When could Kimi Antonelli seal the 2026 F1 title?

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The 20-year-old won in Madrid on Sunday after a duel with Max Verstappen to pull 81 points clear of his Mercedes teammate George Russell in the standings.

Hamilton, who is 101 points back in third, told Sky: "I think there's no stopping him and Mercedes this year, they've done a phenomenal job and they deserve it."

Andrea "Kimi" Antonelli would become the youngest-ever F1 champion if he capitalises on his massive championship lead, but the Italian is not congratulating himself just yet.

He said after the Madring win: "I want to keep pushing race by race, keep delivering and keep enjoying it all the way and try to do my best every race and we will see where we end up at the end of the year."

Here are some of the championship permutations.

Read also: ‘Car-killer’! Rookie Arvid Lindblad crashes as George Russell brands new Madrid F1 circuit the ‘riskiest’ on the calendar

Remaining F1 races in 2026

1. Azerbaijan - September 26,
2. Bahrain - October 4 (race being staged in Malaysia),
3. Singapore - October 11, which has a sprint race,
4. USA - October 25,
5. Mexico - November 1,
6. Brazil - November 8,
7. Las Vegas - November 21,
8. Qatar - November 29,
9. Abu Dhabi - December 6

How many points are awarded for F1 races?

For Grand Prix races, points are awarded for positions:

1. 25,
2. 18,
3. 15,
4. 12,
5. 10,
6. 8,
7. 6,
8. 4,
9. 2,
10. 1

There is an additional one point awarded for having the fastest lap.

Sprint race points are awarded:

1. 8,
2. 7,
3. 6,
4. 5,
5. 4,
6. 3,
7. 2,
8. 1

When could Kimi Antonelli seal the 2026 F1 title?

With nine races to go, several drivers are mathematically still in contention, even if it is not realistic.

In a dream scenario for Antonelli, he could seal the title in the United States Grand Prix in Austin on October 25, when he could leave with a greater lead than the maximum number of points on offer. This would require all the other challengers to either retire or score insufficiently.

If Antonelli finished first in every race, and Russell finished second, the Italian would clinch the title only two rounds later in Brazil on November 8 - meaning that if he wins the next six races in a row, the title is his no matter what.

The situation is less rosy for Russell, who would not be guaranteed the title even if he wins every race left.

So at the time of writing, the F1 2026 crown is Antonelli's to lose.