MexicanGP: Kimi Antonelli Crowned F1's Youngest-Ever Champion
The 20-year-old Mercedes driver sealed the 2026 title with third place, while Max Verstappen kept Lewis Hamilton behind him through two restarts to win from fifth on the grid.
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team) became the youngest World Champion in Formula 1 history after finishing third in the Mexico City Grand Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on Sunday, 1 November 2026. The 20-year-old Italian only needed ninth place to seal the 2026 title. Max Verstappen (Oracle Red Bull Racing) won the race by 0.799s from Lewis Hamilton (Scuderia Ferrari HP), and Antonelli finished 4.006s behind the winner.
A tearful Antonelli thanked his team over the radio, and Hamilton and Verstappen lifted him up on the podium. "I wouldn't be here without Mercedes, without my family," he told Nico Rosberg after the race. "I am speechless. I am trying to process what happened." He has 380 points, which puts him 119 clear of Verstappen with only 100 left to play for in the last four rounds. He breaks the record Sebastian Vettel set by winning the 2010 title at 23. He's also the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953 and Mercedes' first drivers' champion since Hamilton in 2020.
Hamilton led from pole, but his teammate Charles Leclerc went side by side with him through the opening corners. Both ran off at Turn 4, where Leclerc cut across the grass to take the lead. Verstappen had started fifth after a one-place grid penalty, and he got past Hamilton as the Briton rejoined. Leclerc got a five-second penalty for the move, and Hamilton wasn't happy. "The stewards are basically handing Charles this win," he said on the radio. In the end, the penalty cost Leclerc the lead when he and Verstappen both pitted on lap 27, and Verstappen came out in front.
Antonelli led mid-race and pitted on lap 43. Moments later, Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac Formula 1 Team) crashed heavily at Turn 1 after a front-left suspension failure. The barrier damage brought out the red flag, and Bottas got out of the car unaided. At the standing restart, Hamilton jumped Leclerc and went around the outside of Verstappen at Turn 1, but he ran out of room and had to slot back into second. Antonelli passed Leclerc a lap later. A late Safety Car came out when Oscar Piastri (McLaren Mastercard F1 Team) clipped Arvid Lindblad (Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team) and sent the rookie into the wall. Verstappen nailed the restart with eight laps left and held on for his third win of the season. Hamilton set the fastest lap, a 1:19.268, but he couldn't find a way past.
Leclerc held off reigning World Champion Lando Norris (McLaren Mastercard F1 Team) by 1.071s for fourth. George Russell (Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team) started second but finished sixth after a 10-second penalty for tipping Isack Hadjar (Oracle Red Bull Racing) into a spin on the opening lap. Liam Lawson (Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team) started from the pit lane and finished seventh. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi Revolut F1 Team), Hadjar and Ryo Hirakawa (TGR Haas F1 Team) completed the top 10. Hirakawa was called up mid-weekend and scored a point on his F1 debut. Piastri crossed the line seventh, but a 10-second penalty for the collision with Lindblad dropped him to 13th.
Verstappen's win lifts him from fourth to second in the standings on 261 points, two ahead of Hamilton, with Russell fourth on 250. Mercedes lead Ferrari by 126 points in the Constructors' Championship. But Sunday belonged to Antonelli.
Credit Photo : AMG
