Antonelli stands on brink of history in Austin

He has such a huge advantage - he is 102 points clear of Russell and 111 ahead of Hamilton - that the championship is an inevitability at some point, as Verstappen pointed out when he was asked if he had any advice for his young friend before the race.

"He doesn't need that," the four-time world champion said. "He knows what he's doing. He just needs to try and win the race. If it doesn't happen here, it will happen next weekend (in Mexico City). If it doesn't happen next weekend, it will happen the weekend after (in Sao Paulo).

"It's just been an incredible season. So, you have to also just try and enjoy, of course, this kind of ride over the last months that you've been in. And at one point it's official, and then you can celebrate."

"Incredible" is an over-used word, but an entirely appropriate one in the circumstances.

When it happens, Antonelli will beat the record for youngest champion by more than three years - he will be 20 years and 61 days old on Sunday and Sebastian Vettel, the current record holder, was 23 years and 133 days old when he won his first title in 2010.

Antonelli has taken this season by storm, with eight victories in the 17 races so far, including a run of five in a row after Russell won the first grand prix of the year in Australia.

In doing so, he has dramatically turned the tables after a shaky maiden season in 2025 in which flashes of promise interspersed a generally disappointing year in the context of him being hailed before his debut as a potential generational talent.