Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli becomes youngest F1 champion at age 20
Antonelli secured the title with 15 points and four races left, ending Sebastian Vettel’s record and giving Italy its first champion since 1953.
- 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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The Italian driver has proclaimed himself champion with 20 years
Kimi Antonelli Conquers The World
This year, Kimi Antonelli got lucky. Antonelli drives the fastest car on the grid. He is young—very recently a teenager, even; he turned 20 in August—and that means, when faced with an entirely new and controversial ruleset, he didn't have years of prior programming to overcome. And despite his youth, Antonelli has a good sense of narrative satisfaction. This Sunday, during the Mexican Grand Prix, he made sure to snag a podium place in the race …
Kimi Antonelli youngest F1 champion
Kimi Antonelli became Formula One’s youngest world champion and Italy’s first since 1953 when he finished third behind multiple champions Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in Sunday’s thrilling and crash-hit Mexico City Grand Prix. The 20-year-old Italian drove his Mercedes to a 16th podium finish o
At the age of 20, the Italian driver secures the world championship in the Mexico Grand Prix and sets a new historic brand.
Italian Kimi Antonelli won the Formula One world championship with four races to go in Mexico on Sunday, breaking Sebastian Vettel's age-old record. This was not expected even by Mercedes, which had been confident in his talent from the start after an uncertain first season.
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