All Kimi Antonelli needed to do at the Mexico City Grand Prix was finish ninth. Instead, the new world champion chose to clinch the title with a late-braking lunge on Charles Leclerc into Turn 1, and not everyone at Mercedes was comfortable watching it.

Speaking on the Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show, Antonelli revealed that some members of the team questioned why he had taken the risk, with the championship already within touching distance.

"Couldn't you have just stayed behind?"

Host Anthony Davidson said the move had left the team "holding their breath", describing it as "necessary but not necessary at the same time".

"Some of them, they were like, 'Couldn't you have just stayed behind?'" Antonelli laughed. "But of course, I wanted to finish on the podium. I wanted to clinch the title with a good race. I didn't want to just clinch it by doing the normal job, which was OK, finish ninth."

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 via Getty Images

Antonelli believes he had more than a podium in him before the race was stopped. Running an offset strategy in the first stint, he said he was set up for a strong second half of the race on much fresher tyres.

"I really believe that after the pitstop we could have even fought for maybe a win, because the pace was very strong and the car was feeling great," he said.

The red flag reset the field, leaving him fourth for the restart with everyone on fresh tyres. Antonelli said he saw it as a chance, and took third place from Leclerc to finish behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

The risk did not end there, either. Mercedes has since revealed that Antonelli was close to retiring with an oil leak in the closing laps.

Lessons from a difficult rookie year

That willingness to attack, even with the title on the line, is a far cry from the driver who struggled through spells of his rookie season in 2025.

"I'm not going to lie, I've been questioning myself over and over again last season during that stretch," Antonelli admitted on the same show.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

He said being put straight into a Mercedes made it harder, because he was "much more under the spotlight", but credited those difficult moments, including a bad home race at Monza last year, with speeding up his development.

"Looking back, I'm very glad that I went through all that difficult moments, because I think they shaped me. They made me grow a lot faster. They made me mature a lot faster," the 20-year-old said.

A year on, he took the title with four races to spare, beating team-mate George Russell, and he did not want to do it by playing safe.