{"id":4743,"date":"2026-10-31T20:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T23:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=4743"},"modified":"2026-10-31T20:05:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T23:05:48","slug":"antonelli-admits-feeling-tense-in-mexico-qualifying-as-first-f1-title-moves-closer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/antonelli-admits-feeling-tense-in-mexico-qualifying-as-first-f1-title-moves-closer\/","title":{"rendered":"Antonelli admits feeling tense in Mexico qualifying as first F1 title moves closer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">News Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Andrea Kimi Antonelli admitted feeling &#8220;a bit tense&#8221; during qualifying<\/strong> for the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, where he recorded the fifth-fastest time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Mercedes driver will start fourth after Max Verstappen&#8217;s one-place grid penalty<\/strong>, despite missing pole position by 0.193s.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Antonelli needs only ninth place in Sunday&#8217;s race to secure his first Formula 1 World Championship<\/strong>, regardless of his rivals&#8217; results.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Andrea Kimi Antonelli admitted that he felt <strong>&#8220;a bit tense&#8221; during qualifying for the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix<\/strong>, as the Mercedes driver prepares for the possibility of becoming Formula 1 world champion on Sunday (1 November). The Italian finished fifth in Saturday&#8217;s session, 0.193s behind pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton, but will move up to fourth on the starting grid following Max Verstappen&#8217;s penalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking to <em>Sky Sports F1<\/em> after qualifying, Antonelli acknowledged the tension surrounding his performance. The admission came after a weekend in which the 20-year-old had demonstrated the pace to fight for pole, only to fall short during the decisive Q3 session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Antonelli admits nerves after missing Mexico pole<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Antonelli entered qualifying among the leading contenders after finishing second in FP3, <strong>just 0.001s behind McLaren&#8217;s Lando Norris<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the Mercedes driver was unable to reproduce that performance when pole position was decided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He recorded <strong>1:16.707<\/strong>, placing fifth behind Hamilton, teammate George Russell, Charles Leclerc and Verstappen in the qualifying classification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Antonelli subsequently acknowledged feeling somewhat tense, although he did not identify a single mistake or technical problem as the decisive reason for missing pole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The result contrasted with Russell&#8217;s performance, as the British driver qualified second, only 0.009s behind Hamilton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/russell-reveals-frustration-with-mercedes-after-coming-within-0-009s-of-beating-hamilton-in-mexico\/\">Russell also admitted struggling to get the best out of his Mercedes<\/a>, despite coming close to taking pole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Antonelli&#8217;s weekend had already been disrupted by illness, which forced him to miss Thursday&#8217;s media commitments. He returned for Friday practice and reported feeling better before completing the remaining sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-mexico-cidade-do-mexico-treinos-livres-mercedes-kimi-antonelli-01-2-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"F1 2026, M\u00c9XICO, CIDADE DO M\u00c9XICO, TREINOS LIVRES, MERCEDES, KIMI ANTONELLI\" class=\"wp-image-1020319783\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-mexico-cidade-do-mexico-treinos-livres-mercedes-kimi-antonelli-01-2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-mexico-cidade-do-mexico-treinos-livres-mercedes-kimi-antonelli-01-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-mexico-cidade-do-mexico-treinos-livres-mercedes-kimi-antonelli-01-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-mexico-cidade-do-mexico-treinos-livres-mercedes-kimi-antonelli-01-2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-mexico-cidade-do-mexico-treinos-livres-mercedes-kimi-antonelli-01-2-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-mexico-cidade-do-mexico-treinos-livres-mercedes-kimi-antonelli-01-2-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-mexico-cidade-do-mexico-treinos-livres-mercedes-kimi-antonelli-01-2.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kimi Antonelli (Photo: Mercedes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fourth on grid puts Antonelli close to historic F1 title<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite his qualifying disappointment, Antonelli remains in a strong position to secure the Drivers&#8217; Championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Italian arrived in Mexico with <strong>365 points, 123 ahead of Russell<\/strong>, after winning the United States Grand Prix at Austin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With four races remaining after Mexico, <strong>a ninth-place finish would guarantee Antonelli the title<\/strong>, regardless of what Russell or Lewis Hamilton achieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Antonelli is also set to benefit from Verstappen&#8217;s one-place grid penalty, moving from fifth in qualifying to fourth on the provisional starting grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hamilton starts from pole after <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/hamilton-ends-1197-day-f1-pole-drought-in-mexico-and-becomes-fifth-oldest-polesitter\/\">ending a 1,197-day wait for the fastest qualifying time and securing his first Ferrari pole<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russell will line up second, ahead of Leclerc and Antonelli, subject to the FIA&#8217;s final grid confirmation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If Antonelli secures the championship on Sunday, <strong>he will become Formula 1&#8217;s youngest world champion at 20<\/strong>, surpassing Sebastian Vettel&#8217;s record from 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 71-lap Mexican Grand Prix begins at 14:00 local time on Sunday, corresponding to 20:00 GMT in the United Kingdom and 15:00 EST in the eastern United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> is following every session of the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend, with breaking news, full coverage and real-time updates in its <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/\">Formula 1 section<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Andrea Kimi Antonelli admitted feeling tense after qualifying fifth in Mexico City, where the Mercedes driver needs only ninth place in Sunday&#8217;s race to become Formula 1 world champion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020319697,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Andrea Kimi Antonelli","42wp_featured_image_credits":"Mercedes","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_ai_content_disclaimer":"","42wp_is_ai_content":false,"42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[{"id":31,"location":""}],"footnotes":"","42wp_hide_from_automatic":false,"42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[19,475,16,963],"42wp_author":[31],"class_list":["post-4743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","tag-andrea-kimi-antonelli","tag-f1-championship","tag-mercedes","tag-mexican-grand-prix","42wp_author-bernardo-castro"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4743"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4744,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4743\/revisions\/4744"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020319697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4743"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=4743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}