Kimi Antonelli has already set his sights on defending his F1 title next year, and has told Mercedes exactly what he needs for him to keep Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton at arm’s length during his attempt.

The young Italian wrote his name into the history books on Sunday afternoon in Mexico City as he became the youngest world champion in F1 history.

Antonelli ended up taking the title after stretching out a 130-point gap to Mercedes teammate George Russell with his P3 finish in the Mexico City Grand Prix, but expects the Briton to come out of the blocks flying next year.

His teammate isn’t the only one, either. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are also threats, according to Antonelli, with the Italian now demanding another ‘step forward’ from his team in order to defend from the former world champions.

Kimi Antonelli tells Mercedes he ‘needs’ another ‘step forward’ from them in order to defend his F1 title next year

It’s clear that Russell underestimated Antonelli heading into this year’s campaign, but the young Italian has refused to do the same to his teammate following his clinching of the title.

Speaking to Corriere della Sera in the aftermath of his career-defining moment in Mexico, Antonelli outlined his three main rivals next year after being asked whether 2027 will be similar to this year.

“Yes, we could start off just as we are now,” he replied, before highlighting how improvements will need to be made first: “We need to take another step forward.

“I might find myself battling against Max and Lewis, and against George, who will certainly come back stronger. We’ll need to keep improving.”

Valentino Rossi sees many more titles in Antonelli’s future, and the 20-year-old agrees, asserting that his feat this year “has to be just the beginning”.

Of course, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff will ensure he remains grounded ahead of his title-defending season, and Antonelli also went on to note the Austrian executive’s one piece of advice that stands out to him the most.

“One thing Toto told me: he’d like me to remain ‘relevant’ for a long time,” he continued. You can’t win a World Championship and then just disappear.

“I hope that in quite a few years’ time I’ll look back and see that I’ve left my mark. That spirit will give me the drive for the future.”