The overlooked F1 battle more intriguing than inevitable title outcome

The Formula 1 title race may be done and dusted, but there is an intriguing battle developing behind champion-elect Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Antonelli moved to the brink of clinching his maiden F1 world title with a dominant ninth victory of the season at the United States Grand Prix, opening up a near-unbeatable 123-point buffer to Mercedes team-mate George Russell. 

The result means the 20-year-old Italian will surely wrap up the title next weekend in Mexico City, where a ninth place finish would be enough to be crowned F1’s youngest world champion. 

Should Antonelli go on to secure the 2026 world championship with four rounds to spare, you would be forgiven for thinking there is not much else left to play for this season. 

But there is a close fight shaping up over runner-up spot in the F1 drivers’ standings. 

Russell currently holds P2 behind Antonelli, however, his ongoing struggles with Mercedes’ W17 car have left him vulnerable to the chasing pack behind. 

Just one point separates Russell and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, while fourth-placed Max Verstappen is six points behind, and Charles Leclerc sits fifth, only nine points adrift. 

It could yet turn into a five-way battle, with McLaren’s Lando Norris only 22 points further back from Leclerc. 

Russell shrugged off the prospect of finishing second in the F1 drivers’ championship, insisting it “doesn’t mean anything" to him. 

"For me, as long as we win the constructors', that's the main thing," Russell said. "For the team, obviously I'd like to finish best of the rest, but P2, P3, P5 is not champion, so it doesn't mean anything.”

Anything less than second is a failure for Russell 

On paper, second place is Russell’s to lose. As much as he has downplayed the importance of finishing second, it is the bare minimum he should be aiming for now that Antonelli is about to pick up the championship trophy. 

Momentum is important in F1 and enjoying a strong end to the season and getting on top of his current woes would give Russell a much-needed injection of confidence heading into the winter. 

Russell needs to get his head straight and rebound if he is to fightback in 2027. Anything other than a P2 finish behind Antonelli will be viewed as a failure. He might not be remembered for finishing second, but finishing third, fourth or fifth in a two-horse race would not be easily forgotten.

We saw a strong end to the campaign worked wonders for Nico Rosberg, who carried his impressive end-of-season form from 2015 (three straight victories) into his title-winning campaign the following year. 

Hamilton has long held the position of being the nearest challenger to the Mercedes pair but his incredible early season form has somewhat stalled of late, with key points going begging in recent races. 

That has allowed F1’s two form drivers Verstappen and Leclerc to reign him in. Verstappen has real momentum behind him amid a resurgence from Red Bull that has seen him take six consecutive podiums and two victories. 

Leclerc has been the stronger Ferrari driver since Madrid, outperforming Hamilton in each of the past five races barring Malaysia, which has marked the seven-time world champion’s only podium in recent events. Currently, it is Leclerc who looks best-placed to secure the head-to-head battle at Ferrari. 

There is a real chance that either Verstappen or Leclerc could yet snatch second over the coming five rounds, with 125 points still up for grabs.. 

Norris cannot be ruled out either but McLaren’s progress appears to have slowed, preventing the reigning world champion from being able to challenge for the podium places since he last featured on the rostrum at the Spanish Grand Prix. 

The aforementioned drivers may well play down the significance of finishing second, but the athletes inside will have a burning desire to end the season in the best way possible and go into the winter on a high. At the very least, personal pride is at stake. 

After all, in F1, you are only as good as your last race.