Kimi Antonelli and Valtteri Bottas missed Thursday’s media activities at the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix on October 29, local time, because they were unwell. Both teams’ announcements focused on rest and recovery; neither announced a withdrawal from the Grand Prix. Missing media duties and being unable to drive later in the weekend are separate matters.
Cadillac confirmed that Bottas was unable to attend that day’s media activities and would take a day off to aid his recovery. The team described the decision as precautionary and said it did not, at the time of the statement, affect his participation in the remainder of the weekend. It would keep monitoring his condition and provide updates if needed.
Mercedes said Antonelli was recovering from a viral illness and still felt unwell. As a precaution, the FIA had excused him from his mandatory media commitments so he could rest before the race weekend. Mercedes expected him to return on Friday, October 30, local time.
The announcements did not give identical medical information: Mercedes identified a viral illness, whereas Cadillac said only that Bottas was unwell, without specifying the cause. There is therefore no basis to describe the two drivers as having the same illness, or to treat an expected return as confirmation that a driver has already recovered and resumed participation.
Herta’s FP1 outing was planned before the health update
Bottas’s condition also needs to be distinguished from Cadillac’s FP1 driver plan. In its Mexico preview published on October 27, the team had already announced that Colton Herta would drive Bottas’s car in first practice, his fifth FP1 appearance of the season.
That preview preceded the October 29 health statement. Herta’s place in FP1 was consequently not a last-minute substitution announced because Bottas had fallen ill, and it does not establish that Bottas would miss the whole weekend. The practice plan and the health update were separate announcements issued at different times for different purposes.
At the time of those statements, both teams were concentrating on recovery and continued monitoring. The next points to establish are whether Antonelli returns as Mercedes expected and whether Cadillac updates Bottas’s participation status. Until a further official update or an actual appearance confirms more, Thursday’s media absence should not be interpreted as a race withdrawal.
