Kimi Antonelli has become the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history, sealing the 2026 title with third place at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday 1 November.

The 20-year-old Mercedes driver needed only a ninth-place finish or better to clinch the championship, and he delivered a controlled drive at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez despite battling illness and exhaustion in the build-up to the race. Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the race, with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, who started on pole, finishing second.

A record that stood since 2010

At 20 years and 68 days, Antonelli has broken the record previously held by Sebastian Vettel, who won his first title at the age of 23 in 2010. He is also the first Italian to win the championship since Alberto Ascari in 1953, and he has done so in only his second season in the sport, after winning nine of the 19 races held so far this season.

Antonelli went into the Mexico weekend 123 points clear of his Mercedes team-mate George Russell, his closest rival. With four races still to run, his lead is now unassailable at 119 points.

Drama behind the new champion

The race itself was interrupted, with a red flag on lap 46 after Valtteri Bottas crashed into the wall at the first corner. Russell, who started on the front row, finished sixth after a 10-second penalty for a collision with Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, and slipped to fourth in the drivers' standings. Verstappen moved up to second overall, with Hamilton remaining third.

Antonelli was overcome with emotion on the team radio after crossing the line, saying: "We did it, we did it." The championship now moves on to Brazil, with Las Vegas to follow, but the destination of the drivers' title is already settled. Sources: USA Today and CNN.