Kimi Antonelli arrives in Mexico City with his first chance to clinch the 2026 title: 123 points ahead of George Russell, with 125 still on offer. In Thursday’s FIA press conference, Russell explained a season he described as unlike any other in his career, Charles Leclerc played down Ferrari’s favourite tag, and Sergio Pérez celebrated a new Cadillac contract on the eve of his 300th Grand Prix.

Six drivers faced the media at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez: Russell, Oliver Bearman and Pierre Gasly first, then Leclerc, Alex Albon and Pérez. Altitude, the new power units and Fernando Alonso’s criticism of the back of the grid were the common threads. All quotes below come from the official transcript.

Antonelli’s first match point

After Mexico City, four rounds (100 points) remain. Antonelli is champion on Sunday if he leaves Mexico more than 100 points clear of everyone. Only two results stop that: a Russell win with Antonelli ninth or lower, or a Hamilton win with Antonelli tenth or lower. A second place for Russell is not enough to keep the fight alive. Asked about his teammate, Russell was direct: “The truth is he’s been at a higher level than me this year.”

Russell: “I’ve never had it personally before”

Russell finished eighth in Austin after a five-second penalty, a few races after winning from pole in Baku. He called the performance swings new for him: “I’ve never had a season like this in my career where the performance has fluctuated so much.” He gave two reasons. The 2026 power units punish his habit of going to the throttle early, which spends more energy, and the high rear tyre pressures make it harder to push on corner exits. He also said Mercedes’ latest upgrade package “performed in a very narrow window”, and added that this season “is absolutely not going to define my career”.

What to expect: altitude and turbo lag

This is the first time the 2026 power units race at Mexico City’s altitude, and nobody on the panel claimed to know the outcome. Russell expects turbo lag to be “a big factor” and named Ferrari, with “a smaller turbo than most”, as likely to benefit. Bearman did not know whether the thin air would help or hurt Haas, but said the car is “quite competitive in low speed”. Pérez said the cars lose “around 100 points” of downforce here, which makes the lap slow and the straights long. Gasly, on pole at the last circuit with a really long straight, said Mexico shares traits with Monza but has more low-speed corners. Bearman, fourth here in 2025, added that altitude makes it harder to follow another car, which helped him keep that place.

Ferrari: fast, but sensitive

Leclerc rejected the favourite tag: “I think Mercedes remain the favourites wherever we go.” He explained Ferrari’s qualifying problem in Austin, where he started fourth: the car is “very sensitive” outside its working window, especially when track temperature drops in Q3, and he was not sure a short-term fix exists. Second place in the championship is open: Russell, Hamilton, Verstappen and Leclerc are separated by nine points. Leclerc said he is “not obsessed with finishing P2”.

The Alonso row

Alonso had criticised the standard of driving in the lower third of the grid after his race-long fight with Albon in Austin, and he stood by those remarks on Thursday. Albon said he “hugely” respects Alonso but disagrees, called their incident “quite 50-50”, and said “the grid’s the strongest it’s been for a while”. Gasly, Bearman, Pérez and Leclerc also described the level of the grid as very high.

Pérez at 300, and the midfield stakes

Pérez, who missed the 2025 season, starts his 300th Grand Prix at home with a contract for three more years at Cadillac, the only team still without points. He said this is where he wants “to end my career on a high”. Colton Herta drives a Cadillac in first practice again. Further down the order, Bearman said the prize money between seventh and eighth in the constructors’ standings will shape Haas’s future (Haas 30 points, Audi 23), and Gasly called Alpine’s 33-point gap to Racing Bulls for fifth “a big gap”.

Sources

Quotes: FIA Thursday press conference transcript of the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, 29 October 2026, as published by GrandPrix.com.

Standings and title arithmetic: f1live drivers’ and constructors’ championship after the United States Grand Prix (session 11396). Schedule: f1live sessions of the Mexico City Grand Prix.