United States GP: How likely is pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli to win 2026 F1 Drivers' Championship on Sunday in Austin?

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes it is "not realistic" for Kimi Antonelli to win the 2026 F1 Drivers' Championship on Sunday at the United States Grand Prix, despite the Italian starting on pole position. <p>Antonelli was not expected to claim top spot in qualifying but produced a superb lap in Q3 to beat Red Bull's Max Verstappen and take his first pole since July's Belgian Grand Prix.</p><p>Should Antonelli win Sunday's race in Austin with Lewis Hamilton finishing fifth or lower and George Russell no better than ninth, he will seal the title with five rounds remaining.</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/13599576/united-states-gp-2026-dates-schedule-austin-weather-uk-start-time-and-how-to-watch-or-stream-f1-race-at-cota-live-on-sky-sports"><strong>United States GP: UK schedule and how to watch on Sky Sports</strong></a></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/13597654/kimi-antonelli-f1-title-permutations-how-mercedes-driver-could-clinch-world-championship-at-united-states-gp">How Kimi Antonelli can win F1 world title at US GP</a></strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.skysports.com/f1/schedule-results">F1 2026 Calendar</a> | <a href="https://www.skysports.com/f1/standings">F1 2026 Standings</a> | <a href="https://www.skysports.com/f1/live-blog/12433/12466779/f1-news-rumours-and-gossip-formula-1-latest-updates-on-teams-driver-transfer-market-and-contracts">F1 Gossip Column</a></strong></li><li><a href="https://qrcode.skysports.com/skysports/F1articlespushpromo" target="_blank"><strong>Got the Sky Sports app? Sign up for latest F1 alerts</strong></a><strong>📱</strong></li><li><strong>Not got Sky?