I like Kimi Antonelli. I am not exactly a fan, because George Russell and Max Verstappen already keep me busy explaining why Sunday did not go how I wanted. But watching Kimi get this close to becoming Formula 1’s youngest world champion, I am genuinely happy for him.
Slightly disappointed with my own predictions, obviously, but happy for him.
I thought 2026 would be George’s year, and before anyone questions my judgement, it actually started that way. He won the Australian Grand Prix, then won the Sprint in China. Mercedes looked strong, George was delivering, and I was getting comfortable with the idea.
Apparently, that was my first mistake. Getting comfortable.
Now Kimi has nine Grand Prix wins and a 123-point lead over George. Ninth place in Mexico would be enough to seal the championship, regardless of what anyone else does. George needs almost everything to go his way, while Kimi needs two points.
I have seen my shopping lists with more demanding requirements than Kimi’s point at the moment.
And this would be proper history. At 20, Kimi could take the youngest-champion record from Sebastian Vettel, who won his first title at 23. He would also become Italy’s first Formula 1 world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
Seventy-three years of waiting, and this boy might sort it out, in his second F1 season. But watching his season has also made me think about how much luck matters in this sport. Well, here comes the hate.
Before Kimi’s fans come for me, please finish reading this paragraph. I am not saying he lacks talent or that somebody has been handing him trophies because he asked nicely. I am saying you can have the talent, put in the work and still need circumstances to cooperate. Right now, Kimi and good fortune seem to be getting along beautifully.
George might want to check whether he has accidentally blocked luck’s number.
Take Japan. Kimi had a poor start and dropped to sixth, then worked his way back into contention. George and Oscar Piastri had already stopped when the Safety Car came out following Ollie Bearman’s crash. Kimi had stayed out, so he could make his stop while the field was slowed and keep the lead.
That timing helped him enormously. What happened afterwards still mattered, though he pulled away and won. Luck gave him a better opportunity, and he knew what to do with it.
Meanwhile, George had made his stop just before the interruption. Same team, same afternoon, very different feelings about the timing.
Canada was even harder to watch if you were hoping for George to fight back. The two Mercedes drivers were properly racing each other, swapping positions and getting close enough to make everyone nervous. Then George’s power unit failed while he was leading. Like seriously…
Kimi won. George got out of a stopped car.
You can work on your braking, your fitness and your racecraft. Unfortunately, none of that requests an engine to reconsider its decision. Even Kimi acknowledged that it wasn’t how he wanted to win, which I appreciated.
Then Madrid gave us another example. Lando Norris was controlling the race when the Virtual Safety Car arrived at exactly the right moment for Kimi to make a cheaper stop. Norris missed that opportunity and then suffered a slow tyre change as well.
Kimi openly admitted they had been fortunate. Mercedes still deserved credit for reacting quickly, but I am allowed to notice when the universe appears to have a preferred pit window. Here, I said it…
Now, to be fair, Kimi has had his own problems. He retired in Barcelona after a technical issue, so this has hardly been a season where nothing went wrong for him. And George’s penalty in Austin was not bad luck. I like him, but my support does come with a small requirement to stay on the track.
More importantly, Austin showed why reducing Kimi’s season to luck would be silly. Pole, excellent tyre management and a one-stop victory by more than 13 seconds. That needed pace, judgement and a team getting the decisions right.
Nine wins cannot be explained away with a lucky charm.
That is what makes this so interesting for me. I still wish George were closer, and I would happily accept Sir Max causing a few more problems at the front. Well, I can want those things and still appreciate what Kimi is about to achieve.
Kimi, I am happy for you. Just leave some luck for George in 2027, please. He signed up to race for Mercedes, not to test how many disappointments Mr. Saturday can survive.
aKi Malik
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