli told his Team Principal, “this is so funny, I’m not thinking about the championship at all.”

Chances are that the 20-year-old’s candor is a result of the fact that he is just two points away from the championship. And while Wolff feels that the points advantage does help his confidence, the calm demeanor is also an innate quality of Antonelli.

Was the Austin Drive Truly the Best of Kimi Antonelli?

With Wolff continuously heaping praise on the Italian driver, the question of whether the Austin race was truly his best came up. With the Monza race standing as the benchmark, the 54-year-old said that his problem was the fact that he doesn’t remember past races.

But now that the question of the Monza race had come up, Wolff felt that while that was still an iconic race, the Austin outing still deserved the title he had handed out.

And it isn’t just the Mercedes Team Principal who rates the Austin outing higher. Antonelli himself agrees with the opinion, given the Mercedes challenger was miles ahead of everyone else in Monza.

The team had a superior car, and the track made overtaking easy; hence, while the race remains an iconic one for Antonelli, he feels the challenge at Austin was tougher to overcome.

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