What must Kimi Antonelli do to secure the F1 world championship at the Mexico GP?

Which drivers still have a chance to win the F1 2026 title?

There were six mathematical contenders heading into Austin - Antonelli, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Lando Norris - with 139 points separating them and 150 points still available before the Texas race.

However, three of those drivers - Verstappen, Leclerc, and Norris - are now out of the title race, having finished third, second, and fifth, respectively. These results, while solid, highlight just how difficult it was for them to achieve championship success, as their aspirations have now come to an end.

For Antonelli to secure the championship at the Circuit of the Americas, he needed to win while Russell finished ninth or lower and Hamilton placed fifth. However, with his Mercedes teammate finishing eighth and the Ferrari driver, whom he succeeded at the Silver Arrows, taking fourth, the battle continues into next weekend.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Currently, there are 125 points still available in the 2026 season with five races remaining - Mexico, Sao Paulo, Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi - assuming the Middle Eastern grands prix proceed amid ongoing conflict.

Russell now trails Antonelli by 123 points, while Hamilton is 124 points behind, making it nearly certain that the 20-year-old Italian will claim the championship at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. After that event, 100 points will still remain, but both rivals must be within 99 points of Antonelli because he has the most wins this season by a significant margin, which would give him the title on countback.

This means both must outscore Antonelli by 24 and 25 points, respectively. For Russell, this means he must win while his teammate finishes no higher than 10th, and for Hamilton, he too needs to secure a victory but with Antonelli scoring no points.