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Kimi Antonelli becomes Formula One’s youngest world champion at 20 after securing the title with a third-place finish at the Mexico City Grand Prix

Italian driver Kimi Antonelli has become the youngest world champion in Formula One history after securing the title with a third-place finish at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, November 1, 2026.

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The 20-year-old Mercedes driver also ended Italy’s 73-year wait for a Formula One world champion, becoming the country’s first title winner since Alberto Ascari triumphed with Ferrari in 1953.

Antonelli finished behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in a dramatic race marked by multiple incidents, two safety cars and a red-flag interruption.

His podium finish was his 16th of the season, capping a remarkable campaign in which he combined aggressive driving with consistency to secure the championship.

Overcome with emotion, Antonelli thanked his team after crossing the finish line.

“Thank you so much, we did it,” he said over the team radio during his slow-down lap.

His race engineer, Peter Bonnington, responded by describing the championship journey as a pleasure and telling the young driver that it was only the first chapter.

Antonelli later thanked his family and Mercedes, saying he was struggling to process the achievement.

“We did it. I am so grateful for this moment, and it is one I will live forever. I’m speechless, just trying to process what has happened,” he said.

He also described the season as incredible and said sharing the podium with Verstappen and Hamilton made the occasion even more special.

At 20 years and 68 days, Antonelli surpassed the previous record held by four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel by more than three years.

The Italian’s achievement followed another historic milestone earlier in the year, when he became Formula One’s youngest pole-sitter at the age of 19 in March.

Verstappen won the Mexico City race by 0.799 seconds ahead of Hamilton, while Antonelli finished 3.207 seconds behind the Dutchman.

The victory was Verstappen’s sixth in Mexico, extending his record at the circuit.

It was also his third win of the season and the 74th of his Formula One career.

The race unfolded in two parts after Valtteri Bottas suffered a heavy crash in his Cadillac, prompting a red flag and a 45-minute suspension.

Verstappen made an aggressive start from fifth on the grid, moving into second place on the opening lap.

Hamilton initially held the lead from pole position but came under pressure from Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc and the charging Red Bull driver.

Leclerc briefly took the lead after running off the track at Turn Four, while Hamilton complained over team radio that he had been pushed out by his own team-mate.

The stewards later handed Leclerc a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage and Mercedes driver George Russell a 10-second penalty for causing a collision.

The race became increasingly tense for Ferrari as strategy and penalties shaped the battle at the front.

Verstappen gained a position during the pit-stop sequence, while Antonelli briefly dropped to fourth after making his stop on lap 43.

Following Bottas’s crash and the subsequent restart, Antonelli moved past Leclerc to regain third place and held on despite pressure from Hamilton.

Leclerc eventually finished fourth, ahead of outgoing world champion Lando Norris in fifth. Russell came sixth, followed by Oscar Piastri, Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly.

Verstappen praised his opening-lap performance, saying it had shaped his race, while acknowledging that he had to work hard to keep Hamilton behind in the closing stages.

Hamilton, meanwhile, expressed frustration with Ferrari’s performance and the opening-lap incident involving Leclerc, saying the team needed serious discussions behind the scenes.

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For Antonelli, however, the result marked a historic breakthrough. Standing on the podium alongside Verstappen and Hamilton, drivers who have won 11 world titles between them, the young Italian celebrated a championship that places him among Formula One’s record-setting champions.

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