Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says it is "extremely satisfying" to see Kimi Antonelli's turnaround from last year as the Italian looks to secure the 2026 Formula 1 world title this weekend in Mexico. A top nine in this Sunday's Mexico City Grand Prix for Antonelli will ensure he becomes the sport's youngest world champion at 20 years old - breaking Sebastian Vettel's record by three years. Antonelli joined Mercedes last year and struggled for the majority of his rookie season after a huge amount of excitement prior to his Formula 1 debut.
Wolff recalls the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix as a particular low moment when Antonelli was in tears after being eliminated in Q1. "The many people that said last year after nine races without points, he shouldn't be in a Mercedes," said Wolff. "People in other teams that said, he shouldn't even be in Formula 1, the tears in Spa, in parc ferme.
And all of that now is extremely satisfying to see what he's able to deliver, how he's working with the team, with Bono [Antonelli's engineer Peter Bonnington] and yielding the results. But it wasn't an easy road. "So, I'm happy that, 99.9 per cent, he still needs to finish the race in Mexico.
So, it's either going to be a big tequila party or if it's not a tequila party, then it's going to be Caipirinha the weekend afterwards." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Antonelli has won nine races this season and consistently had the upper hand on Mercedes team-mate George Russell throughout the year. Wolff thinks the new 2026 cars, which provided a reset for the field, has benefitted Antonelli and is mystified how the Italian has hit back so strongly after last year. "I think maybe it was to his benefit that the regulations were all new.
When last year he came in and those cars existed, those cars existed for four years. The other drivers were used to it," he said. "And all new for everyone this year.
And he just made it stick with his easiness, with his mindset, with his easiness of approaching things. "In Austin, he came to my office before getting ready, before getting dressed and just sat down on the sofa and said, 'I'm going to enjoy this one. I'm not thinking at all about the championship'.
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