Kimi Antonelli put in another enormously impressive weekend in Austin, taking his seventh pole of the season and winning his ninth race. Performances like this are no longer a surprise, but sum up an astounding second year in Formula One.

It is worth looking at what he did so well in Texas because it gives an insight into why he is about to be crowned the youngest-ever world champion with races to spare.

Like many great drivers he built into the weekend and improved as it went on. In first practice he was fifth, in second practice he was second and in third practice he was fourth, as Ferrari looked the strongest package. Yet by the end of Q3, he had put it on pole. In the race, second-placed Max Verstappen was unable to challenge at turn one and nobody was able to lay a glove on Antonelli in the next 56 laps.

Did Antonelli have the fastest car? It is debatable, as Ferrari and Red Bull did not get their acts together. Still, he had a very competitive car and got the most from it and won by 13 seconds.

The truest measure of any driver is against their team-mate and George Russell had another poor weekend. He was in the same machinery but was thrashed by Antonelli and finished a distant eighth, 54 seconds behind. He had a questionable five-second penalty for improving his position by going off track, which can knock the stuffing out of any driver, but he looks lost again after a resurgence since the summer break.

What is the reason for this difference? One thing that works in Antonelli’s favour is that he is only in his second season and is perhaps more open-minded. Russell has experience in a variety of F1 cars – he has driven at Austin seven times before, so has more historical reference points for what has worked and what has not.

Sometimes experience can be an advantage, but it can often lead to a driver reaching a point where they are too stuck in their ways and are trying to find something that is not there, whether with driving style or set-up. Experimenting and getting the best from what you have, that seems to have been Antonelli’s approach.

Russell has ended up in another negative spiral where nothing makes sense and has perhaps made choices just to see what happens, rather than reacting to the situation. Russell has had some fine moments this season and poor luck no doubt has contributed to the points gap to his team-mate. Yet he has not been good enough often enough and certainly not as often as Antonelli, who has only finished outside the top three twice in 18 grands prix. For Russell that figure is seven.

There has been talk of the current generation of cars suiting Antonelli. That may be a factor, but I do not believe it is a significant one. You have to look at his performances over the entire season compared to what his rivals have done. Monza, when he came from the back to win, was one of the best drives I have ever seen.

When it comes to driving style, Antonelli is probably the most aggressive driver on track as he so often puts the car on the ragged edge. That led to a few crashes in 2025, but this year he has pushed the limits without straying too far.

I always say that new drivers try things on a track and experiment with kerbs, trying a later or earlier entry to a corner, turning in on the brakes or turning in off the brakes and so on. They do this because they have not built up their “data banks” and do not try to replicate a style of driving that worked in the past.

This approach has led to a few lectures about track limits from Peter Bonnington, his race engineer, but I believe this to be a strength. Michael Schumacher always used to find the limit aggressively. Unless you push the limits all the time you will end up driving too far within yourself when it really matters and losing lap time.

Will Antonelli continue to progress and have the same approach as he reaches 50 or 100 races in F1? He is an exceptional talent and I think he will retain that raw ability. The experimentation may weaken a little, but it may simply mean he is able to find his and his car’s limits earlier on in a weekend and stay there. That is one of the reasons why Verstappen is so successful and can get the best from an uncompetitive car. It is too early to say whether Antonelli will end up with as much silverware as the Dutchman, but he certainly has the time and the talent to do so.

I also believe that the rocky patch last season, where Antonelli scored just 18 points in 10 rounds (and 15 of them from a podium in Canada), served him well. When it was all going wrong he would have questioned things and questioned himself. He has learnt from that because he was at a low and even Toto Wolff became frustrated with his errors. Yet he finished the season strongly and carried that confidence and form into 2026. He has the mental resilience to succeed.

I would also give credit to “Bono”. He has done it all before with Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes and will have been a great help to his young charge this season. I know him quite well – he started his F1 career with Jordan when I was there – he is a calming and stabilising influence in Antonelli’s ear. He does not pull any punches, but is not going to argue and fight with his driver. They will debate and find the best solution to whatever issue they have. More importantly, they believe and have confidence in each other.