Kimi Antonelli is Formula 1 world champion. The Mercedes driver sealed the 2026 title at the Mexico City Grand Prix on 1 November by finishing third, while Max Verstappen won a chaotic race ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
A record breaking title at 20 years and 68 days
Antonelli arrived at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez needing only a ninth place to be certain of the crown. He drove a composed and largely trouble free race over 71 laps, ran fourth for much of the distance and finished third, 3.3 seconds behind Hamilton. The 15 points left him more than 120 points clear with four rounds still to run.
At 20 years and 68 days he becomes the youngest world champion in F1 history, beating Sebastian Vettel’s previous mark by about three years. He is the 36th different drivers’ champion, the fourth to win the title with Mercedes and the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953, ending a wait of 73 years. Only Giuseppe Farina in 1950 and Ascari in 1952 and 1953 had won the title for Italy before him.
How Antonelli got here
The title rests on a strong return to form for Mercedes under the new 2026 regulations and on a more consistent Antonelli in his second F1 season. He has taken nine Grand Prix wins in the W17, including a comeback win at Monza from 19th on the grid, and he won the previous round in Austin to reach Mexico on the brink of the title.
Team principal Toto Wolff described the turnaround from a difficult 2025, which included tears in Belgium, as extremely satisfying, and said he could not explain what had changed over the winter.
Emotion at the flag
Antonelli was in tears as he crossed the line and thanked his team over the radio, where race engineer Peter Bonnington told him this was only the first chapter. Out of the car he embraced his parents and sister before being mobbed by his mechanics and hugged by Wolff. He said he was speechless, grateful to Mercedes and his family, and admitted he had felt more tense than usual over the weekend.
On the podium with Verstappen and Hamilton, he said he looked forward to more battles with them. Verstappen called the season impressive for a driver of his age, while Hamilton said he was grateful to witness the youngest champion in history.
Verstappen wins a race of interruptions
The race itself was anything but quiet. Hamilton started on pole for Ferrari, but teammate Charles Leclerc took the lead at the start and later received a five second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in the opening lap fight. Verstappen, starting fifth, was second by the end of lap one and passed Leclerc during the first round of pit stops. He took the lead shortly before a red flag caused by a heavy crash for Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas. The race also featured two Safety Car periods and a Virtual Safety Car.
At the standing restart Verstappen held off Hamilton and won by 0.7 seconds, taking his third victory of 2026 and the 74th of his career. Leclerc finished fourth after flat spotting his tyres at the restart, ahead of Lando Norris in fifth. George Russell was sixth after a 10 second penalty, followed by Oscar Piastri, Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson, who recovered to ninth after starting from the pit lane, and Pierre Gasly. Arvid Lindblad retired after contact with Piastri. Hamilton said afterwards that Ferrari needs serious talks following his clash with Leclerc.
