AUSTIN — Kimi Antonelli arrives at the United States Grand Prix on the brink of history, 102 points clear of Mercedes team-mate George Russell and with the chance to become Formula 1's youngest champion and the first Italian to win the title since Alberto Ascari in 1953, yet the 20-year-old has revealed a resolutely down-to-earth routine away from the track.
Speaking during the launch event for Mercedes' United States Grand Prix livery in Austin, Texas, Antonelli explained his at-home routine includes cleaning his Mercedes-AMG GT63 road car entirely by hand. "I like to clean my car," Antonelli said. "I never do automatic, you know, with the machine. I always like to wash by hand, myself. Because I love cars, I really like to take care of my car and everything. I like to see it clean, so it’s an activity I love to do. It’s a routine."
The United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas kicks off the penultimate triple-header of the 2026 season and Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff said the weekend gives the Brackley outfit an opportunity to respond after two difficult weekends in Malaysia and Singapore. "Malaysia and Singapore were difficult weekends for us and we have worked hard to understand where we fell short," Wolff said. "Austin gives us an opportunity to respond. We will run our latest update package on both cars as we continue to develop the car." The comments follow Mercedes praised pitcrew resilience after Singapore despite those recent setbacks.
Wolff added the field is incredibly close and Mercedes must keep moving forward if they want to fight consistently at the front in the closing stages of the season. "There is plenty at stake, but we won’t get ahead of ourselves. The priority is the weekend in front of us: execute well, maximise our performance and take each race as it comes," he said, noting Austin will also be important off track with commercial activities across the city centred on the AMG and MANUFAKTUR takeover to showcase the performance, craftsmanship and individuality of the wider Mercedes family before delivering where it matters most: on track.