F1 crown in reach for Kimi Antonelli at Austin, but drivers condemn bumpy circuit as unacceptable

The Formula One world championship is within reach for Kimi Antonelli at the US Grand Prix in Austin this weekend. But while the young Italian approaches the race intending simply to have fun, there is disquiet among other drivers about the potential long-term health dangers posed by the state of the Texas circuit.

The 20-year-old Antonelli will become Formula One's youngest world champion if he claims the title at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, eclipsing Sebastian Vettel's record from 2010, when the German driver was 23 and Antonelli was four.

It is an outside chance, as the Italian has acknowledged. He must win while needing his rivals to endure a poor day. His Mercedes teammate, George Russell, would have to finish outside the top eight and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton outside the top four.

Nonetheless, while Antonelli knows the title race is effectively over, he is keeping the cool head that has brought him to this point with such alacrity. The Mercedes ship, helmed by his race engineer Pete Bonnington, who was alongside Hamilton for his six titles with the team, is steady as she goes.

Antonelli said he and Bonnington agreed in a meeting that morning to just have fun. It is the same mindset he has had all year: one race at a time, try to do the best he can every race weekend, and then see what happens.

After a tricky rookie season last year, Antonelli has adapted remarkably quickly to competing at the front of the grid. As he looks to close it out, he feels able to draw on his previous experience.

He said Formula One is different because the pressure is a lot bigger than in anything else, and the competition is a little bit higher because you are racing with 21 of the best drivers in the world. But when you fight for championships in karting and junior series, the mindset is very similar in the way you approach races and the way you think.

Going into the weekend, however, the circuit has drawn unusually severe criticism from drivers. The race was first held in Austin in 2012 and has a contract until 2034. It has become hugely popular, with sold-out crowds, but the track has come under intense scrutiny.

Built on marshland, the bumps caused by the ground beneath the tarmac have been condemned in Austin as potentially harmful, with the uneven surface forcing impacts into the base of the drivers' spines.

Max Verstappen of Red Bull said the bumps are unacceptable. Over time they have been grinding a little bit here and there, he said, but it is just putting a plaster on the big problem. You need to really fully open up the track; that costs a lot of money and time, but that is the only way to get rid of it, because these bumps are not natural and they are out of control.

Verstappen added that from the checks he has done on his spine, the bottom end does not look that great. He knows that is part of racing and can be part of sport, but it is also further damage from the cars of the last few years. If this continues to be found acceptable to drive on, drivers are going to suffer much more, he warned.

Verstappen's opinion was echoed by the defending world champion, Lando Norris, who is frustrated that drivers' concerns are not being listened to. Norris said it is pretty bad, and that there are a lot of places where he needs to take headache tablets before going out simply because it is so bumpy and he is hitting his head pretty hard against the headrest. It is certainly not a nice thing, he said.

Norris said there is not much drivers can do. They complain about it and have brought it up many, many times, but there is only so much they can complain about. In Austin, alongside the title arithmetic, this debate over the track and drivers' long-term health has become one of the weekend's biggest talking points.