Lifted onto the shoulders of four-time champion Max Verstappen and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli celebrated joining their ranks. At just 20, he became Formula 1’s youngest world champion and ended Italy’s 73-year wait for another drivers’ title.
Kimi Antonelli finished third in Mexico. He left as Formula 1’s youngest world champion.
At 20 years and 68 days old, the Mercedes driver secured the 2026 drivers’ championship with four races remaining, breaking Sebastian Vettel’s age record and becoming the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
Then came the moment the numbers couldn’t quite capture. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton lifted Antonelli onto their shoulders on the podium.
The driver who had replaced Hamilton at Mercedes was now celebrating a world championship alongside him.
The nerves finally give way
Antonelli hadn’t pretended this was an ordinary weekend.
After qualifying, he admitted the possibility of clinching the championship had made it difficult to control his emotions. He felt more tense than usual and wasn’t satisfied with his performance.
Sunday brought the answer. Third place behind Verstappen and Hamilton secured the title, taking Antonelli to 380 points and leaving him beyond reach.
When he spoke afterward, he was still trying to take it in.
“I’m just speechless. I’m trying to process what has just happened.”
He credited Mercedes and his family for helping him reach that moment. The excitement was there, but so was the difficulty of finding words for something he had spent years chasing.
A celebration with Hamilton and Verstappen
Sharing the podium with Hamilton and Verstappen gave the occasion another layer.
Hamilton had already spoken warmly about Antonelli before the race, recalling his journey from a young visitor in the Mercedes garage to the driver who took over his seat. He acknowledged the challenges of Antonelli’s rookie season and praised how he had developed this year.
Now they stood together after the race that confirmed Antonelli as champion.
Antonelli described sharing that podium as special and was already looking forward to more battles with both drivers. Between Hamilton’s seven titles, Verstappen’s four and Antonelli’s first, the three represented 12 world championships.
For Mercedes, the celebration also reflected a decision made well before Antonelli reached Formula 1. The team had backed him through its junior program and entrusted him with one of the sport’s most demanding seats.
Five years from Formula 4 to the world title
Antonelli made his single-seater debut in 2021. Five years later, he has reached the top of Formula 1.
That doesn’t mean he only started racing five years ago. His karting career came first, and Mercedes brought him into its junior program in 2019.
The steps afterward came quickly. He won the Italian and German Formula 4 championships in 2022, followed by the Middle East and European Formula Regional titles in 2023. He then moved directly into Formula 2 for 2024, skipping Formula 3, before joining the F1 grid in 2025.
There were difficult moments along the way. His first F1 practice appearance at Monza in 2024 ended in a crash. Two years later, he won the Italian Grand Prix from 19th on the grid.
That recovery remains one of the standout drives of his championship season.
A champion before the season is over
Mexico delivered Antonelli’s 16th Grand Prix podium from 19 races. Nine of those finishes were victories.
Those results explain how he secured the championship with four rounds still to run. The celebration showed what it meant.
Italy’s wait had lasted 73 years. Antonelli’s journey from his first single-seater race had taken just five.
He still has more racing to do in 2026. He’ll do it as world champion.
