Kimi Antonelli is F1's youngest ever champion after third place in Mexico
Kimi Antonelli sealed the 2026 Formula 1 title with third place at the Mexico City Grand Prix, becoming the youngest world champion in the sport's history at 20. Max Verstappen won the race ahead of polesitter Lewis Hamilton.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli is the Formula 1 world champion. The 20-year-old Mercedes driver finished third at the Mexico City Grand Prix, well clear of the ninth place he needed, and wrapped up the title with four rounds still to run.
Max Verstappen won the race, holding off Lewis Hamilton to the flag. Ferrari undid itself on lap one: Hamilton and Charles Leclerc clashed at Turn 4, both went off, and Leclerc was handed a five-second penalty before recovering to fourth. A suspension failure sent Valtteri Bottas hard into the barrier and red-flagged the race for around 40 minutes.
Antonelli arrived with 365 points, 123 more than team-mate George Russell and 124 more than Hamilton. All he needed was for neither of them to win.
Hamilton’s first pole in red
Hamilton had started from the front. He took his first pole position for Ferrari with a 1:16.514, nine thousandths of a second ahead of Russell. It is his first pole since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix and the 105th of his career.
Leclerc lined up third. Antonelli qualified fifth but started fourth, because Verstappen carried a one-place grid penalty. That was a decent Saturday for someone who has been unwell: he was recovering from a viral illness and skipped Thursday’s media day as a precaution.
The record Vettel held since 2010
The title takes Sebastian Vettel’s record as the youngest champion, which the German had held since 2010, when he won at 23. Antonelli is also the first Italian drivers’ champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
Elsewhere, Fernando Alonso stopped on track in Q1 with a water-pressure problem and brought out a red flag, and Ryo Hirakawa made his debut for Haas in place of Esteban Ocon, qualifying 19th.
And if watching on TV is not enough, Formula 1 is heading back to Portimão in June 2027.
By Vasco Almada
Image: Liauzh / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
