George Russell’s Formula 1 world champion hopes hang by a thread after finishing eighth at the United States Grand Prix in Austin.
The King’s Lynn-born Mercedes driver was hampered by a five-second penalty but did enough to prevent his team-mate Kimi Antonelli claiming the title just yet.
The young Italian finished first to open a 123-point lead over Russell and needs just two more points to become the youngest ever world champion.
Russell’s only hope to prolong the wait would be to win next week’s Grand Prix in Mexico and hope that Antonelli fails to finish in the first nine places.
More realistically, Russell will be aiming to hang on to second place but needs to hold off the challenge of multiple champion Lewis Hamilton, with the Ferrari driver just one point behind him in the standings.
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