Sport loves hyperbole, but sometimes, that hyperbole is true: we stand on the cusp of history. At some point soon, perhaps this month, we will bathe in the light of the F1âÂÂs youngest world champion, when Kimi Antonelli gets the 100 points he needs to lift this yearâÂÂs driver championship. When youâÂÂre bousting cars around twisty tracks at 225mph, stuff can happen â and we donâÂÂt even know how many more races thereâÂÂll be this season â but even so, itâÂÂs surely coming.
Antonelli starts this race from fourth on the grid, suboptimal but for the fact that a huge penalty for taking a new power unit leaves George Russell, his closest challenger, in P21. And, though Lewis Hamilton, the only other driver still with a shot of thwarting him, goes from third, with only one race-win this season, it seems inconceivable that he suddenly hits the kind of streak that closes a 104-point gap in four or five races.
Max Verstappen, meanwhile, is doing his best to redeem a miserable season â in a sense, heâÂÂs already started next. His Red Bull is beginning to purr and, having first won yesterdayâÂÂs sprint, he subsequently secured pole; if he gets away well, heâÂÂll take some catching.
Lights out: 8pm local, 1pm BST
