Mercedes reveal Antonelli nearly retired from title-winning Mexico GP

Antonelli became the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history last Sunday, finishing third at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez behind race winner Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

The 20-year-old arrived in Mexico with the opportunity to wrap up the championship after a remarkable 2026 campaign. Starting fourth, he needed only a ninth-place finish to guarantee the title, regardless of the results of his closest rivals, Hamilton and Mercedes teammate George Russell.

His race was far from straightforward, however. Antonelli briefly led the Grand Prix as the frontrunners completed their pit stops before making his own final tyre change on Lap 43. A heavy accident for Valtteri Bottas subsequently brought out the red flags, setting up a standing restart with Antonelli in fourth place.

The Mercedes driver eventually moved onto the podium by overtaking Charles Leclerc into Turn 1 after the Ferrari driver suffered a significant lock-up at the restart. Antonelli maintained third position through the closing stages, crossing the line just over four seconds behind Verstappen.

However, Mercedes has now disclosed that Antonelli's W17 was suffering from a serious mechanical issue during the final laps, putting his participation in the closing stages at risk.

Speaking on the High Performance Racing podcast, Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord explained that the team only discovered the full extent of the problem when inspecting Antonelli's car after the race.

"If you want a sign of the fact that this is Kimi's year and things are rolling with him as well, we got the car back after the race, took the floor off the bottom, covered in oil," Lord revealed.

Despite the damage, Antonelli managed to complete all 71 laps and celebrate his championship on the podium alongside Verstappen and Hamilton, the two drivers who have collectively won 11 world titles.

Even a retirement would not have prevented the Italian from becoming world champion in Mexico, as neither Hamilton nor Russell managed to win the race. Nevertheless, the mechanical issue came close to denying Antonelli the opportunity to cross the finish line and celebrate his achievement with a podium finish.

Antonelli's third-place finish completed a remarkable championship campaign and made him the first Italian driver to win the Formula 1 Drivers' Championship since Alberto Ascari in 1953.