How Ferrari could still ruin Mercedes' perfect day in Mexico City

Antonelli qualified originally in fifth place, but gained a position on the grid because of the one-place grid penalty Max Verstappen received for his FP2 clash with Liam Lawson on Friday.

This means that Antonelli is in a strong position to secure his first title and become the youngest champion in the sport's long history. The Italian needs to score at least two points today (which means finishing ninth or higher) to mathematically clinch the championship.

On the other hand, should Antonelli have to retire due to a mechanical failure or a first-lap incident, there is a good chance that the young Italian's crowning moment will have to wait until Sao Paulo. That is because both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell start the race from the front row of the grid. If either driver wins while Antonelli fails to score any points, the Italian will not yet have secured the championship.

In order for Mercedes to secure its first constructors' title since the 2021 season already in Mexico City, the German outfit needs to outscore Ferrari by 39 points in total.

If Mercedes scores a one-two finish at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez today, Ferrari can score no more than four points. If one Mercedes driver wins and the other finishes on the podium in P3, the Scuderia would have to score no more than a single point.

However, not only did Hamilton secure pole position for Sunday's race, but Charles Leclerc will also start from third place on the grid. The Italian outfit would have to be very unfortunate to score so few points that Mercedes could celebrate the constructors' title in Mexico as well.