Kimi Antonelli Says Mercedes Must Improve to Defend His F1 Title in 2027

Kimi Antonelli’s first Formula 1 title has already turned into a target for his next season. The newly crowned champion says Mercedes must make further progress if he is to defend the championship in 2027, when he expects George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to challenge him.

Antonelli clinched the title with third place at the Mexico City Grand Prix, finishing 130 points ahead of Mercedes teammate Russell. The result made the Italian the youngest world champion in F1 history, but he isn’t treating that margin as a promise of another comfortable year. His read is that the standings could look very different if Russell responds strongly and rivals close the gap.

Mercedes’ next step is central to the title defence

In an interview with Corriere della Sera after his win in Mexico, Antonelli was asked whether 2027 might begin much as the current season had. He said that was possible, while making clear that Mercedes would need to keep improving.

“We need to take another step forward,” he said. He also named the drivers he expects to contend with: “I might find myself battling against Max and Lewis, and against George, who will certainly come back stronger. We’ll need to keep improving.”

That list spans his teammate and two former champions, with Hamilton now driving for Ferrari. Antonelli’s comments put the emphasis on Mercedes’ ability to develop its car as well as on his own performance. A 130-point advantage over Russell is a substantial result, but one season’s gap doesn’t tell the whole story about how competitive the next car will be or how closely the field will be matched.

For a defending champion, the team’s development work shapes the size of the challenge. A driver can carry momentum from a title-winning season, but rivals have the chance to adapt, and a teammate who knows the same car can provide a direct measure of progress. Antonelli’s expectation that Russell will return stronger suggests he isn’t assuming this year’s points gap will repeat itself.

Russell remains a direct measure of progress

Antonelli’s comments also signal a change in how he approaches the teammate contest. Russell was 130 points behind by the end of the title fight, yet Antonelli expects him to be more competitive next season. That’s a sensible benchmark: if the gap narrows, Mercedes will need to understand whether the cause is the car, the drivers’ relative form or both.

The source doesn’t identify a particular part of the car or a specific area of performance that needs attention. Antonelli’s request is broader: Mercedes has to improve. For buyers and followers tracking the team’s next season, the key question is therefore what progress the team can show once the 2027 car takes shape, and whether that progress is enough to keep its drivers ahead of Ferrari and Verstappen.

Hamilton adds another dimension to the contest. Antonelli specifically includes the Ferrari driver among the potential challengers, rather than framing the defence as a contest within Mercedes alone. Verstappen is also on his list, though no further detail about the rival teams’ prospects is given in the interview account. The shape of the fight will depend on how the cars compare, so Antonelli’s call for continued development is the clearest assessment he offers at this stage.

A first title as a starting point

Antonelli is 20 and sees his championship as the beginning of a longer effort. He said his achievement “has to be just the beginning,” aligning himself with the prospect of more title challenges rather than treating the first win as a peak in itself.

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has encouraged him to remain “relevant” over the long term, Antonelli said. The advice points to the demands of sustaining a career at the front: a single championship establishes what a driver can achieve, while repeated contention depends on continuing to perform as rivals and cars change. Antonelli said he hopes to look back years from now and feel that he left his mark.

That ambition will be tested quickly. Russell is expected to return stronger, and Hamilton and Verstappen are already on Antonelli’s list of possible opponents. The champion has made his priority clear: Mercedes must keep taking steps forward, while he turns a record-setting first title into a lasting presence at the front of Formula 1.