Kimi Antonelli has arrived in Baku with another victory added to his 2026 tally and an 81-point Formula 1 championship lead, but the Mercedes driver has no intention of switching to a conservative approach. Rather than calculating how many points he needs from each race, Antonelli wants to keep attacking and settle the title fight as early as possible.
The victory in Madrid further strengthened his position at the top of the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship, but Antonelli insists the mentality that has taken him this far will remain unchanged. He also openly acknowledged that McLaren and Lando Norris were faster in Spain, explained what he continues to learn from racing Max Verstappen and looked ahead to a significant Mercedes upgrade package scheduled for Sepang.
Kimi Antonelli refuses to calculate his way to the F1 title
With such a large championship advantage, questions about when Antonelli might mathematically secure his first Formula 1 world title have become inevitable. George Russell has already acknowledged the scale of the challenge posed by Antonelli’s 81-point lead, but the Italian does not want to start racing according to championship permutations.
“It’s not over until it’s over. Until we cross the finish line, the job isn’t done,” Antonelli said. “That’s why it’s important to keep giving everything at every race, because the sooner it’s over, the better.”
Antonelli admits that he has inevitably looked at some of the calculations, but he also understands that making championship management his primary objective could become counterproductive.
“It’s easier said than done, but I have great support around me, a great family and a great team. They help me keep my feet on the ground and focus race by race, on what I need to do in the present.”
Antonelli still sees McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari as threats
Despite his commanding advantage, Antonelli does not consider the championship decided. He sees several rivals capable of challenging Mercedes on any given weekend.
“The others are very fast. McLaren is in great form, especially with Lando, Red Bull with Max is always there and it looks like they’re bringing upgrades this weekend. And then Ferrari: with them you never know, but they have the pace as well.”
That caution is supported by what happened at the previous race. Antonelli won in Madrid, but he is the first to admit that the result did not entirely reflect the competitive order on track.
The Mercedes driver said the Spanish Grand Prix victory produced a different feeling compared with some of his more emphatic successes.
“A win is always a win and I was happy, but winning in that way doesn’t give you the same feeling. You can’t compare it to a victory like Monza or Miami. It’s still nice to win, but it doesn’t give you the same satisfaction.”
Antonelli admits McLaren was faster than Mercedes in Madrid
Antonelli was equally candid when assessing the performance of the W17 at Madring.
“In Madrid we weren’t the fastest. McLaren was clearly the fastest car and Lando was driving very well. Then, with a little bit of luck, we managed to win.”
The decisive Virtual Safety Car swung the race towards Mercedes after Norris had established himself at the front, a sequence that also reignited discussion around the impact of Formula 1’s VSC rules on the Spanish Grand Prix.
Antonelli also pointed to Zandvoort and Miami as examples of weekends when Mercedes did not necessarily have the outright fastest car. The W17’s greatest quality, in his view, has instead been its consistency across very different circuits.
“Our car has been very strong and very solid at every circuit. I don’t think we’ve always been the fastest, but we’ve always been up there.”
That consistency has been central to Mercedes’ 2026 campaign and has helped the W17 establish itself as one of the defining cars of the season.
Why Antonelli expects Mercedes to be strong in Baku
Baku could suit some of the Mercedes W17’s strongest characteristics. The tight street section contains a large number of slow corners, an area in which Antonelli believes the car has consistently performed well.
“It should be a good track for us because there are lots of slow corners and we’re usually strong in that type of corner,” Antonelli explained. “I think we can go well here, then of course we’ll see.”
The enormous Baku straight adds another variable, with slipstreaming expected to play a particularly important role in qualifying.
“I think the tow will make a massive difference, a bit like we saw at Monza. So even in qualifying it will be important to find the right gap.”
Energy deployment will also be critical on Azerbaijan’s long full-throttle sections, with teams having to balance electrical power carefully across the lap. The challenge is one reason Baku is expected to be an important technical test under the 2026 regulations, including for teams experimenting with different energy-deployment strategies on the Baku straights.
Antonelli explains what he is learning from Max Verstappen
Antonelli is also building valuable experience through direct battles with Verstappen, whose racecraft continues to impress the 20-year-old Mercedes driver.
One example came in Madrid. Antonelli attempted to pass Norris around the outside of the second chicane before abandoning the move and immediately handing the position back. Verstappen read the developing situation and took advantage of the space that appeared.
“Max has an incredible understanding of the race and of where to position the car,” Antonelli said. “In a very short amount of time, he can read a situation extremely well and find a gap to gain a position.”
There is another aspect of the four-time world champion that Antonelli has noticed during their battles.
“With Max there’s always an unknown, especially in free practice. You never really know what his true potential is, because when it matters he always manages to find something more. It’s fascinating to watch.”
Verstappen remains one of the most dangerous rivals Mercedes faces even during a season in which Red Bull has not consistently matched the W17, making those direct encounters particularly valuable for Antonelli as he continues developing his racecraft.
Mercedes prepares major W17 upgrade for Sepang
Once the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is complete, Mercedes’ technical focus will turn to Sepang, where the W17 is expected to receive its first major upgrade package since the developments introduced in Canada.
Malaysia should provide an especially revealing test because the Sepang International Circuit features one of the characteristics Antonelli believes has caused Mercedes the greatest difficulty this season: an abrasive, open-textured track surface that places significant demands on the tyres.
“Sepang is a very difficult track for the tyres,” Antonelli explained. “It has a very open asphalt surface, which is a characteristic our car struggles with a little.”
“On resurfaced circuits, where the asphalt is very closed, with little tyre drag and little overheating, we’ve always been strong. When the asphalt is more open and exposes us to tyre overheating, we struggle a little more.”
Malaysia upgrades will test a key Mercedes weakness
The Sepang upgrade will therefore provide Mercedes with an opportunity not only to add performance, but also to assess whether it has reduced one of the W17’s remaining sensitivities.
“It will be a great test with the upgrades,” Antonelli said. “We’ll have more downforce on the car and it will be interesting to see whether we can improve in that area as well.”
Before Malaysia, however, Antonelli has Baku to deal with. His advantage in the championship may be substantial, but he does not intend to turn it into a reason to race defensively.
Madrid delivered another victory, even if it did not provide the same satisfaction as Monza or Miami. In Azerbaijan, the objective remains exactly the same one Antonelli has followed since the beginning of the season: keep attacking, maximise the car and worry about the title mathematics only when the job is actually finished.
As Antonelli put it: “The sooner we wrap it up, the better.”
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