Mercedes is ready to party again: what Antonelli and Russell need to do

After Antonelli crossed the finish line in third place behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, it was mathematically confirmed that the young Italian is this season's Formula 1 world champion.

Still, with Hamilton finishing second and Charles Leclerc fourth in Mexico City, Mercedes was unable to secure the constructors' title as well. The German outfit would have needed to outscore Ferrari by 39 points, but instead, Mercedes scored five points fewer than the Scuderia.

Currently, the gap between the two teams stands at 126 points. After the weekend in Sao Paulo, a maximum of 129 points will remain available. This means Mercedes needs to outscore its Italian rivals by three points to claim the constructors' title as well.

With the title now in his bag, the Italian was asked about whether he would use '1' next season on his car as the defending Formula 1 world champion.

Antonelli explained in Mexico City: "I think I'll stay with number 12. I'll stay with number 12 because, obviously, it's a very special number for me, but also it's a way for me to stay grounded, to stay humble, and I feel like by keeping number 12 it allows me to have a new point where to start and build on everything again and try to improve.