Source : @F1
MEXICO CITY — Kimi Antonelli is the 2026 Formula 1 World Drivers’ Champion after finishing third at the Mexico City Grand Prix, becoming the youngest title-winner in the sport’s history at 20 years and 68 days old.
Formula 1’s official X account captured the moment with the announcement: “KIMI ANTONELLI IS THE 2026 F1 WORLD CHAMPION!!! The youngest to ever do it at 20 years and 68 days old!” The post underlined just how early in life the Mercedes driver has rewritten the record books.
The Italian entered the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez weekend needing only a ninth-place finish to clinch the crown regardless of what team-mate George Russell or Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton achieved. Third place on 1 November 2026 was therefore more than enough to settle the championship mathematically.
Max Verstappen won the race for Red Bull Racing, Hamilton finished second and Antonelli completed the podium in third. That 15-point haul, on top of the cushion he had already built through the season, left no remaining route for his rivals to catch him.
Antonelli’s age of 20 years and 68 days sets a new Formula 1 benchmark as the youngest world champion. The milestone caps a breakthrough campaign in which the Mercedes driver turned a sizeable points advantage into an historic first title on one of the calendar’s most atmospheric circuits.
The Mexico City afternoon itself was far from straightforward. Hamilton started from pole, but an opening-lap battle with Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc reshaped the race when Leclerc cut the track and later received a five-second penalty. Verstappen moved into the lead in the ensuing reshuffle, while Russell was handed a 10-second penalty for spinning Isack Hadjar at Turn 6.
Mid-race drama followed when Valtteri Bottas crashed heavily at Turn 1 after a suspension failure. The Safety Car was deployed and the race was red-flagged on lap 46. At the standing restart Verstappen led, Hamilton jumped Leclerc, and Antonelli took third from the Monegasque — positions that would prove decisive for the title.
A late Safety Car for a collision between Arvid Lindblad and Oscar Piastri, which left Lindblad in the wall, set up a tense finish over the remaining laps of the 71-lap Grand Prix. Verstappen held Hamilton by seven tenths of a second at the flag, with Antonelli close enough behind to celebrate both a podium and the championship.
Afterwards Antonelli reflected on a moment he said would live forever. “We did it. And, you know, without them, I wouldn’t be here. Without Mercedes, without my family. So I’m very grateful for this moment, and it’s one that will live forever. And I just, I’m speechless. I’m trying to process what has just happened,” he said. The high-altitude Mexican venue has long produced unpredictable races, and this year’s edition proved no exception before Antonelli could celebrate.
Attention now turns to the São Paulo Grand Prix from 6–8 November 2026, where the newly crowned champion will race for the first time with the drivers’ title already secured and Mercedes can press on in the constructors’ fight. The original Formula 1 post can be viewed on X: https://x.com/F1/status/2117019889076781379.
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