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Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli becomes youngest F1 champion at age 20

Antonelli sealed the title with a third-place finish and 16 podiums this season, 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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Fiorello dedicated the opening of the episode of "La Pennicanza" today, November 2, to Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who yesterday graduated from Formula 1 World Championship in Mexico. "A 20 years on the roof of the world, it's his day!," he debuted the conductor, proudly claiming a record all his own. And again: "Perhaps [...] The article Fiorello: "Kimi Antonelli at 20 years on the roof of the world. We were the first to interview him, before Fazio …

·Rome, Italy
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Far Left

At the age of 20, the Italian driver secures the world championship in the Mexico Grand Prix and sets a new historic brand.

·Caracas, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
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Left

Time is a elusive concept and does not run the same for everyone. At the age of 20, Kimi Antonelli devoted himself to the Mexico City Grand Prix and became the youngest champion in the history of Formula 1. He only needed to finish in the first nine to achieve it, but this Italian boy did not agree to celebrate his title without getting on the podium: he threw himself with his Mercedes to snatch the third place. The second place was for Lewis Ha…

·Mexico
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RACER broke the news on Friday, October 30, 2026.
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