With a calm assurance that belies his tender years, Kimi Antonelli delivered another masterclass at the US Grand Prix, ensuring that while he could not quite seal the Formula One world championship in the Texas sunshine, it is a coronation that is surely only delayed for a week. The 20-year-old has made it almost a formality that he will seal the deal at the next round in Mexico.

Antonelli’s dominant victory in Austin at the Circuit of the Americas, with a controlled and composed drive to beat the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc into second place and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen into third, was described by the Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff as “one small step” towards the title in what has been a season of giant leaps for the Italian.

Those leaps were exemplified by Antonelli’s run in Austin where he did everything required of him, taking pole and converting it to a dominant race win, his ninth of the season. “The race of a champion who isn’t the champion yet,” was Wolff’s accurate assessment.

However, while it was a perfect weekend for the Italian, it was not quite enough to claim the title in Texas. With his teammate George Russell finishing in eighth place and Lewis Hamilton in fourth for Ferrari, the fight remains alive but only just and Antonelli is now in position to finish the job next weekend in Mexico City.

Antonelli leads Russell by 123 points and Hamilton by 124. With nine wins, the Italian cannot be caught on countback and needs to be only 100 ahead after the Mexican GP. Any finish in front of Russell and Hamilton, or ninth or better regardless of where his two rivals finish, will be enough for him to become the youngest driver to claim the sport’s crown and the first Italian to do so since Alberto Ascari in 1953. The joy when Antonelli climbed from the car was palpable as he allowed himself the chance to acknowledge the feeling that he really is now world champion-elect.

It was not a thrilling victory in what was something of a stately affair, but again Antonelli had its measure and was all but untouchable in a race enlivened really only by a split strategy.

The Mercedes of Antonelli and Russell opted for a one-stop strategy over the two-stop choice of Red Bull and Ferrari, and the former proved to be the right call. Antonelli led from the off and after putting in a long first stint while his rivals dashed in for new boots, he emerged able to regain the lead without having to stop again.

The strategy split made the procession at least open to debate for the mid-period until it became clear that the one-stop option was the quicker. The late phase did see some feisty passing by Verstappen, who took advantage of his fresher rubber to hustle through the field, as in his wake did Leclerc, who was equally brave and ultimately took second place. Verstappen finished in third, although he was suffering with engine-braking problems. Hamilton, too, made a late pass to claim fourth , with Lando Norris in fifth for McLaren

The race belonged to Antonelli, however. He did not put a foot wrong with a cool-headed display as he assuredly put one hand on the title. The Italian went into the weekend insisting he just wanted to have fun, to perform at his best and without letting the title play on his mind. He did so with no little success.

The pole lap had been brilliant, his first since Belgium in July, and in the race he demonstrated the same imperious form as when at his very best this season and which has brought him to within touching distance of his record-breaking achievement.

Just as his five-race run of victories at the start of the season had given him command of the title fight, he is closing it out with nerveless control. The pole, he admitted, had been something of a surprise given how strong Red Bull have been of late but the victory was an emphatic reminder that these are the performances Antonelli is always capable of delivering.

Moreover, the result was welcomed with open arms at Mercedes. The minor wobble they experienced when their upgrades brought to Malaysia did not deliver as expected and left the team having to work at bringing the package up to speed, looks to be over. The upgrade is not where they want it to be, the car’s operating window is narrower, but they have a handle on it that the victory demonstrated even if, as Wolff noted, the car remains unsuited to Russell’s style.

That is particularly true in comparison to Antonelli, in whose hands the Mercedes once more looked like it was on rails. He went into this race needing to win and he delivered, ensuring that the title race is all over bar the shouting.