Antonelli feeling 'tense' amid effort to seal F1 title

Kimi Antonelli needs top-nine finish to become world champion at Mexico City Grand Prix; he only qualified fifth and was off the pace compared to Mercedes team-mate George Russell; watch Sundays race at 8pm (build-up from 6.30pm), live on Sky Sports F1

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Kimi Antonelli has admitted to feeling "more tense than usual" ahead of attempting to seal the Formula 1 world championship at Sunday's Mexico City Grand Prix.

The 20-year-old only needs to finish ninth in the race to become the sport's youngest world champion.

Antonelli qualified fifth on Saturday but will start from fourth on the grid due to a penalty for Max Verstappen.

Speaking after the session, the Italian revealed that he is not feeling his best as he continues to recover from an illness that caused him to miss his media duties on Thursday.

He told Sky Sports F1: "It has not been the easiest weekend to be fair.

"Definitely still not feeling 100 per cent. There is talk of what could happen [with the championship] and definitely I'm a bit more tense than usual.

Source: Sky Sports