Antonelli Ill Before Mexico City GP, One Ninth-Place Finish From the World Title

The Antonelli world title could be settled in Mexico City this Sunday, but the Mercedes driver’s build-up has been interrupted by a viral illness. Kimi Antonelli missed Thursday’s media day at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, and the team says he is expected back for Friday’s practice sessions.

Mercedes described him as “feeling under the weather” and said the FIA had excused him from his mandatory media duties “as a precaution” so that he could rest before the weekend. A team spokesperson said they expected him back on Friday. The first practice session starts at 18:30 GMT.

What Antonelli needs to clinch the title

Antonelli arrives with a 123-point lead over team-mate George Russell, and only 125 points remain in the season. He comes off his ninth win of 2026, in the United States Grand Prix in Austin.

The sources describe the arithmetic in slightly different ways, but they agree on the main points. A ninth-place finish or better lets Antonelli take the championship on his own terms. If he finishes lower, or even scores nothing, he can still be champion as long as neither Russell nor Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton wins the race. BBC Sport’s analysis puts it most precisely: ninth would be enough if Russell wins, and 10th would be enough if Hamilton wins.

If he gets there, the Antonelli world title would make him the youngest champion in Formula 1 history. Sky Sports notes he would break Sebastian Vettel’s record by three years. He is 20 and in only his second season in the sport. The Associated Press adds that he would be the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

A season that has turned around

The pace of Antonelli’s rise has been striking. Sky Sports points out that his 2026 campaign came after a difficult rookie year. He has won nine races to Russell’s three, and has generally had the upper hand over his team-mate.

After Austin, Antonelli sounded keen to avoid thinking of the championship as already won. “I’m very well aware it’s very close but the mindset hasn’t changed,” he told Sky Sports F1. “I want to finish the season on a high in order to have high hopes in 2027.”

Russell searches for consistency

Russell spoke to the media on Thursday and was candid about his own season. His wins have come in Australia, Austria and Azerbaijan, but he has rarely mounted a sustained challenge to Antonelli. He said he had never experienced such fluctuating form, pointing to a Baku pole position by 0.8 seconds and a win, followed by an eighth-place finish last week.

“We don’t know why that is. It’s quite strange and certainly scratching our head a little bit,” Russell said. He added that he has moved past the frustration he voiced earlier in the year and is determined not to make “irrational” changes. “These performances are in there. I’ve lost no faith that we can do it because we’ve shown that.”

Bottas also unwell, with Cadillac’s future in question

Antonelli was not the only driver absent. Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas also missed media day, with his team calling him “unwell” and saying a day of rest was a precaution that does not currently affect his participation in the rest of the weekend.

His absence comes amid speculation about his future. Cadillac announced a new deal for Sergio Perez, who stays until at least 2029, without mentioning Bottas. BBC Sport reports that the team is said to be considering promoting American reserve driver Colton Herta. Herta is having his fifth practice outing of the year on Friday, part of the effort to build the mileage needed for an F1 super licence. Sky Sports says Bottas is understood to have a contract running to the end of 2027, and BBC Sport says no decision has been made on Perez’s 2027 team-mate.

For now, the immediate question is simple: whether Antonelli recovers quickly enough to be at full strength. If he does, a ninth-place finish on Sunday would be enough to secure the Antonelli world title in Mexico City.

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File photo: Kimi Antonelli at the Melbourne Walk during the 2026 Australian Grand Prix (028A7923) cropped.jpg by Yu Chu Chin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.