Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli becomes youngest F1 champion at age 20
Antonelli sealed the title with 15 points and became Formula 1’s youngest champion, ending Italy’s 73-year wait for another world champion.
- 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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With 20 years and 68 days he won his first title and the first for his country, Italy, in more than 70 years. Antonelli finished third in the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, behind the Dutchman Max Verstappen and the British Lewis Hamilton. The two former champions raised him in arms to celebrate. "I will definitely frame the photo and put it in my house because it is an incredible moment," he said at the press conference after his consecration. "…
Verstappen was confirmed as the top winner in Mexico with six wins and climbed to the second place in the World Championship of Drivers with 261 units.
Max Verstappen won the Mexico Grand Prix for the sixth time.
JONATHAN MCEVOY IN MEXICO CITY: Sobs and tears and you could boldly believe it. 'Champion of the World,' Kimi Antonelli was told over the Mercedes radio.
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