How Kimi Antonelli can become F1 champion at the Mexico City GP
In theory, it should be easy for Kimi Antonelli to clinch the 2026 F1 world championship this weekend.
However, anything’s possible in grand prix racing, and the Italian will just be focused on getting the best result possible in Mexico, making history in the process.
The Mercedes driver has blown away his rivals this year, and could secure the title with four races to spare, as well as becoming the youngest champion the sport has ever seen.
Kimi Antonelli can take an historic F1 title in Mexico
Although his experienced teammate George Russell was tipped for title glory this year, it’s been Antonelli who has set the standard.
Nine races wins and a huge amount of consistency throughout the season has seen the Italian build an almost unassailable lead, and now he’s on the brink of history.
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If the Mercedes driver finishes ninth or better, the championship is his.
If Antonelli gets it over the line in Mexico, he would become the youngest world champion in history at 20 years and 68 days, beating Sebastian Vettel’s record by over three years.
READ MORE: 'I've never had an F1 season like this': George Russell explains what’s behind his nightmare 2026
The odds are massively stacked against the competition. Even if the Italian fails to finish or finishes outside the points, Russell or Lewis Hamilton - the only other drivers technically in contention - need to win the race to keep their hopes alive.
The young ace doesn’t plan to take it easy in Mexico, despite the favourable circumstances and history on the line.
“It would be best to finish well on a high, and that’s the the goal,” he said prior to the weekend.
“But I’m just going to try to enjoy from now on the rest of the season.”
George Russell on his relationship with Antonelli - and 2026 F1 nightmare
Antonelli's dominance this year has been unprecedented, with no other driver able to hold a light to him on regular basis.
One driver who has struggled more than most is his teammate Russell, frequently finding himself fighting further back in the field despite apparently having this year's best car in the Mercedes.
Such has been the disparity between the two, the Brit says it's hard for a rivalry to even develop between the two.
“On a personal level, Kimi is obviously a great guy with lots of energy,” Russell said in Mexico. “We’ve had no reason this year not to continue a good relationship. I think a lot of these rivalries start because of on-track incidents or actions.
“The truth is, he’s been at a higher level than me this year so we’ve not really been in that situation too often – we’ve had one or two races.
"When it comes to the racing itself, we keep ourselves to ourselves and work with our individual engineers to try and get the most out of it.”
Antonelli is clearly at one with his Mercedes, the W17, with Russell struggling to get to grips with the car.
He also opened up this weekend on what's been holding him back.
“I've always been a driver that focuses on the mid-to-the-exit of the corners, which often means I'm on the throttle earlier than most, and with these new power units [that have a bigger electric motor than before], that means I'm spending more energy, and is sometimes not the most efficient way to drive for the power unit," he said.
“And secondly, the tyre pressures this year, especially on the rear, have been very, very high.
“Pirelli are taking a few PSI [pressure per square inches] margin, especially on the rear axle, and so again, that sort of has hindered me a little bit by pushing the exits [making the tyre too hot and therefore degrade]."
Topics: Formula 1, Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
James Elson