Verstappen calls illness 'normal' as two drivers miss Mexico City media day

Max VerstappenMax VerstappenRed Bull · Netherlands · Driver4th POS236 PTS said illness among drivers and team members is normal at this stage of the Formula 1Formula 1 World ChampionshipInternational season, after two drivers missed Thursday's media day in Mexico City. The four-time champion's remarks came as the latest race weekend opened with two places empty at the scheduled press sessions.

2026

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POS

4th

PTS

236

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2

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10

Season 2026

Antonelli excused with a viral illness

Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader, was excused from his media duties while he recovers from a viral illness. Mercedes expect the Italian to return to the track for Friday practice. Missing a media day does not in itself rule a driver out of the weekend's sessions.

The second driver was not identified, and no explanation has been given for that absence. It is not yet known whether that driver will be in the car when practice begins. Media day falls before the first session of a grand prix weekend, so any decision on participation comes later.

Verstappen says illness is normal at this point

Jen Ross · CC BY 2.0

Verstappen's response was short: he said it was normal for drivers and team members to fall ill at this stage of the year. The description treats the two absences as an ordinary cost of the schedule rather than an emergency. It also moves the focus away from the individuals and towards the conditions that produce the pattern.

The closing stretch of a Formula 1 season is a compressed run of long-haul travel, sponsor commitments and race weekends, with short gaps in between for recovery. Whether that load caused either illness has not been established, and Verstappen's remark was about how common such absences are, not about any diagnosis.

What Friday practice will show

Liauzh · CC BY 4.0

Antonelli's place at the top of the standings makes any lost track time more expensive than it would be for a driver further back, because practice is the main opportunity to set a car up for the weekend. A media-day absence carries no such cost on its own. Mercedes' expectation that he returns for Friday practice points to his preparation being unaffected, provided he is fit to run, although the team has not said whether his programme will be altered.

For the second driver there is no timeline. Teams usually give an update on a driver's availability before the first session, so the picture should sharpen once cars are on track on Friday.

The broader question of how the calendar's demands are managed will not be settled by one Thursday in Mexico City. Verstappen's verdict suggests the drivers regard the pattern as routine; the two empty seats show that routine still costs a day of work.