• Driver on verge of claiming championship in Mexico

• ‘The drive was exceptional. He outperformed the car’

The Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, has paid tribute to Kimi Antonelli, who all but closed out his first Formula One world cham­pionship with a victory at the US Grand Prix that Wolff described as the Italian’s best race.

Wolff was at pains to point out the considerable efforts made by a number of other people in bringing the young Italian to the verge of a record-breaking title.

With first drivers’ title all but secure, a friendlier champion would be hard to find, but Italian’s eight wins this season speak to his focus

Even as Kimi Antonelli may be world champion-elect, it is sometimes hard to equate the young man who has driven with such exceptional skill and no little verve to touching distance of an historic first Formula One title with the smiling, wide-eyed kid with tousled hair who still almost looks out of place in the F1 paddock. Yet what has become clear in this extraordinary season is that Antonelli’s talent and his personable, endearing character are inextricably entwined.

Whether the Italian seals his place as F1’s youngest world champion, at 20 years old, at this Sunday’s US Grand Prix in Austin or the next round in Mexico or even beyond that is moot – that he will do so is all but assured and for all that he is still in only his second season in the sport, a more rounded, well-liked champion than the Mercedes driver would be hard to find.

• Mercedes youngster could become youngest title winner

• Max Verstappen says bumpy track makes drivers ‘suffer’

The Formula One world championship is within reach for Kimi Antonelli at the US Grand Prix in Austin this weekend. But while the young Italian approaches the race intending simply to have fun, there is disquiet among other drivers about the potential long-term health dangers posed by the state of the Texas circuit.

The 20-year-old Antonelli will become Formula One’s youngest world champion if he claims the title at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, eclipsing Sebastian Vettel’s record from 2010, when the German driver was 23 and Antonelli was four.

• 41-year-old set on ‘dream to be able to race in Africa’

• Rwanda to host despite criticism of human rights record

Lewis Hamilton has said he hopes to remain racing in Formula One until he can take part in the African Grand Prix which is set to take place in Rwanda in the 2030s. The seven-time world champion believes it is right that F1 is to hold a race there despite criticism of the country’s human rights record.

Last week F1 confirmed Rwanda was to host the African Grand Prix having concluded a 10-year agreement for the meeting on a purpose-built circuit, with the first race set for the early 2030s. It is lined up to be held on a circuit in Bugesera, 25 miles south of the capital, Kigali, which has yet to be constructed and marks a return to the African continent for the first time since it last held a race at Kyalami, South Africa in 1993.

Young driver’s maiden championship is all but secured but Mercedes upgrades will inform next year’s run to the line

There is nothing quite like a potential title decider to bring the fiercest of spotlights to bear as doubtless Kimi Antonelli will discover when he attempts to seal his first championship at the United States Grand Prix this weekend.

For the young Italian the goal is straightforward and the culmination of a childhood dream. However, for his Mercedes team there will be scrutiny over performance in Austin that has significant implications going into next season.