Kimi Antonelli can become the youngest Formula One world champion on Sunday in Austin, and by all available evidence he has not noticed. Asked about the pressure, he described his mood as relaxed, even happy, which is what a man says when he has already mapped out his afternoon and the afternoon does not involve a grid.
Let us be clear about what this is. A title decider, a circuit with a brutal first corner, a tyre strategy waiting to go wrong, and a rival who has spent a season learning to hate the number on Antonelli’s car. This is the highest-stakes ninety minutes in motorsport. Antonelli’s reading appears to be a Sunday drive with the windows down.
Sources close to the paddock report that his real priority for the weekend is the taco situation. He has reportedly asked three people for recommendations, compared two of them against each other, and then asked a fourth. Nobody has confirmed whether a stand exists that can survive his standards, but the search continues.
Should we be worried? No. We should be taking notes. Champions have always been made by people who can stop thinking about the thing that matters for a few hours at a time. Whether that is genius or an alarming lack of concern will be settled around 4pm local time, probably with a salsa recommendation attached.