Marko says Antonelli deserves F1 title and could challenge Verstappen

In comments to Sky Deutschland, Helmut Marko said Kimi Antonelli deserves the Formula 1 title and could challenge Max Verstappen on outright speed if they had equal machinery. Antonelli leads teammate George Russell by 102 points and gets his first chance to secure his maiden title in Austin.

Marko qualified his praise: he said Antonelli had spent much of the season in the best car and enjoyed some luck with safety cars and technical problems affecting rivals. He argued that such luck balances out over a season, while saying Antonelli had decisively dominated Russell, whom he described as the favourite.

Marko also pointed to Verstappen's experience and tyre-management routine as advantages. In Singapore, he said, Verstappen was fast on both tyre types and controlled tyre wear better than many others. Marko said Antonelli still lacked that routine, but expected him to learn it soon enough.