Kimi Antonelli is the first Italian champion since 1953.
Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli celebrates on the podium alongside race winner Red Bull's Max Verstappen and second-placed Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton after finishing third in the race and clinching the 2026 Formula One World Championship. (Photo: REUTERS/Eloisa Sanchez)
Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli celebrates on the podium alongside race winner Red Bull's Max Verstappen and second-placed Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton after finishing third in the race and clinching the 2026 Formula One World Championship. (Photo: REUTERS/Eloisa Sanchez)
MEXICO CITY: Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli became Formula One's youngest world champion at 20 years old on Sunday (Nov 1) in a red-flagged and restarted Mexico City Grand Prix won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The first Italian champion since 1953 finished third, sobbing with joy over the team radio as he took the chequered flag at the high-altitude Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with his overall lead now an unassailable 119 points.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton started from pole position and took a close second place on an afternoon of drama with two safety cars, multiple crashes and an agonising 33-minute halt with 25 of the 71 laps remaining.
Sebastian Vettel was the previous youngest champion at age 23 in 2010.
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“Thank you so much, we did it, we did it, thank you so much ... thank you,” Antonelli said on the team radio after securing the title.
The race was stopped on lap 46 with a red flag after Valtteri Bottas crashed into the wall at the first corner, following issues with his right-side suspension.
Cadillac reported that the driver was given “further medical assessments as a precaution.”
Bottas got out of the car unaided and waved to the fans before leaving the track.
Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli celebrates on the podium after finishing third in the race and clinching the 2026 Formula One World Championship. (Photo: REUTERS/Eloisa Sanchez)
Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli celebrates with his mother Veronica, father Marco and sister Maggie after finishing third in the race and clinching the 2026 Formula One World Championship. (Photo: REUTERS/Raquel Cunha)
At the restart, Verstappen was first, followed by Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli, Norris and Russell and the Red Bull driver did not let the win slip away.
After Mexico, F1 will head to Brazil and then to Las Vegas. It remains uncertain whether the final two scheduled Grands Prix — in Qatar and Abu Dhabi —will take place, given instability in the region.
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