Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli became Formula One’s youngest world champion on Sunday, sealing the 2026 title with third place at the Mexico City Grand Prix at the age of 20.
Antonelli, who turned 20 in August, finished behind race winner Max Verstappen of Red Bull and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The result gave him an unassailable lead in the drivers’ championship with four rounds still to run, in only his second season in the sport.
The Italian needed only a ninth-place finish to clinch the title, having arrived in Mexico 123 points clear of his Mercedes team-mate George Russell and 124 ahead of Hamilton. He crossed the line in tears, telling his team over the radio: “We did it, we did it.”
Antonelli’s rise has been startlingly fast. He joined Mercedes’ junior programme as an 11-year-old karter, stepped up to the senior team in 2025 after Hamilton left for Ferrari, and endured a difficult debut season before dominating this year. He has won nine of the 19 races so far, including five in a row from China to Monaco, and victories at Monaco, Monza and Spa.
Sunday’s race was far from straightforward. The grand prix was red-flagged and restarted after crashes, with two safety cars and a 33-minute stoppage with 25 of the 71 laps remaining. Hamilton started from pole position and finished second, while Russell, who began on the front row, ended sixth and slipped to fourth in the standings, behind Verstappen and Hamilton.
Antonelli is the first Italian to win the drivers’ title since Alberto Ascari in 1953, ending a 73-year wait for his home country. He also breaks the youngest-champion record held by Sebastian Vettel, who was 23 when he won his first title in 2010. Fans in Italy celebrated on Monday, with several hundred watching a screening at the Checco Costa Museum at the Imola circuit.
Outgoing champion Lando Norris said Antonelli deserved far more credit for what he called an “insane job” this season, noting that the youngster had beaten a far more experienced team-mate and taken the fight to Hamilton. Antonelli himself has said he will not adopt the champion’s number one next season, choosing instead to keep his number 12 out of superstition and humility — the first driver to win a title with that number since Ayrton Senna in 1988.
The championship now moves to Brazil, where Antonelli has said he will wear a special tribute helmet at next weekend’s Sao Paulo race.
Sources: Reuters, “Antonelli becomes youngest F1 champion at 20 years old”, 1 November 2026, https://www.reuters.com/sports/formula1/antonelli-becomes-youngest-f1-champion-20-years-old-2026-11-01/ ; Reuters, “Italy hails youthful F1 champion Antonelli”, 2 November 2026, https://www.reuters.com/sports/formula1/italy-hails-youthful-f1-champion-antonelli-2026-11-02/ ; Reuters, “Superstitious Antonelli to shun F1 champion’s number one next year”, 2 November 2026, https://www.reuters.com/sports/formula1/superstitious-antonelli-shun-f1-champions-number-one-next-year-2026-11-02/
