Kimi Antonelli became Formula One's youngest world champion on Sunday, clinching the title at 20 years old with a third-place finish for Mercedes in the Mexico City Grand Prix.
He is Italy's first champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953. Antonelli arrived in Mexico needing only ninth place or better after an emphatic win in Austin, his ninth victory of the season.
He crossed the line in tears at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, where his mother, father and sister, who have played a key part in his career, embraced him. Antonelli thanked Mercedes and his family and said he was speechless and still trying to process the moment.
I wouldn’t be here without Mercedes, without my family. This moment is one that will live for ever.
Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes driver
The title flipped preseason expectations. Mercedes appeared to have the fastest car, but teammate George Russell was the championship favorite, while Antonelli was viewed as a gifted driver who still needed honing after a tricky rookie year.
That first season brought flashes of speed, including becoming the youngest driver to qualify on pole in Miami, but too many mistakes. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff repeatedly called his driving underwhelming, and Antonelli later said he let the pressure destroy him because he felt he was letting people down.
A record run of wins
His 2026 campaign started badly, too. He crashed in final practice at the season opener in Australia, nearly missed qualifying as his car was repaired, and watched Russell win.
Then came China. Antonelli became the sport's youngest pole-sitter and turned it into his first Grand Prix win, five seconds ahead of Russell, starting a record run of five straight victories after a debut win.
Japan, where a safety car call worked in his favor, gave him a championship lead he never surrendered. Wins in Miami, Canada and Monaco followed, and after Monaco he led Lewis Hamilton by 66 points and Russell by 68.
Comebacks at Monza and Baku
Russell's own bad luck included a pit lane speeding penalty in Monaco and an engine failure while leading in Canada. Antonelli had setbacks of his own: an electrical shutdown in Barcelona and a wheel shield failure at Silverstone, which let Russell close within 25 points, the nearest he would get.
At his home race in Monza, Antonelli took an engine-change grid penalty, started 19th and won. Only John Watson, who won from 22nd at the 1983 Long Beach Grand Prix, has come back to victory from further down the grid.
Built for the new cars
His worst error was a qualifying crash in Baku, which he admitted was unnecessary. Starting 16th, he worked carefully through the field and finished fifth despite floor damage from chaos at a restart.
The biggest overhaul of F1's regulations in decades opened the door for a newcomer. Antonelli's aggressive style and instinctive car control suited the 2026 cars, and he coped better than Russell with their heavy reliance on electrical hybrid power, a point Russell himself acknowledged.
With how things have fallen this year, it’s kind of the perfect driving style for these cars
George Russell, Mercedes driver
Antonelli joined Mercedes as Hamilton's replacement when the seven-time champion left for Ferrari. Ferrari had passed on signing him at age 11, reluctant to commit to so young a driver. At 7, he slipped into the paddock at the 2014 German Grand Prix hidden in a stack of tires, during a support race involving his father Marco's team.
