In such a scenario, the title would belong to the Bolognese no matter where Russell and Lewis Hamilton finish. He will also take the title if he fails to score points, but his two championship rivals don’t win the race.

As such, it is expected that Antonelli will break Sebastian Vettel’s record as the youngest ever F1 champion, which he won in 2010 aged 23. It will potentially set him up for an extremely successful career as one of the sport’s all-time greats.

Now, as we prepare for Antonelli to become the new face of F1 for years to come, Express Sport takes a look at his lesser-known life away from the track.

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What is certain, however, is that his financial profile has grown considerably as he has risen through the ranks in motorsport. He joined Mercedes' junior programme in 2019 before progressing through Formula 4, Formula Regional and Formula 2.

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He began his racing career in the early 1990s and competed in the Italian Superturismo Championship before moving into several international GT competitions. During his career, he raced in events such as the European Touring Car Championship, the Blancpain GT Series and the International GT Open.

In 1993, Marco founded his own racing team called Antonelli Motorsport. The team later became very well known in karting and junior racing categories.

Growing up around racing circuits and cars from a very young age played a major role in shaping Kimi’s early career, and he started karting himself when he was just seven years old. He won the Easykart International Grand Finals in 2015.

Big moments. Packed grandstands. A championship battle that’s heating up.

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She won the Italian OK-class karting championship in 2023 and made history as the first woman to claim the title. Her and Antonelli met through racing and were often seen around the paddock together during his first season in F1.

However, in February, Babickova confirmed their break-up by saying she had made the decision to end the relationship. "I was the one to end the relationship because I felt that we no longer aligned in our personal lives and in what we wanted for our future," she explained.

She also rejected speculation about infidelity, saying there was no third person involved. The karting racer said their values and future expectations had diverged, adding that there was no major drama behind the separation, before asking people to stop spreading speculation about their private lives.