{"id":819397,"date":"2026-10-31T04:46:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T04:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/819397\/"},"modified":"2026-10-31T04:46:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T04:46:10","slug":"fiesta-awaits-in-mexico-city-as-kimi-antonelli-speeds-towards-f1-history-formula-one-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/819397\/","title":{"rendered":"Fiesta awaits in Mexico City as Kimi Antonelli speeds towards F1 history | Formula One 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

An undeniable highlight of this Formula One season, marked by discontent at the new regulations, has been getting swept along by the sheer joy that the world champion-in-waiting, Kimi Antonelli<\/a>, has displayed on his way to a title he will almost surely secure this weekend at the Mexican Grand Prix.<\/p>\n

Antonelli was still a teenager for the first half of the year and it seemed fitting to describe him as such. His exuberant embrace of competing for Mercedes at the sharp end of F1<\/a> in just his second season was that of any 19-year-old. Like discovering a life-changing new band or how much fun can be had with a cold beer, a wide grin was barely off his face.<\/p>\n

He is 20 now, still but a stripling and on Sunday at the Aut\u00f3dromo Hermanos Rodr\u00edguez if he finishes in ninth place or better he will be F1\u2019s youngest world champion, and the first Italian to win the title since Alberto Ascari in 1953.<\/p>\n

Antonelli has confessed that as a four-year-old he did not recall when Sebastian Vettel became the previous youngest title winner in 2010. \u201cI remember I was playing with Hot Wheels, but I don\u2019t remember him clinching it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

This weekend he will likely embrace an unforgettable moment. Antonelli has shone on track, at home with the complex requirements of the new energy-managed cars, extracting a pace and control such that even his more experienced Mercedes teammate George Russell has been left flailing<\/a> in his wake. To which traits he has allied a sharp and incisive driving style that has been extraordinary at times and a judgment that has belied his years.<\/p>\n

That he has done so with such alacrity, especially after a difficult rookie season last year, has surprised many. Not least those team principal Toto Wolff pointedly observed had been questioning whether Antonelli should even be in F1 after his debut season. Doubts now assuredly consigned to the dustbin of history, in the city where Leon Trotsky, who coined the phrase, was killed in 1940.<\/p>\n

It has been clear how much the Italian loves what he does and how that has informed his performances. At his shoulder through the trials of last season and the triumphs of this, has been Peter Bonnington. Bono, as he is known, was Lewis Hamilton\u2019s engineer across the British driver\u2019s six titles with Mercedes. He and Antonelli have established a close relationship, a friendship, with the Italian taking on board his colleague\u2019s experience and cool head, often referencing him and the importance of their interaction.<\/p>\n

During Antonelli\u2019s run of five successive victories in the opening period of the season, the last of them was a striking performance in Monaco<\/a>. Taking an exceptional pole position to deny Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen, who was in fearsome form on the streets of the principality, he then delivered a remarkable race win, including seeing off two restarts.<\/p>\n

Kimi Antonelli is likely to be celebrating his historic title triumph this weekend in Mexico. Photograph: Robbie Hoad\/Every Second Media\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

After this, Bono, who often has the avuncular air of an older brother with his young charge, gave an almost disarmingly straightforward explanation of what made his driver so quick.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as he\u2019s happy in the car: happy driver, fast lap time,\u201d he said. The team have adopted an approach to allow Antonelli the opportunity to ensure he could drive in a way that allowed him to truly embrace being himself and in so doing, taking the pressure off.<\/p>\n

Bonningham described this as \u201cgiving him the freedom to do what he enjoys, giving him the freedom to enjoy driving the car, that\u2019s a real big thing and not stressing too much. He\u2019s just a joy to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n

To trust the youngster\u2019s instincts and talent, when the temptation to micromanage him must have been overwhelming, has worked brilliantly. Even as the opposition caught and at times surpassed Mercedes, Antonelli was able to deliver when a win was off the table. When it was, as at the last round in Austin, he stepped up to sweep it away with a nonchalance that typified why he is world champion elect.<\/p>\n

This makes the atmosphere in Mexico City all the more febrile in what is already one of the most vibrant venues on the calendar. Antonelli could barely have chosen a better location to enjoy the celebration of his childhood dream. The fans here embrace F1 with the same passion the Italian has for his trade.<\/p>\n

With the race coinciding with Mexico\u2019s Day of the Dead, the city and the paddock are adorned with the bright orange Mexican marigolds, the \u201cflor de muerto\u201d. Skulls and skeletons, candles and colour are plentiful to welcome the return of the departed in a joyful, festival lending the weekend an already celebratory air.<\/p>\n

The race coincides with Mexico\u2019s Day of the Dead. Photograph: Marcel van Dorst\/DeFodi Images\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The F1 faithful are also in good cheer in welcoming home hero Sergio P\u00e9rez back to the grid, with Cadillac and his image everywhere in Mexico City. On occasion he appears as a lifesize cardboard cut-out, rather incongruously in a line of fabulously-dressed skeletons. Yet fans will also doubtless revel in having this marvellous venue celebrate F1\u2019s youngest champion in the heady atmosphere of the stadium section of Aut\u00f3dromo Hermanos Rodr\u00edguez.<\/p>\n

Hamilton has experienced it twice, when he sealed the title here in 2017 and 2018, and the seven-time champion\u2019s assessment of Antonelli\u2019s season was as telling as that of his former race engineer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never know how anyone\u2019s going to do under pressure until you see them,\u201d he said. \u201cI could assume that he was going to be fine with the weight you have on you. When you have to do all these appearances and all these things, pulled left, right and centre. But he\u2019s taken it in his stride. He\u2019s a relatively old soul in that young body.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antonelli was withdrawn from his media duties on Thursday, with Mercedes saying he was unwell and needing to recover properly, but the Italian has stated he would like to finish the job in style and be able to relax for the remaining four races. There is no reason to believe he will suffer from any yips, certainly. He has demonstrated no such weakness thus far, even under the most intense pressure, with team principal Wolff sharing a further insight into why the 20-year-old stands ready to make history.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Austin, he came to my office sat down on the sofa and said: \u2018I\u2019m going to enjoy this one. Isn\u2019t it funny? I\u2019m not thinking at all about the championship,\u2019\u201d Wolff recalled. \u201cI said: \u2018Stick to that attitude. You have the best job in the world. Don\u2019t forget that.\u2019 He has the right mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n

The best job in the world and one he has, admirably, embraced with that irrepressible joy. The right mindset indeed. A deserved champion awaiting his coronation. On this form, not for the last time.<\/p>\n

In first practice in Mexico City, Ferrari once more opened strongly with Charles Leclerc topping the timesheets, six-tenths up on Antonelli in second, with the Italian apparently fully fit after Thursday\u2019s illness. Many of the teams used the session to allow their rookie drivers to rack up track time with 10 taking part. The Danish driver Fredrik Vesti sat in for Russell and was in third, with Hamilton in fourth.<\/p>\n

In the afternoon session Hamilton lost vital running time when he retired with a loss of power after 30 minutes. His teammate Leclerc was once more quickest, one-tenth up on Lando Norris\u2019s McLaren. Russell and Antonelli were in third and fourth and Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen in fifth, three-tenths back, although the Dutchman was carrying some damage after a clash with Liam Lawson that will be investigated by the stewards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An undeniable highlight of this Formula One season, marked by discontent at the new regulations, has been getting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":819398,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[59,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-819397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-gb","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=819397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/819398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=819397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=819397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=819397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}