Kimi Antonelli, 20, could become Formula One's youngest world champion

Kimi Antonelli, 20, could become Formula One's youngest world champion. Al Jazeera and The Guardian both report this.

According to The Guardian, the Mercedes driver can clinch the title at the Mexican Grand Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on Sunday. The newspaper reports that a finish of ninth or better would be enough, and does not make this depend on other drivers' results. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include the championship standings, points totals or the size of his lead. They do not name his closest rival.

The record

According to The Guardian, Sebastian Vettel became the previous youngest world champion in 2010. The newspaper reports that a title would also make Antonelli the first Italian world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953. Al Jazeera reports that Antonelli held an F1 licence before he could legally drive.

The season

According to The Guardian, Antonelli is in his second F1 season. His teammate is George Russell. He won five successive races early in the season. The last came in Monaco. There he started from pole position ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and won a race with two restarts. He also won the most recent round, in Austin. Four races remain after Mexico, the newspaper reports.

His race engineer is Peter Bonnington, according to The Guardian. Bonnington engineered Lewis Hamilton across Hamilton's six titles with Mercedes. Hamilton sealed the title in Mexico City in 2017 and 2018.

Withdrawal from media duties

The Guardian reports that Antonelli was withdrawn from his media duties on Thursday. According to the newspaper, Mercedes said he was unwell and needed to recover properly. The reports do not describe the illness. They do not say whether it is expected to affect his race weekend.

What each side says

According to The Guardian, Antonelli said he would like to finish the job in style and relax for the remaining four races. Asked about Vettel's 2010 title, he was quoted as saying: "I remember I was playing with Hot Wheels, but I don’t remember him clinching it".

According to The Guardian, after Antonelli's Monaco win Bonnington explained what made his driver so quick: "As soon as he’s happy in the car: happy driver, fast lap time". In a further passage, which the newspaper's text attributes to "Bonningham", the engineer spoke of "giving him the freedom to enjoy driving the car". He added: "He’s just a joy to work with."

The Guardian quoted Hamilton as saying: "You never know how anyone’s going to do under pressure until you see them." Hamilton added that Antonelli had "taken it in his stride" and called him "a relatively old soul in that young body."

According to The Guardian, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said some people had questioned whether Antonelli should be in F1 at all after his debut season. The newspaper's text breaks off before his further comments.

The reports do not state when or to whom Hamilton and Wolff made their remarks.

The race coincides with Mexico's Day of the Dead, The Guardian reports. It also notes that Sergio Pérez has returned to the grid with Cadillac.

Analysis

If the conditions reported by The Guardian hold, Antonelli could settle the title with four races to spare. Two open questions shape the weekend. One is his health, which Mercedes cited for his Thursday withdrawal; the reports do not say how serious it is. The other is the standings, which the reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include. The Guardian presents a ninth-place finish or better as enough on its own to secure the title. If he does not clinch in Mexico, the title fight would continue into the final rounds. Either outcome remains possible.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.