By Joe Murphy
The summer break has nearly concluded and the next time the sport stops for a hiatus, we will have our next World Champion.
Kimi Antonelli is the Standout favourite. Not many people expected the young Italian to be a serious contender, let alone a fromtrunner. However, the Mercedes youngster has showcased maturity well beyond his years and racecraft exceeding his experience level to put himself well ahead in the standings. Formula 1 is a sport where over a couple of races, the entire championship picture can change completely. That being said, it looks like it’s going to take something special to stop Antonelli winning his maiden title.
Something special? Well Lewis Hamilton is certainly that. He is definitely still in the mix, if he can stop silly errors and get more consistency from his Ferrari. The same can be said of teammate Charles Leclerc who ended something of a victory drought at Silverstone a couple of months ago.
A strong second half of the season from McLaren could see an unlikely resurgence from reigning champion Lando Norris become something more substantial. It’s probably too much of an ask for Max Verstappen or Oscar Piastri to stake a championship claim.
Then there’s George Russell and without question the biggest obstacle to Antonelli becoming World Champion for the first time is the man in the sister car bidding to do the same. If it weren’t for inconsistencies, the gap to his teammate would be a lot smaller. However, for the World Champion to be British again and this time at Mercedes, he is going to ae to have a pretty faultless second half of the season, whilst simultaneously getting lucky on occasion. It is of this writer’s perspective that George can turn it around and break Italian hearts.
Fans of Kimi don’t worry, a future World Title is an inevitability. For George, like Lando last season to some extent, it feels a bit now or never.
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