Leader Antonelli has viral illness ahead of Mexico City Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli has a viral illness ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix and will miss Thursday media obligations, Mercedes said. The 20-year-old Italian driver is scheduled to meet the media Thursday afternoon at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, but the team said he is “feeling under the weather” while recovering. As a precaution, the FIA has excused him from mandatory media duties so he can rest for the weekend, and Mercedes expects him back on Friday. Antonelli could clinch the world title by finishing ninth on Sunday. If he wins, he would become the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.