Sports
Antonelli on brink of youngest F1 title as Leclerc tops Mexico practice
October 30, 2026 at 08:29 PM
Kimi Antonelli can clinch the Formula One world championship at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday, where Charles Leclerc set the pace in first practice.
- Antonelli will become F1's youngest world champion, and the first Italian since Alberto Ascari in 1953, with a ninth-place finish or better at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
- Leclerc topped first practice for Ferrari, finishing 0.659 seconds ahead of the Mercedes driver.
- Only a win by George Russell or Lewis Hamilton can stop Antonelli, who would still take the title with ninth place if Russell wins or tenth if Hamilton does.
- Hamilton said Antonelli has taken the championship pressure "in his stride," calling him "a relatively old soul in that young body."