Kimi Antonelli becomes youngest F1 world champion at 20

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli became Formula One’s youngest world champion on Sunday, finishing third in a red-flagged Mexico City Grand Prix won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, Dawn and The Express Tribune reported.

He was 20 years and 68 days old. The previous youngest champion, Sebastian Vettel, was just over 23 when he won his first title in 2010. Antonelli is also the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

“We did it, thank you so much,” a tearful Antonelli said on the team radio. His race engineer Peter Bonnington, a regular target of the young driver’s practical jokes, replied: “Get in there, Kimi. Champion of the world.”

Title with four races to go

Antonelli’s overall lead is now an unassailable 119 points with four races still to run. After the race Verstappen is second in the standings, Lewis Hamilton third and Antonelli’s teammate George Russell fourth, 130 points behind.

“I’m speechless. I’m trying to process what has just happened,” Antonelli told the crowd. “It’s been an incredible season, and to share this podium with Max and Lewis is truly incredible.”

A chaotic race

The race was stopped for 33 minutes, with 25 of 71 laps left, and had two safety cars and several crashes. Hamilton started on pole and finished second, after clashing with Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, who was fourth. McLaren’s Lando Norris, the outgoing champion, was fifth, and Russell, who needed to win to stay in contention, was sixth. Oscar Piastri was seventh.

How he got here

• Rookie year: thrown into F1 in 2025 at 18, he took a second place in Sao Paulo and two other podiums, finishing seventh in the championship.
• 2026: he was second to Russell in the Australia opener, then won the next five races. Before Mexico he had won nine of 18 races and made six other podiums.
• Monza: he started 19th and won his home grand prix, passing Russell, who started on pole.
• Mentor: he joined the Mercedes junior programme at 11, with Hamilton as a mentor. Hamilton said: “He’s incredibly impressive and deserves to be world champion.”

Antonelli started karting at seven, though his father Marco, a former driver and team principal, opposed a racing career. “He didn’t want me to become a driver because motorsports can be very cruel at times,” Antonelli said earlier.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said Antonelli needed “a season in F1 to grow and learn”, adding that it was “a bit of a surprise that he performed at such a high level”.

Background

Before Mexico, Antonelli was in position to clinch the title on Sunday, after Verstappen had aimed to delay the title party at the US Grand Prix in Austin.

Why it matters

The title gives Mercedes another champion after a season in which the team has dominated, and ends a long wait for Italy. It also makes Hamilton’s record of seven world titles a target for a driver who is only 20. Antonelli has said he wants “some more battles in the future”.

What to watch: whether he keeps winning in the last four races, and how Russell, who started the year as the pre-season favourite, responds to losing the title to his own teammate.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn and The Express Tribune.