Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli becomes youngest F1 champion at age 20
The Mercedes driver sealed the title with a third-place finish and 15 points, breaking Sebastian Vettel’s record by more than three years.
- On Sunday, November 1, Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli clinched the 2026 Formula One Drivers' Championship by finishing third at the Mexico City Grand Prix, becoming the sport's youngest-ever world champion at 20.
- Antonelli secured nine victories throughout the 2026 season, consistently outperforming Mercedes teammate George Russell to maintain an unassailable lead that never wavered during the campaign.
- A red flag halted the race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on lap 45 after Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas suffered a suspension failure and crashed; Red Bull's Max Verstappen won ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.
- Antonelli's victory ended Italy's 73-year wait for a world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953, while the 20-year-old shattered Sebastian Vettel's age record of 23 set in 2010.
- Former team principal Otmar Szafnauer attributed Antonelli's success to his "mental preparedness" and "raw talent," validating Mercedes' decision to fast-track the teenager into a top seat.
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Kimi Antonelli became the youngest world champion in Formula One history on Sunday at the end of Mexico's Grand Prix. A recognition of merit for the 20-year-old Italian driver, discovered from an early Mercedes age, supported by Lewis Hamilton and destined to dominate, perhaps, circuits for many years.
The Italian who won the F1 title at dawn is a 10 million euro investment from Mercedes, the successor to Lewis Hamilton and a personal bet of Toto Wolff who wanted to produce... his own Max Verstappen.
Kimi Antonelli made Formula 1 history by winning this year's championship at the age of 20, securing the title in yesterday's race in Mexico. The Mercedes prodigy, who managed to win the title in his second season in the championship, made history with his achievement, becoming the youngest Formula 1 champion. The Bologna kid who joined the Mercedes program at the age of 11 and was selected by Toto Wolff to succeed Lewis Hamilton at the team at …
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won the 19th round of the Formula 1 World Championship season in Mexico, while 20-year-old Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), who finished third, became the youngest world champion ever.
The only 20-year-old Mercedes driver, Kimi Antonelli, became the youngest champion in Formula 1 history on Sunday after finishing Mexico's Grand Prix behind Verstappen and Hamilton.
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