Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli clinched the Formula 1 world championship early after finishing third at the Mexican Grand Prix. The 20-year-old Italian is now the youngest world champion in the sport’s history.
Antonelli needed just two points to confirm the title, meaning a finish inside the top nine at the Mexico City race would have been enough. He did better than that, finishing third.
The Mexican Grand Prix was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen of the Netherlands, with Ferrari’s British driver Lewis Hamilton taking second place.
Heading into the Mexico race, Antonelli led George Russell by 123 points in the standings and Hamilton by 124. The Italian driver had already claimed nine race wins earlier this season.
Racing for Mercedes since 2025, Antonelli breaks a record previously held by Germany’s Sebastian Vettel, who won his first world title in 2010 at the age of 23.
Antonelli also becomes only the third Italian driver to win the Formula 1 world championship, following Giuseppe Farina in 1950 and Alberto Ascari in 1952 and 1953.
