Kimi Antonelli will miss Thursday’s media day at the Mexico City Grand Prix due to a viral illness ahead of the weekend when he will likely become Formula 1 world champion.
A top-nine finish in this Sunday’s race will ensure Antonelli becomes the sport’s youngest world champion at 20 years old – breaking Sebastian Vettel’s record by three years.
Should Antonelli not score any points on Sunday, he will still be world champion if his Mercedes team-mate George Russell or Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton don’t win the race.
But the 20-year-old is having to recover from an illness ahead of Friday’s practice sessions at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Mercedes said: “Kimi is feeling under the weather today as he recovers from a viral illness. As a precaution, the FIA have excused him from his mandatory media duties to give him the chance to rest head of the weekend.
“We expect him to be back tomorrow.”
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Antonelli has executed a superb 2026 in just his second Formula 1 campaign, all the more surprising after a difficult rookie season.
The Italian has won nine races this season and consistently had the upper hand on Russell.
Several F1 championships have been won without the champion finishing on the podium in that race, but Antonelli is keen to “finish on a high”.
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“The perfect way would be to finish off in style and enjoy the rest of the season,” he told Sky Sports F1 after winning in Austin.
“I’m very well aware it’s very close but the mindset hasn’t changed. I want to finish the season on a high in order to have high hopes in 2027.
“First we focus and worry about finishing this [season] well and we will see.”
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Bottas also absent amid uncertainty over his Cadillac future
Valtteri Bottas will also miss media day as he is unwell, according to Cadillac, and resting before Friday’s track action.
There are rumours Bottas’ seat is under threat, despite having signed a multi-year contract which is understood to run until the end of 2027, as he has been outperformed by team-mate Sergio Perez.
Formula 2 driver Colton Herta, from America, will take make his fifth practice outing for Cadillac this season in BOttas’ absence.
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“Valtteri Bottas will unfortunately be unable to attend today’s media day in Mexico City as he is unwell,” said Cadillac.
“The team has taken the decision to allow him a day of rest, to support his recovery. his is a precautionary measure and does not currently affect his participation in the remainder of the race weekend. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates if necessary.”
Sky Sports F1’s live Mexico City GP schedule
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Friday October 30
6pm: Mexico City Grand Prix Practice One (session starts at 6.30pm)*
8pm: The F1 Show
9pm: Team Bosses’ Press Conference
9.30pm: Mexico City Grand Prix Practice Two (session starts at 10pm)*
Saturday October 31
5.15pm: Mexico City Grand Prix Practice Three (session starts at 6.30pm)
8pm: Mexico City Grand Prix Qualifying build-up
9pm: MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING
11pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday November 1
5pm: F1 Academy Race 3
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Mexico City GP build-up
8pm: THE MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX*
10pm: Chequered Flag: Mexico City GP reaction
11pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 next heads south for the second leg of The Americas triple-header with the Mexico City Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime