F1 expert Cam van den Dungen has tipped Kimi Antonelli to have a major impact on the championship battle, and believes a moment with Oscar Piastri in Las Vegas is the perfect example. With just two rounds remaining, Lando Norris leads the championship battle by 24 points from Piastri and Max Verstappen.
McLaren’s double disqualification in Vegas has opened the door for Verstappen, who won the race to take a giant step towards causing a huge boilover. With grand prix in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to finish the season, Norris (390 points) is less than a race victory ahead of Piastri and Verstappen (both on 366).
Kimi Antonelli almost wiped Oscar Piastri out of the Las Vegas grand prix (L) in a key example of the chaos he could cause in the last two rounds. Image: F1/Getty
Norris, Piastri and Verstappen are the only three drivers still in contention, but van den Dungen believes Mercedes young gun Antonelli could play a major role in deciding who takes the title. Antonelli was elevated to third place in Vegas after the McLarens were disqualified, and had a ferocious battle with Piastri when the Aussie was trying to overtake him late in the race.
Kimi Antonelli could have a major say on who wins the F1 championship. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
Piastri was almost forced into the wall on lap 38 when Antonelli refused to let him pass, and van den Dungen believes it showed what role the Mercedes driver might play in causing a bit of chaos in the championship battle. “I do believe Mercedes – particularly Kimi Antonelli – will play some part on the story that unfolds from here,” he said on SEN radio on Tuesday.
“Charles Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli and George Russell might make the difference if they can get in between Max and Lando – or Oscar as well – they will take valuable points away. And Kimi Antonelli will make everyone nervous with the way he races.
“You saw the way he did it to Oscar in Brazil, and then when Oscar tried to go around the outside of him (in Vegas), I think Oscar was aware that Kimi would have fenced him. Kimi is a young driver and a livewire who doesn’t care about any championships.
“He’s got some unbelievable speed and genuinely is a lunatic – and I mean that in the nicest possible way. He will go for every gap that is there and he will even go for some of the gaps that aren’t there.”
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Unfortunately for Aussie fans, van den Dungen believes something “magical” would need to happy for Piastri to win the championship. The Aussie hasn’t made the podium in weeks, and van den Dungen pointed out the double McLaren disqualification was actually good for Piastri as it prevented him dropping further behind.
If the initial results had stood (Norris second and Piastri fourth), the Aussie would be 30 points behind his teammate rather than 24. “He just doesn’t have the car speed,” van den Dungen said of Piastri. “Something magical will have to happen, but I just can’t see him being a threat.
“The disqualification – make no mistake – was actually a blessing for Oscar. The damage that was done in Vegas has been nullified and he’s still in the window. He just doesn’t have the form at the moment.”