Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes it is “unrealistic” for Kimi Antonelli to win the 2026 F1 Drivers’ Championship at Sunday’s US Grand Prix despite the Italian starting from pole position.
Antonelli was not expected to challenge for first place in qualifying, but produced a superb lap in Q3 to beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and take his first pole position since the Belgian Grand Prix in July.
Antonelli will seal the title with five rounds remaining if he wins Sunday’s race in Austin with Lewis Hamilton fifth or lower and George Russell ninth or lower.
When the lights go out at the Circuit of the Americas, Hamilton will be fifth and Russell sixth. 20:00 (set-up from 18:30), live on Sky Sports F1 and Main Event.
However, Wolff warned that Mercedes will not have the pace to win as they lacked pace in the long runs of Friday practice.
“We don’t talk about it [the championship]. This is not real,” he said Sky Sports F1.
“I don’t think we’re the fastest in the race, so it’s about getting the points and eventually hopefully getting the win.”
Antonelli is also wary of Red Bull’s race pace, and second-placed Verstappen and third-placed Isack Hadjar could also work together.
He admitted this week was “a little bit different”, knowing it was his first opportunity to become the sport’s youngest world champion at the age of 20.
“The goal remains the same. I just have to keep doing my job and actually, I feel like I can enjoy driving and everything more,” Antonelli said.
“But of course we still have to race, we still have to try and win and then of course we’ll see what happens. But I feel like I can enjoy it a little bit more because I’m obviously in a very good position. But again, the mindset is always the same.”
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Highlights from qualifying for the 2026 United States Grand Prix.
Verstappen plans to be ‘respectful’ to Antonelli
A wide uphill run into Turn 1 at the start gives the second driver a good opportunity to steamroll the inside of the pole, which Verstappen could do if he has a strong run.
Having won the last two races, Verstappen has nothing to lose but suggested he will not be overly aggressive against championship leader Antonelli.
“Kimi wants to go for the win, doesn’t he? It helps his position in the championship,” he said Sky Sports F1.
“We respect that and try to win the race.”
Tire degradation was high in Friday’s practice sessions in Austin, but that has been the case for several races this season, only for the Grand Prix to become a one-stop race as teams changed setups on their cars and the track tightened up over the weekend.
Nevertheless, overtaking is possible and Verstappen cut a quietly confident figure to make it a hat-trick of victories and deny Antonelli any chance of winning the title on Sunday.
“We’ve been happier in the long run and I hope that’s the case tomorrow,” he said.
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Ahead of the US Grand Prix, Max Verstappen discusses Red Bull’s championship goals for next season.
As for Russell, it’s been another difficult weekend and he faces a huge challenge to keep ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, who have both been fast in practice, to get into the podium battle.
Russell has not come to grips with Mercedes’ new upgrade package, but admits he just had “two bad laps in Q3”.
“I think I could have been in the top three. My Q2 was two and a half tenths quicker than I got in Q3, but that’s not good enough from me,” he said. Sky Sports F1.
Asked about his race outlook, he said: “I think it’s a long race, there’s a lot going on here in Austin. Strategy is still an opportunity.”
Sky Sports F1 live US GP schedule
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Take a look at the most dramatic moments from the United States Grand Prix.
Sunday, October 25
17:00: F1 Academy Race 3
18:30: Grand Prix Sunday: US GP Wrap-up*
20:00: US GRAND PRIX*
10pm: Checkered Flag: United States GP reaction
11:00 p.m.: Ted’s notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 heads to America for another triple-header with the United States Grand Prix in Austin this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports NOW – no contract, cancel whenever you want