Andrea Kimi Antonelli believes Ferrari showed impressive speed during Friday practice at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, admitting that Mercedes must find more performance ahead of qualifying. The Italian driver finished fourth in FP2, two tenths behind Charles Leclerc, as he continued preparing for a potentially historic weekend in which he could secure his first Formula 1 world championship.
With only two more points required to mathematically clinch the title, the 20-year-old Mercedes driver has an opportunity to become the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history and bring the drivers’ crown back to Italy after 73 years. However, the prospect of achieving that milestone also brings additional attention, pressure and expectations alongside the challenge posed by his rivals on track.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli faces a special Mexico GP weekend with F1 title in sight
The Mexico City Grand Prix is far from an ordinary race weekend for Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The young Italian enters the event on the brink of securing his maiden world championship, with just two points separating him from mathematical certainty.
Winning the title at the age of 20 would make him the youngest world champion in the sport’s history, while ending a 73-year wait for an Italian driver to claim the Formula 1 crown.
Beyond the competitive demands of the Grand Prix, Antonelli must therefore manage the considerable attention surrounding his championship opportunity. The pressure and expectations are likely to be significant, making his preparation throughout the weekend particularly important.
Ferrari sets the pace as Andrea Kimi Antonelli finishes fourth in Mexico FP2
Andrea Kimi Antonelli completed 30 laps during the opening free practice session at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, finishing second and six tenths behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
The Mercedes driver then completed another 33 laps in FP2, ending the afternoon in fourth position, just two tenths behind the Monegasque. His Friday programme therefore included 63 laps across the two sessions, providing a reasonable starting point ahead of the remainder of the weekend.
Mercedes has frequently demonstrated an ability to raise its performance level on Saturdays, particularly when preparing for qualifying. That tendency offers an encouraging perspective despite Ferrari’s early advantage, although further progress will be necessary to challenge the fastest cars.
The Scuderia’s speed follows the improvements seen during the previous Grand Prix weekend, when Charles Leclerc finished second in Austin and expressed confidence in Ferrari’s ability to win again.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli explains Mercedes balance improvements during Friday practice
After Friday’s running, Andrea Kimi Antonelli explained that he was pleased to be back in the car and feeling well, having experienced discomfort on Thursday.
“First of all, it’s nice to be back in the car and feel good today,” the Italian explained.
Reflecting on the practice sessions, Antonelli acknowledged that the changing circuit conditions made the opening session difficult to interpret, particularly because the track was still dirty.
“It was certainly an interesting Friday here in Mexico. It’s never easy to properly understand the car’s behaviour in FP1, when the track is still dirty. We tried a few different things to bring the car’s balance into a better window, and things seem to have improved in FP2.”
The changes tested by Mercedes appeared to move the car towards a more favourable operating window during the afternoon. However, the Italian driver’s assessment suggests that additional refinement will be needed before the team can fully evaluate its competitiveness in qualifying.
The differences between the Friday sessions, including practice lap times and longer-run performance, can also be explored using the F1 Practice and Long-Run Analysis tool.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli identifies Ferrari as a strong rival ahead of qualifying
While Mercedes made progress with its balance throughout Friday, Andrea Kimi Antonelli also recognised the strong performance delivered by Ferrari. The Italian believes his team must concentrate on its own improvements rather than become distracted by the pace of its competitors.
“There are definitely plenty of things we can improve ahead of Saturday, and there’s work to do overnight. Ferrari looked very fast, but we need to focus on ourselves and see where we can find performance to put ourselves in a good position for qualifying.”
The assessment highlights the contrasting priorities for Mercedes heading into Saturday. Although the team has already made encouraging progress with its setup, Ferrari has established itself as an important benchmark after leading Friday’s running.
For Antonelli, the immediate objective is to build on the improvements achieved between FP1 and FP2 and extract more performance from his Mercedes before qualifying begins.
The weekend could ultimately deliver a historic championship achievement for the young Italian, but the first priority remains preparing the car for a competitive qualifying result. With Ferrari already demonstrating impressive pace, Mercedes faces important work before the next session of the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix weekend.
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