Toto Wolff believes Kimi Antonelli's commanding performance in the United States Grand Prix was his best yet, as he declared the Italian the new world champion.
Antonelli was faultless in Austin, as he dominated the race on a one-stop strategy to ease to his ninth grand prix win of the season, nearly a minute clear of team-mate George Russell, who laboured to eighth.
The result, coupled with Lewis Hamilton taking fourth, means Antonelli must wait until Mexico to be crowned as the youngest-ever F1 champion, as he holds a 123-point lead over Russell and a 124-point buffer over Hamilton with just 125 left on the board.
It means that if Russell or Hamilton do not win in Mexico, Antonelli wins the title by default, and if either of the Britons win, Antonelli would simply require a ninth place or a 10th place, respectively, to shatter Sebastian Vettel's record from 2010 by over three years.
Reflecting on the dominant performance by the 20-year-old, Wolff felt that Antonelli had delivered a huge statement victory, and that a "tequila party" for his coronation in Mexico City was in the works.
"The main headline is that, for me, it was the best race [Antonelli] has delivered so far, in getting off the start with the inferior tyre and then controlling it at all times," Wolff told media, including RacingNews365.
"The race of a champion who isn't the champion yet, but he was exceptional, and he outperformed the car.
"Maybe it is a bit harsh to say, but I think his driving style just glues with the car, and we saw that in qualifying, where on his last lap, he could have been another tenth, or a half-a-tenth up.
"It is extremely satisfying to see what he's been able to deliver, and how he is working with the team, with Bono and yielding the results, but it wasn't an easy road.
"I'm happy to say that it is 99.9% done, but he still needs to finish the race in Mexico, so it is either going to be a tequila party, or if it is not a tequila party, then it is going to be in Sao Paulo the weekend afterwards."
[Article continues below].
Wolff explains Antonelli long road
Wolff then offered some insight into the "long road" that has seen Mercedes prepare Antonelli from karting to the cusp of the crown, including the millions spent on his career thus far.
"I wasn't the one responsible for [finding Antonelli]; it was teamwork. It was our junior team run by Gwen [Lagrue] that discovered him when he was 11," Wolff began.
"Credit to that group that have developed him over many years.
"I read an interview with Pierre Ferrari last week, where he said: "What a talent, he reminds me of Niki Lauda.'
"People don't get that this is the work of nine years, the development and hardship of nine years, the integration into the team.
"Working with the engineers and the 10 or more million spent in the development of his career, of his ability, of his character, together with his parents, and it is not that it has just landed like this.
"Many people said last year, after nine races without points, that he shouldn't be at Mercedes, and people in other teams said that he shouldn't be in Formula 1, like with the tears in parc ferme at Spa."
Most read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..
Join the conversation!