Mercedes reveals Kimi Antonelli was “on the edge of retirement” at Mexico GP

Mercedes has revealed that Andrea Kimi Antonelli was “on the edge of retirement” due to a late issue with his Formula 1 car at the Mexico City Grand Prix. 

Antonelli clinched his first F1 world title with four races to spare after finishing third in Mexico City behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton. 

But according to Mercedes, Antonelli’s title celebrations could have been put on hold altogether. 

Speaking in an interview with the High Performance Racing podcast, Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord revealed that Antonelli suffered an oil leak in his W17 in the closing stages of Sunday’s race. 

“We got the car back after the race, took the floor off the bottom, covered in oil,” Lord said. “Sump cracked and Kimi said he thinks about four laps from the end he could start to feel the engine just starting to struggle. 

“So right on the edge of retirement of that race and yet it held together.”

It was not a straightforward weekend for Antonelli, who battled a viral illness that forced him to miss media day on Thursday in Mexico City. 

“I knew I was very close [to the title],” Antonelli said. “However, I still needed to get the job done, and, of course, you still want to do a good race. You want to do a good performance, so that was the goal. 

“But, of course, it hasn't been the easiest weekend either. Physically, I haven't been in the best shape, but also yesterday we had a bad qualifying execution, and, you know, emotions were a bit high overall. 

“But I'm really happy that today we did a strong race and really happy that we managed to finish the job. And then now we've got a few races to go, and we're just going to enjoy all the way and try to finish on a high.” 

Antonelli, who is F1’s youngest-ever world champion, made no reference to his late-race problems in the FIA press conference, though he admitted he was becoming overcome with emotions inside the cockpit as he came closer to realising his dream. 

“On the last lap I just backed off because I just couldn't see the track. I was getting emotional, and I said, "I'm just going to back off because otherwise I crash here." So it was just good to bring it home.

“Already the lap before, I think I lost probably two seconds because I was already crying, basically. I couldn't see clearly ahead. You know, I could see two Ferraris somehow with the tears. So, it was very special. 

“A lot of memories went through my mind in that moment, all the memories since karting all the way to here. It was a very special final lap, and definitely, you know, then when I crossed the line, I let it all out because it was just achieving one of my biggest dreams. It was very special.”