MAIDEN TITLE: ‘We did it’ — Italy’s Kimi Antonelli makes history as youngest F1 champion

When Formula 1 (F1) team Mercedes signed 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli for the 2025 season, critics questioned the decision. 

Antonelli had big shoes to fill, replacing seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, with skeptics asserting he was being handed too much too young and should not be in F1. 

The cacophony of those critics might have been bolstered during the early stages of Antonelli’s career when he crashed out during his practice debut at Monza in 2024 and, in his first F1 season, failed to finish four races in 2025 (two due to engine failure) as he made mistakes and tested the limits. 

But on Sunday, 1 November 2026, in only his second season of F1, the Italian silenced those critics by becoming the sport’s youngest world champion at 20 years and 68 days old.

Antonelli claimed the title when he finished third for Mercedes in a chaotic, red-flagged and restarted Mexico City Grand Prix, won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. 

The first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953 sobbed with joy over the team radio as he took the chequered flag with his overall lead now an unassailable 119 points. 

“Get in there, Kimi. Champion of the world,” said his race engineer Peter Bonnington. 

“We did it, thank you so much,” said Antonelli, whose parents and sister were there to embrace him when he stepped out of the car.  

The previous youngest champion was Germany’s Sebastian Vettel, who took the first of his four with Red Bull at 23 years and 134 days in 2010. 

“I’m speechless. I’m trying to process what has just happened,” said Antonelli in a post-race interview. “It’s ⁠been an incredible season, and to share this podium with Max and Lewis is truly incredible.

“This weekend I did feel a bit more tense, but I’m just so happy that we got it done, and now we can enjoy the rest of the season,” he added. 

From karting to the world stage

Perhaps they were not expecting it so soon, but those closely immersed in motorsport had seen Antonelli’s world champion potential long before his F1 debut.

His father, Marco Antonelli, was a professional racer who contested four seasons of the Italian Superturismo Championship between 1992 and 1996, as well as two rounds of the 2002 European Touring Car Championship. 

Thus, Antonelli grew up surrounded by the smell of exhausts and the roaring of engines and by the age of 11 was already dominating the karting world. Mercedes took notice, eventually bringing him into its development programme.

“This is nine years of development,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after Sunday’s race. “From when he was 11, the mentoring, the support, the psychological development, the technical ability and the many, many difficulties… When Lewis told me, ‘I’m out of here’, it was clear that [Antonelli] was the successor.” 

Despite the family’s motorsport background, a career in racing was not guaranteed for Antonelli before Mercedes came along. 

“My dad didn’t want me to race because, unfortunately, when he was racing himself, he had to face this reality: he didn’t have any financial support, and he couldn’t keep going with his racing career ... he didn’t want me to face the same kind of disappointments he had faced back then,” said Antonelli previously.

However, this season Antonelli has shown an ability to handle the pressure, the fame and the disappointments of the sport with a maturity beyond his years. The youngster has stood out for his passion for racing and ability to adapt to the new rules and regulations.

Drama in Mexico 

Antonelli went into the Mexico City Grand Prix knowing that he only needed to finish ninth to secure the championship. He started fourth on the grid, behind pole-sitter Hamilton, George Russell and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton made a strong start, but as Russell fell back Leclerc challenged Hamilton through the opening corners.

The pair went wheel to wheel before Leclerc ran across the grass and emerged ahead. Hamilton also went off track, allowing Verstappen to slot himself in between the two Ferraris.

Antonelli ran a steady fourth, staying out of trouble as the chaos unfolded.

On lap 44 of 71, Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac crashed when its front suspension failed under braking, sending him into the barriers, initially bringing out the safety car and subsequently a 35-minute red flag. 

At the restart, Leclerc locked his left front wheel heavily as Verstappen and Hamilton battled for the lead in front of him, and Antonelli passed him at the start of the next lap.  

With 12 laps to go another safety car was deployed after a collision between McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Arvid Lindblad of Racing Bulls, demoting Piastri to 15th after being handed a 10-second penalty.

Verstappen held his nerve at the restart and took the chequered flag to claim victory, less than a second ahead of Hamilton.

With this victory, the Red Bull driver usurps Hamilton and Russell to take second place in the driver standings, making the tail end of the season with plenty still to race for.

Following Piastri’s penalty, Franco Colapinto initially moved to seventh and his Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly to ninth, but both later lost their points when they were handed 10-second penalties for ‌going too fast ⁠under yellow flags. 

Those post-race penalties subsequently moved Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson up to seventh, Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto to eighth, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar to ninth, and allowed Ryo Hirakawa to score a point in 10th on his Haas debut.

The next race takes place on 8 November in Brazil where Mercedes will be looking to claim their first Constructors’ title since 2021. DM