Autosport magazine: Antonelli and a Can-Am celebration
by Kevin Turner · AutosportWe look at the man set to end Italy’s long wait for an F1 world champion and highlight one of the most iconic categories in motorsport history
Kimi Antonelli’s rise to become Formula 1 world championship favourite and a celebration marking 60 years of Can-Am feature in the October issue of Autosport, out today (17 September).
It’s not just his substantial points lead that makes Antonelli the likely 2026 world champion. His consistent level of performance, with a reducing list of apparent weaknesses as each week passes, makes him seem impregnable.
Antonelli’s remarkable victory from 19th on the grid at Monza was a brilliant demonstration of patience and speed when required. Yes, the strategy fell Antonelli’s way, but the win must have been a psychological hammerblow to George Russell.
The Briton is perhaps in the hardest position of all. If McLaren, Ferrari or even Red Bull can find a technical advantage and put on a charge – a challenge that Jake Boxall-Legge also explores in this issue – then Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen can start racking up wins and eating into the gap, potentially with a team-mate to help.
But any Mercedes improvement will, of course, benefit both Russell and Antonelli. Russell will have to start consistently outperforming Antonelli – or hope the Italian has an unbelievable amount of misfortune.
As well as Stuart Codling’s look at the long wait for an Italian world champion and Antonelli’s challenge, we assess the role of the reserve driver in the modern era, and Ronald Vording listens to Honda’s chief engineer and trackside general manager Shintaro Orihara open up on the troubles Aston Martin’s engine partner has faced this season.
It’s 60 years since the famous Can-Am series for big banger sportscars began and we celebrate the category that briefly outpaced F1 this month. Pete Lyons, Autosport’s Can-Am reporter from the period, outlines what made it so special, we recall a McLaren that proved unbeatable, and Gary Watkins argues that the championship’s second era shouldn’t be ignored.
Looking ahead, Tom Howard hears from the World Rally Championship’s new promoters to understand their vision for the future of rallying, while Marcus Simmons charts Ash Sutton’s inexorable charge to a fifth British Touring Car crown in our Donington Park and Croft debriefs.
Two very different machines also star in our 25-page National section: a rallycross supercar and a UK club racing icon set to return to competition at the Goodwood Revival.
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