‘Can I? Really?’ – Kimi Antonelli reacts as he gives himself first chance of sealing world title after Singapore podium

Kimi Antonelli amusingly appeared to be taken by surprise when informed that his podium finish in the Singapore Grand Prix has put him on the brink of clinching this year’s World Championship title.

Antonelli’s top-three result, combined with Mercedes team mate George Russell’s run to ninth place from the back of the grid, means the Italian is now 102 points clear at the top of the standings.

With six rounds remaining, and 150 points still up for grabs, Antonelli can put the title beyond doubt if he leaves the next round at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas 125 points or more ahead of his nearest rival.

Told about the title picture after following Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc home at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Antonelli said: “Can I? Really? Let’s not worry about that! Let’s try to do the best weekends possible and finish the job.”

Antonelli did the latest part of that job by climbing from fourth to third in Sunday’s race – taking advantage when the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton and McLaren of Lando Norris got involved in a scrap during the closing stages.

That also underlined the progress he and Mercedes appeared to make in further understanding the team’s latest car upgrades over the course of the weekend, while Russell reverted to an older package.

Reflecting on the race and weekend as a whole, Antonelli added: “It was not easy out there. I felt very good on the soft [tyre], but on the medium I struggled a lot. Then on the soft the pace was very good at the end; it was very, very good, so that’s a positive.

“However, there’s still lots of work to do. The team did a great job on trying to turn [things] around, especially the car. I think we can be very happy and proud of the job we did, especially looking at how we started the weekend.

“I try to do the best with what I have, try to help the team as much as possible, and really just try to do the best job as possible, and trying to on my side even overcome some difficulties with the car.

“I can say that we’re finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with this package, and it’s just a matter of understanding which one is the best window, how to put the car in the best window, in order to extract the maximum out of the package.”