Grande Kimi! Antonelli crowned F1’s youngest world champion in style at iconic Mexico City GP

Antonelli, who has long been the champion-elect, clinched the title with an impressive third-place finish at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, November 1.

The Silver Arrows driver gained one position from P4 on the grid with a clean drive, finishing four seconds behind winner Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) and three seconds adrift of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.

In doing so, Antonelli (20 years and 68 days) took over the baton from Sebastian Vettel as the youngest winner of the F1 world title. Vettel was 23 years and 134 days old when he won his first of four F1 championships, with Red Bull Racing in 2010.

Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate George Russell had a disappointing afternoon, bottoming out on the race start and falling down the order after qualifying in second. Russell came home in P6, narrowly behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris.

But that didn’t stop Russell - along with a host of other drivers - from congratulating Antonelli post-race, as he celebrated his historic triumph in the iconic ‘stadium section’ of Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Antonelli didn’t need to finish any higher than P9 to secure the title in Mexico, however the Italian was clearly determined to get up on that podium to make the day all the more memorable.

Verstappen put on an extraordinary performance to hold off Hamilton and win the grand prix. But the Dutchman, a four-time champion himself, was more than happy to divert the attention onto Antonelli instead.

There were hugs aplenty with Antonelli’s beloved Mercedes team members, who have worked tirelessly back at the factories in Brackley and Brixworth, as well as around the world all year long.

Happy tears were also flowing in the Antonelli family, with Kimi’s parents and his younger sister among the Italian contingent drinking in the moment in parc ferme.

There was also an iconic moment as Verstappen and Hamilton, who have 11 titles between them, held Antonelli aloft.

Mercedes came into the 2026 season as the clear favourites for both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships and they began the campaign in dominant fashion.

But that authority faded after the first six races, with Ferrari’s Hamilton winning in Barcelona-Catalunya to kickstart a run of only two Mercedes wins in the next half-a-dozen grands prix.

Antonelli had already done enough to establish a huge advantage by then, though, winning five consecutively in China, Japan, Miami, Canada and Monaco to blow teammate Russell out of the water.

Victories in Belgium (Spa), Italy (Monza), Spain (Madrid) and the United States (Austin) helped Antonelli extend his lead further, with nearest challengers Russell, Hamilton and now Verstappen well out of reach.

This world crown is not only a significant moment for Antonelli personally, but also for the team as a whole. Remarkably, following on from utter dominance in the 2010s, this is Mercedes’ first championship of any kind in five years.

Antonelli is the first Mercedes driver to win the drivers’ title since Hamilton in 2020. The last time the Silver Arrows won the constructors, meanwhile, was in 2021 – the year that Verstappen pipped Hamilton to the post in Abu Dhabi.

But the job certainly isn’t done yet, with Mercedes yet to grab the constructors’ title. The Silver Arrows currently hold a 126-point lead over Ferrari, with 172 points left on the table.

Mercedes can clinch the title in Interlagos, Brazil this Sunday (November 8) if they outscore Ferrari by three points or more.