Kimi Antonelli becomes youngest F1 champion with third place in Mexican GP

20-year-old clinches title with four races to go

Kimi Antonelli closed out with the cool command of the greats to win the Formula One world championship by taking third place in the Mexican Grand Prix, a race won after no little drama by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, from the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton who was left fuming with his teammate Charles Leclerc, who finished fourth.

In taking his debut F1 title for Mercedes, the 20-year-old Antonelli has etched his name into the record books as the youngest driver to claim the sport’s crown and the first Italian to do so since Alberto Ascari won in 1953. It is Mercedes’ first drivers’ championship since Hamilton last won in 2020 and the team’s 10th.

Antonelli brought what has been a hugely successful campaign to a close as the sport’s 36th world champion at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez to claim the title in only his second season in F1 and with a full four meetings still to go. Sebastian Vettel was the previous youngest winner of the drivers’ championship, aged 23 in 2010, when Antonelli was just four years old.

The Italian has been leading from the front for almost the entire season, having taken the lead after the third round in Japan. With the Mercedes proving to be the class of the field in the opening half of the season under the new regulations, Antonelli made the most of it and established a dominant lead. He won five of the first six races, outracing his teammate George Russell, who had been the pre-season favourite.

Antonelli went on to take nine wins in a season where he failed to score points only twice, on both occasions because of mechanical failures. Even as Mercedes were pushed by Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull, Antonelli retained a stranglehold on his lead, including sealing a win from 19th on the grid at his home grand prix at Monza.

Russell and Hamilton were his nearest contenders but neither was able to significantly narrow the gap to the Italian. They had to win in Mexico to keep the title alive but Antonelli’s third would have clinched it even had they done so.

Antonelli did exactly what was required of him here, kept his cool and did not put a foot wrong in a race that was run at a frenetic pace. Leclerc made a great start and tried to pass Hamilton for the lead at turn four but cut the corner to do so.

He did not give the place back and was investigated, with Hamilton furious his teammate had cost them a one-two in the race and let Verstappen ultimately into the lead. The stewards found Leclerc had gained an advantage in leaving the track and he was given a five-second penalty to take during his pit stop.

A decision with which Hamilton was unhappy. “The problem is he’s got clean air, and doesn’t have to manage like the rest of us. He should just give the place back,” he said. “The stewards are basically handing Charles this win.”

Later when the race was stopped he made his displeasure clear again. “We’ve got big problems. Big, big problems,” he said. A lively debrief at Ferrari is in store.

The race was red-flagged after Valtteri Bottas crashed out with a big impact at turn one. His left front suspension broke at high speed and he was helpless as the car hurtled into the wall. He took some time to climb out of the car but was able to do so unaided and was responsive on the radio.

It prompted a restart from which a feisty Hamilton moved up to second and Antonelli up to third, typically not willing to quietly do the minimum to take the title, which allowed him to seal the title with a podium place. Verstappen took an impressive win but Antonelli the crown.

The victory might be something of cold comfort to Verstappen given Antonelli secured the title, but comfort it will be to the Dutch driver and his team who will be buoyed by what was a hugely impressive run from fifth on the grid to the flag as they look to enter next season strongly. On this form the car is more than a match for Mercedes, potentially setting up the mouthwatering prospect of Verstappen and Antonelli competing consistently at the very front in 2027

The title for Antonelli represents a vindication of the enormous faith Mercedes had placed in the kid from Bologna, whom the team brought into their young driver program when he was 12. He was promoted to take Hamilton’s place last season, which proved a difficult year for the rookie, but since which he has adapted to competing at the very sharp end with alacrity and great skill.

He went into the race in Mexico needing only ninth place or better and despite only qualifying in fourth, delivered a nerveless drive indicative of the form he has shown across the year, to close out his first title with the same control he has exhibited all season. A deserved and popular champion.