Mercedes handed major encouragement in Lewis Hamilton pursuit

Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok has outlined the "big boost" it would be for Mercedes if Kimi Antonelli finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' standings. 

Following Antonelli's second-place finish in São Paulo and Hamilton's retirement, the young Italian has closed to within 26 points of the Briton with three rounds remaining. 

Antonelli has been nurtured by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff for several years and was chosen very quickly as Hamilton's successor in the Silver Arrows. 

It has been a mixed debut campaign for the teenager, who made a strong initial impression across the early flyaway races. 

However, he endured a horrific run of form across the European rounds, which saw Antonelli collect just three points across nine races. 

Remarkably, he has gone onto impress ever since F1 left Europe for the second period of flyaways, with three top-five finished across the past five events.

While Antonelli has made major progress, Hamilton has struggled to score big points for Ferrari in what is becoming an increasingly painful maiden season racing for the Scuderia. 

It has put Antonelli in with a serious chance of beating the 40-year-old to sixth in the standings, in what would be a serious rookie season achievement.

Discussing the big talking points ahead of the final rounds," Chandhok told Sky F1: "I'll tell you, can I throw in a little left-field championship battle I'm intrigued by? 

"Kimi Antonelli versus Lewis Hamilton is only, I think, now, 26 points between them. That would be a big boost for Mercedes. 

"Can you imagine if they managed to get the rookie to beat the guy who's left them and gone to Ferrari."