Kimi Antonelli's Austin win points to potential dominance in 2027, not just this year

Victory in Texas didn't just put Kimi Antonelli on the verge of winning the Formula 1 title. It gave an important signal he could repeat the feat next year.In recent weeks, Antonelli and Mercedes had been struggling with a package of car upgrades that often seemed more like downgrades as Max Verstappen and Red Bull took advantage to win back-to-back races. But Antonelli’s dominant win from pole position at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday showed he’s now confident of getting the best out of the car over a full race distance at a pace Red Bull and Ferrari largely couldn’t match. “All this time putting so much work into bringing this new package and finally seeing the result is very pleasant,” he said.In Singapore earlier this month, Antonelli said there was only a “very, very small” window of performance to unlock the new design's benefits before it became skittish and unpredictable. Now the car is working as intended, he says there's more to come.“In some places, I would say, stil